Citizenship

Citizenship in USA can be obtained through naturalization or through birth in USA.

Marriage and relocation to the U.S.: Quickest path for the prospective fiancé of a U.S Citizen living in India

Question details

My sister is in India and the prospective groom is a US citizen. They have concerns about how to proceed with marriage and relocation of the girl to US in a timely manner (prefer not to wait more than a year for marriage/ living together post-marriage for personal reasons) Current fiancé visa processing time seems to be 15 months. It was not this long pre-covid, realistically can this processing time reduce this year? If they do marriage in India first, what’s the quickest way for her to come to US and how long would it take She has a valid B1. Can she travel on that to US post-marriage for 5-6 months only without any risk to her green card application? She is trying to get an L1-B visa through her current company. Will that visa approval be affected if they get married in the meanwhile? In short, what is the quickest path for her marriage & relocation to the US right now?

 

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FAQ Transcript

She can travel with a B-1 visa as long as she tells the truth. L-1 and H-1B visas are the quickest paths.

 

Extending Green Card while applying for naturalization

Question details

My concern is about the Applying for Citizenship for myself and spouse, and with our passport and GC expiring criteria.
My GC and my spouse’s GC have a expiration date of Sep-2023
My Indian Passport have expiration date of Jul-2024 and my spouse’s on Mar-2026
I am pretty much ready with all the documents (been working on it for some time) to start our citizenship application by myself, according to the U.S Naturalization website for my region (New Jersey) it shows the processing time as 16 months. And if I apply now, during the processing period my GC will expire.
Is it okay to apply for citizenship now and then around July start my renewal of GC? Are there a process to update GC info after a citizenship application is submitted and is in processing? Would any part of GC numbers change when I get renewed? Or would you suggest that I renew the GC first as soon as I can and then apply for citizenship? If I do this then I will have to renew my Indian Passport as well I think, if there is not enough time.

 

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FAQ Transcript

The situation has changed a couple of months back. Now the government says if you apply for naturalization even in the last month of your green card USCIS will send you a receipt that says your green card is extended for two years. With the receipt, you can work  as well as  travel.

Recording for February 02, 2023 Conference Call with Rajiv S. Khanna

Immigration.com

Citizenship and Naturalization

Discussion Topics, Thursday, February 02, 2023:

FAQ: Criteria for national interest waiver || NIW for physical therapists || Multiple companies applying for H-1B Cap registration - H-1B lottery || Can H-4 visa (no EAD) holders take an unpaid internship? || Can H-4 EAD start a Business in any State? Can a relative's company file H-1B? || H-4 visa dependent children change of status to F-1 before 21 || Filing H-4 and H-1 simultaneously || Status of F-1 once H-4 is approved || Most efficient way to get EAD F-1 or H-4?

US Citizen child living in India applying for parents' green card at the age of 21

Question details

My cousin’s family relocated to India from the US. They have a US-born daughter who is a US citizen.
Now the daughter wants to come back and study for a bachelor's in the US. Once she turns 21, can she sponsor the Green Card for her parents? If so, I would like to know details about the process and timeline involved.
 

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FAQ Transcript

Once she turns 21 she can definitely apply for you as long as she's domiciled in the United States by the time you go for your Green Card interview at the consulate.

Can too many parking tickets affect Green Card or Citizenship process?

Question details

If someone gets around 50 parking tickets in a year, how would it affect visa / GC / citizenship?

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FAQ Transcript

I think it has no effect. Parking tickets are simply non-moving violations.Either you parked in the wrong place or the meter ran out after you parked.However, there are two components to moving violations. There is recklessness which can become criminal and that could become a major issue by itself or many speeding tickets that are not criminal could lead to a conclusion that you are not a person of good moral character.

USCIS Updates Policy to Automatically Extend Green Cards for Naturalization Applicants

Release Date 

Effective Dec. 12, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to allow USCIS to automatically extend the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (commonly called Green Cards) for lawful permanent residents who have applied for naturalization.

Recording of Sept 15, 2022, Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Immigration.com

Citizenship and Naturalization

Discussion Topics:

FAQ: Was Green Card approved in error? Time taken by the USCIS to respond to an E request for correction, travel?|| Entry into the U.S. using the Advance Parole after green card approval during a trip abroad ||