Common Immigration Questions
Authoritative bilingual answers to immigration law questions, organized by practice area and grounded in INA, USC, and CFR citations.
Family Immigration
Practice areaMarriage-based green cards, fiancé visas, parents, children, siblings, and the waivers that make admissibility possible.
7 questions
Marriage-based green cards
What evidence do I need for a marriage-based green card in 2026?
USCIS needs proof the marriage is bona fide, not just legal — joint finances, joint lease, joint insurance, tax transcripts, and a timeline of photographs and communications, all corroborated by sworn declarations.
Can I file Form I-751 to remove conditions if I'm getting divorced?
Yes — you can file an I-751 with a divorce-based waiver under INA § 216(c)(4)(B), but the evidentiary burden shifts to proving the marriage was entered in good faith despite the divorce.
Parents, children & siblings
How soon can I petition for my parents after I naturalize?
Immediately — the day after the oath ceremony, a U.S. citizen age 21 or over can file Form I-130 for each parent as an immediate relative under INA § 201(b)(2)(A)(i), with no annual visa cap.
How long is the wait for an F4 sibling petition in 2026?
Roughly 14–17 years for most countries, 22–24 years for Mexico, and 24+ years for the Philippines — so the petition is worth filing immediately even though the green card is more than a decade away.
Waivers & admissibility
What is the I-601A provisional unlawful-presence waiver and who qualifies?
It is a waiver of the 3- or 10-year bar that lets the applicant get USCIS approval before leaving the U.S. for the consular interview — eligibility turns on extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or LPR relative.
Will a single marijuana conviction block my green card?
Yes — a single conviction for any controlled-substance offense, including simple marijuana possession, makes the applicant inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II), and only a narrow 30-grams-or-less waiver under INA § 212(h) is available.
Humanitarian Relief
Practice areaAsylum, withholding, U and T visas, VAWA self-petitions, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for survivors of harm.
7 questions
Asylum & withholding
I missed the one-year asylum filing deadline — is there anything I can do?
Yes — INA § 208(a)(2)(D) allows late filing if you can prove changed circumstances or extraordinary circumstances, and withholding of removal and CAT protection remain available with no deadline.
What is the credible-fear interview at the border and how should I prepare?
It is a screening interview that decides whether you are referred to an immigration judge for a full asylum hearing — you must articulate a specific, fact-grounded fear of persecution tied to one of five protected grounds.
When can an asylum applicant get a work permit?
150 days after the asylum application is properly filed, the applicant can apply for an EAD under category (c)(8), with adjudication targeted at 30 days from receipt (the 'asylum EAD clock').
U & T visas (crime victims & trafficking)
I am a domestic-violence survivor — do I qualify for a U visa?
Likely yes, if you suffered substantial physical or mental harm and are willing to assist law enforcement — but the U visa requires a signed certification (Form I-918 Supplement B) from the investigating agency, and that signature is discretionary.
Does my labor-trafficking experience qualify for a T visa?
Likely yes — the T visa protects victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons, including labor trafficking under INA § 101(a)(15)(T), and law-enforcement certification is helpful but not strictly required.
Naturalization & Citizenship
Practice areaEligibility timing, the civics and English exam, derivation and acquisition, and the traps that put citizenship itself at risk.
5 questions
Eligibility & timing
Will my trips abroad break the continuous-residence requirement for naturalization?
A single absence of 6 months to under 1 year creates a rebuttable presumption that you broke continuous residence; an absence of 1 year or more breaks it absolutely unless an N-470 was preserved before departure.
Will I lose my original citizenship if I naturalize as a U.S. citizen?
Not under U.S. law — the United States recognizes dual citizenship and does not require renunciation, but your country of origin may have its own rules that revoke citizenship upon naturalization elsewhere.
Deportation Defense
Practice areaDetention and bond, cancellation of removal, asylum in immigration court, and appeals and motions before the BIA and circuit courts.
5 questions
Cancellation of removal
Can I get cancellation of removal if I've been here 10 years and have U.S. citizen children?
Possibly — INA § 240A(b)(1) requires 10 years of physical presence, good moral character, no disqualifying conviction, and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child.
I'm a green-card holder facing removal — can cancellation save me?
Yes, if you have 5 years as an LPR, 7 years of continuous residence after being admitted in any status, and no aggravated felony conviction — INA § 240A(a) is the LPR safety valve.
Should I take voluntary departure instead of fighting removal?
Sometimes — voluntary departure under INA § 240B avoids the 5-, 10-, or 20-year re-entry bar of a removal order, but the 60- or 120-day departure deadline must be met or the order automatically converts to removal.
Employment Immigration
Practice areaEB-1, EB-2 NIW and EB-3 green cards, H-1B specialty workers, L-1, O-1 and TN visas, and the PERM labor-certification process.
5 questions
L-1, O-1 & TN visas
What is the difference between an O-1 visa and an EB-1A green card?
Both require 'extraordinary ability,' but O-1 is a temporary work visa requiring a U.S. petitioner and event/employment-specific sponsorship, while EB-1A is a self-petitioned permanent green card with stricter sustained-acclaim evidence.
When does L-1 intracompany transfer make sense for a global employer?
L-1A (managers/executives) and L-1B (specialized-knowledge employees) let multinational employers transfer key staff to U.S. operations after at least 1 year of qualifying foreign employment in the last 3 years.
H-2 Visa Compliance
Practice areaH-2A and H-2B program design, wages, housing and transportation obligations, audits, and the 2025 portability and recruitment-fee rules.
5 questions
Wages, housing & audits
What housing, transportation, and wage obligations does an H-2A employer actually have?
H-2A employers must provide free compliant housing, inbound/outbound and daily transportation, the AEWR (or higher prevailing wage), workers' comp, tools and equipment, and a 3/4 contract-hour guarantee — and DOL audits these systematically.
DOL is threatening to debar my farm from the H-2A program — what can I do?
Debarment is appealable and defensible — request an administrative hearing under 29 C.F.R. § 501.20 within 30 days, build the mitigation record (corrective action, good-faith compliance, worker make-whole), and litigate the willfulness finding that drives the debarment length.
DACA & TPS
Practice areaDACA renewals and initial filings, TPS designations and re-registration, work authorization, travel, and pathways to a green card.
5 questions
Work authorization & travel
My TPS work permit is about to expire — am I covered by automatic extension?
Likely yes — USCIS routinely publishes Federal Register notices auto-extending TPS EADs for 540 days when a TPS extension is announced, but the extension only applies if the new EAD application is filed on time.
If I travel on TPS Advance Parole, am I admitted when I return — and does that help my green-card case?
After Matter of Z-R-Z-C- was vacated and USCIS's 2022 policy update took effect, TPS holders who travel on Advance Parole and re-enter are treated as inspected and admitted/paroled for INA § 245(a) adjustment purposes, restoring the pre-2020 rule.
Writ of Mandamus
Practice areaFederal-court suits to compel USCIS, the State Department, or USCBP to act when a case has stalled beyond reasonable adjudication time.
5 questions
How a mandamus case unfolds
What does a mandamus case actually cost?
Most USCIS mandamus cases involve a court filing fee plus a flat attorney fee in the low four figures — almost always less than the cost of waiting another year for adjudication.
Will the government settle a mandamus — and can I recover attorney fees?
Most USCIS mandamus cases are resolved by the agency adjudicating within 30–60 days of service rather than litigating; attorney-fee recovery under the EAJA is available but constrained by the government's substantial-justification defense.
Common cases we file
Can mandamus force USCIS to decide my I-130, I-485, or N-400?
Yes — these are the three most common USCIS forms we sue on, and federal courts have consistently held that adjudication of each is a non-discretionary duty even though the underlying grant is discretionary.
My visa is stuck in 221(g) administrative processing — can mandamus help?
Sometimes — courts are split on whether the consular nonreviewability doctrine blocks mandamus over a stuck 221(g), but in most circuits a years-long 221(g) without movement remains actionable as failure to adjudicate.
Habeas Corpus
Practice area§ 2241 petitions challenging unlawful or prolonged ICE detention, post-order detention, and unconstitutional conditions of confinement.
4 questions
Detention basics
What is a habeas corpus petition in immigration detention?
It is a federal court petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 that challenges the lawfulness of detention — the right tool when bond is unavailable in immigration court or when post-removal-order detention has become indefinite.
Should I file a bond motion in immigration court or a habeas in federal court?
Start with the bond motion in immigration court if jurisdiction exists — federal habeas is the next step when the immigration judge has no jurisdiction over bond or when bond is denied as a matter of law rather than discretion.
Can I challenge medical neglect or unsafe conditions in ICE detention through habeas?
Yes — although Bivens claims are limited, habeas remains available to challenge conditions that effectively make continued detention itself unconstitutional, especially serious medical neglect and prolonged solitary placement.