Category: Immigration Columnists

THE November priority dates are typically the start of the new “fiscal year” for visas, where a new annual supply of visas is made available.  Usually, with a new supply of visas, the priority dates move forward in the various family categories.  However, for November 2021, the priority dates did not move at all.  They…

Mother Cece (center) petitioned her son Vince in 2001. Because he was out-of-status, and had no section 245(i), he was not eligible to adjust status (apply for his green card) in the U.S. The family went through several attorneys who applied for political asylum, and later obtained an approved provisional waiver, after the regulations came…

DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: I have been a green card holder for over 5 years, paid my taxes, committed no crimes, and am eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. However, my spouse is out of status. (He entered as a tourist and overstayed). I reviewed the naturalization application, Form N-400, and there are many questions about…

RONALD was petitioned as Joyce’s fiancé in 2006. While the K-1 petition was approved, his visa was denied after Ronald admitted to the doctors at St. Luke’s that he tried drugs many years ago. Because of that admission, he was banned for life. In 2008, Joyce and Ronald got married, hoping that this would get…

IT can be extremely frustrating about how long USCIS takes to process petitions, extensions, work authorizations, adjustment of status, and applications.  For example, at the California Service Center: It can take up to 32 months for USCIS to process an “immediate relative” (IR) petition by a U.S. citizen of their spouse, parent, or minor child….

Many people believe the only way to bring relatives to the U.S. is through a family petition. This is not true. Family can petition other family members through an employment-based visa, which can be much faster and is perfectly legal. This is exactly what Ana (center) did when she petitioned her aunt Susan (left) as…

FOR anyone with a pending petition or application, the delays in processing their case at USCIS can be frustrating and can cause tremendous disruption, and unnecessary separation of family members. If this applies to you, you’re not alone. The USCIS has a process or procedure to request your case to be expedited. In this article,…

After consulting with leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right), she was advised to wait for her son to first legalize his status and become a U.S. citizen. Only then could the son be able to petition his mother. They had to wait patiently though, since Nanay Emi’s son, Jerome, was a crewman who…

MOST people think they can only file family petitions for relatives. Actually, they can also petition their family member for a green card through employment. In this brand-new episode, viewers can learn how Ana petitioned her aunt, Susan, as a housekeeper. Since the minimum requirement for the job was three months experience in housekeeping, Aunt…

The November priority dates are typically the start of the new “fiscal year” for visas, where a new annual supply of visas is made available.  Usually, with a new supply of visas, the priority dates move forward in the various family categories.  However, for November 2021, the priority dates did not move at all.  They…

FOR anyone who is out of status, one of their biggest fears is an immigration raid at their workplace. We have all seen news reports of immigration raids at carwashes, restaurants, factories, processing plants, etc., where workers are rounded up, and if out of status, are handcuffed, and taken away in vans for deportation/removal. During…

Marjun (right) missed the opportunity to join his father, Marcelo Sr. (left), and siblings in the U.S. in 1996 because his name was missing from the list of accompanying family members on his father’s petition. Because his parents did not know what to do, Marjun was left behind. His mother (2nd from left) finally petitioned…

IN what has been described as “…a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration enforcement policy that will likely spare most undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years…,” on September 30, 2021, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Sec. of the Department of Homeland Security, issued new guidelines for the enforcement of civil immigration law, which are…

TO petition one’s family members to come to the U.S., the petitioner must prove they are living (or domiciled) in the U.S. In this episode, U.S. citizen father, Cesar, petitioned his daughters, Corinne (2nd from left) and Cathlene (extreme left). However, he was living in the Philippines when his daughters’ visas became available. The U.S….

The family consulted with several attorneys. One filed for political asylum for Vince, and when the expanded provisional waiver regulations came out in 2016, another attorney obtained an approved provisional waiver, enabling Vince to return to Manila for his immigrant visa interview, without being subject to the 10-year bar. Unfortunately, when Vince went to the…

THE October priority dates are typically the start of the new “fiscal year” for visas, where a new annual supply of visas is made available.  Usually, with a new supply of visas, the priority dates move forward in the various family categories.  However, for October 2021, the priority dates did not move at all.  They…

ON September 20, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that it is rescinding/canceling the Trump era COVID-19 travel bans, and, starting in November 2021, will instead require all international travelers to the U.S. to provide proof of vaccination before being allowed to board a flight to the U.S., as well as proof of a negative COVID-19…

Gerry Apolinario (right) was outside the U.S. too many times during the five years before filing his application for naturalization, and he missed the minimum physical presence requirement by a mere 15 days. USCIS then denied his application. Find out how leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (left) was able to turn that denied…

Popular show has a new time slot – 6:30 PM PT IT was 1996. Marjun (right) was 16 years old when his father, Marcelo Sr, (left) immigrated to the U.S. with Marjun’s three other siblings. Marjun’s name was missing from the list of his father’s accompanying family members. His father did not know what to…

STARTING on October 1, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) is requiring all immigrant visa applicants over the age of 12 to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This includes people within the U.S. applying for adjustment of status, or outside the U.S. applying for immigrant visas. Vaccinations would not apply to…