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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply for permanent residency?
You may apply for residency either through an employer or through an immediate relative.
If you apply through an employer, you may apply for an H-1 visa, Temporary Worker Status. This is a "non-immigrant" status that permits you to stay for a temporary period of time with certain extension options. Eventually you may become eligible to apply for residency through a number of other processes. These may include Labor Certification which involves going the Texas Work Force and the Department of Labor. Labor Certification is available to generally "qualified" individuals with a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Once this is accomplished, you may very well be eligible for residency. The employer will file a Form I-140 petition on your behalf.
If you are an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident, you may be petitioned for by your relative. This procedure involves the filing of a Form I-130, Relative Petition. There are a number of preference categories; some take longer to process than others depending on the number of visas available.
To adjust your status in the United States to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, there are several requirements that accompany the filing of a relative petition. It is necessary to provide the government with documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees or death certificates.
Once the Citizenship and the Immigration Services (CIS) and the Immigration Service approve the relative petition (I-130), you will be on the road to becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident. The next step is the application for Adjustment of Status (I-485). In most cases the I-130 petition and the I-485, are filed together.
Your case may vary from the cases of your friends and relatives, which is why you may want me to analyze the facts.
How do I become a naturalized citizen?
After becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident you may want to become a Naturalized Citizen of the United States. There are different waiting periods to become naturalized, depending on how you obtained your residency. To apply for citizenship through naturalization, you will file an N-400 application. This application will be filed with the Office of the District Director in the city in which you live.
Once CIS and the Immigration Service review the application, you will be required to go before a Naturalization Officer. At that time you must prove that you have been present in the U.S. for a requisite period of time. You must establish that stay with the domicile requirement. It is also required that you have been a person of good moral character. Finally, you will be required to take either an oral or written exam to show basic English skills and be able to answer questions about American government and history.
Once you have become a U.S. citizen you will acquire several new rights, privileges, and duties.
Remember that each case differs and that someone you know may have had a different experience with the immigration system.
This page is still under construction.
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