Family Immigration Videos

The Do’s and Don’t’s of the Green Card Process in Wisconsin

Applying for a green card allows you to live and work in the United State indefinitely, and is the first step toward becoming a naturalized American citizen. But it is not easy obtaining a green card, because not all foreign individuals are eligible to live and work in the United States. If you are eligible to live and work in the United States, please read on, then contact an experienced green card lawyer in Milwaukee, WI to learn more about the do’s and don’t’s of the green card process in Wisconsin.

The do’s and don’t’s of the green card process in Wisconsin

Attaining the legal status of a permanent resident will take a good deal of time and resources. In order to optimize your chances of receiving one, here are the do’s and the don’t’s of the green card process:

Do:

  • Follow the instructions on your Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  forms to the letter
  • Attach all the documents called for in the forms
  • Follow the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services photograph instructions
  • Call or visit your local Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if you have any questions
  • Request an interpreter if you have difficulty understanding English
  • Hire an immigration attorney

Don’t:

  • Commit any crimes
  • Engage in politically subversive activities
  • Smuggle other foreign nationals in the United States
  • Charge others for legal advice
  • Create the impression that you will not be living in the United States once you obtain your green card
  • Lie on any Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form
  • Lie to Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers
  • Leave parts of your forms blank or assume that a part of the form is unimportant
  • Open the envelope with your medical exam results in it

How can an immigration attorney help you through the green card process in Wisconsin?

While the United States does not require you to hire an immigration lawyer, and even if you have a straightforward case, you would be wise to hire one. America’s immigration system is notoriously labyrinthine, frustrating and bureaucratic. Furthermore, it does not receive enough oversight or public scrutiny, which means you can easily fall through the cracks. If all this sounds intimidating, reach out to a skilled family immigration lawyer in Milwaukee, WI to discuss your next steps and how we can help you.

Contact our experienced Wisconsin firm

John Sesini is an experienced immigration attorney with offices in Green Bay and Milwaukee Wisconsin. Our firm understands what is at stake when it comes to immigration law matters, which is why If you have any questions, you should not hesitate to contact the Sesini Law Group, S.C., and schedule your initial consultation with our firm today.

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What is a U visa and who is eligible?

  • There’s a specific visa for victims of crime. It’s called a U Visa.
  • To be eligible for the U Visa, it has to be a rather serious crime; a felonious assault, an armed robbery. Anything in that nature, you should be eligible for a U Visa.
  • Another requirement is that you had to help in the prosecution of that crime. If you didn’t, then you’re not going to be able to obtain a U Visa.
  • Even if that crime occurred ten or twelve years ago and you aided the police or the district attorney’s office in processing that crime, you’ll still be eligible.
  • The other requirement is you will not be able to proceed with the U Visa unless the district attorney’s office or the police department signs a 918 supplemental form saying yes, you were actually very instrumental in the prosecution of the crime.
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What is a 3 and 10 year bar?

  • An important aspect of obtaining a visa is whether or not the applicant has ever violated three or ten year bars.
  • If you have been in the United States in an undocumented status for six months or more and you leave the country, you are barred from returning to the United States for three years.
  • If you have been in the United States in an undocumented status for one year or more and you leave the country, you are barred from returning to the United States for ten years.
  • In some instances, there may be a waiver allowing you to return.
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What’s a consular process with no waiver?

  • If it is a family petition and you filed the appropriate family petition form and the immediate relative form the process takes some months.
  • Once that’s approved, it is then forwarded to the National Visa Center. At the Center, the petitioner and the beneficiary have to complete documentation.
  • One important aspect is that the petitioner, if applying for a family member, has to show that that family member would not become a public charge.
  • That petitioner has to make a specified amount which varies depending on how many family members live with them.
  • For example for a single person applying for a wife who’s living abroad, that person has to make $19,612 per year to be eligible. That’s 125% over the federal poverty guidelines.
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