Susan Perez Immigration Law Blog

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 237(a)(1)(H gives the Immigration Judge the discretion to waive the removal of an immigrant who procured a visa through fraud or misrepresentation.  Only an alien who is the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is eligible to apply for this waiver.  The qualifying relative does not have to be alive at the time when the deportation proceedings are initiated or concluded.... Read More

Let me share with you a success
story in a case, which I had the privilege to work on.  Her case was rejected by a supposedly “super
lawyer” because her case was hopeless.  Last
week, I had a surprise visit from her. 
She showed me her green card and a letter from USCIS welcoming her to
America.  This is the most difficult case
I’ve ever worked on... Read More

In 1999, Mario, a native of
the Philippines, entered the United States on a Visitor visa with authority to
stay for six months.  He did not leave
the United States.  In April 2001, he
married Anna, a United States citizen. 
As a result U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted
him conditional resident status.  The
marriage did not last.  The couple
divorced in early 2004 while Mario was still a... Read More

Lourdes, a Filipina, married Charlie, a naturalized U.S. citizen, in December 2005.  They had two children together born in 2006 and 2007.  Charlie worked with the U.S. Navy for 20 years and came back to the Philippines to retire.  Charlie never left the Philippines since coming back in 2005 and never filed an immigrant petition on behalf of Lourdes and their children.  In 2008, Charlie died.  As a widow of U.S. citizen,... Read More

The K visa allows the noncitizen fiance(e) to enter the U.S. in order to marry the U.S. citizen (USC) within 90 days of admission.  The K-1 nonimmigrant classification was created in 1970 as a means for a fiancé or fiancée to bypass the lengthy wait for a nonpreference immigrant classification and enter the United States as a nonimmigrant despite an intent to stay in the United States.  The sole purpose of this visa is to enter into a marriage with the United... Read More

On June 23, 2011, the Board of Immigration of Appeals (BIA) issued a decision stating “A derivative child of a nonimmigrant fiancé(e) visa holder is not ineligible for adjustment of status simply by virtue of having turned 21 after admission to the United States on a K-2 nonimmigrant visa”.  This should change the policy of USCIS in adjudicating adjustment of status applications of K-2 holders who had turned 21 before the application is adjudicated. ... Read More

Francisco is a native and citizen of the Philippines.  He met his future U.S. citizen wife, Denise, in 1997 when they were both vacationing in Boracay.  She filed a fiancé petition on behalf of Francisco, which was approved in October 1999.  Francisco received his K-1 visa in February 2000 and entered the United States with this visa in April 2000.  Within 90 days from... Read More

I want to write something positive and optimistic for the New Year, but I rather tell my readers the truth so they know what to expect in the coming year.  I myself was shocked when the January 2011 visa bulletin was published.  It shows that most of the family-based categories will retrogress between one and three years beginning on January 1, 2011.  For the worldwide categories, the 1st preference category (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) goes from a 5-year... Read More

Michael, a U.S. citizen, asked me if he can file a fiancée petition for his Filipino girlfriend.  The problem was his fiancée was a man at birth.  She had a sex change but her birth certificate reflects her gender as “male”.  I told him that the fiancée petition will be denied and explained to him why.   There’s no law in the... Read More

Karen is a native and citizen of the Philippines.  On June 15, 1996, upon the petition of her United States citizen (USC) fiancé, Jeffrey, a K-1 nonimmigrant visa was issued in Karen’s favor.  She entered the United States on December 4, 1996.  Karen was advised by the consular office in Manila that a K-1 visa was issued for the sole purpose of facilitating a valid marriage between a foreign national and a USC and that marriage must take place within ninety days of... Read More