FAMILY
BASED IMMIGRATION
Historically,
family reunification has been the basis of the principal policy of U.S.
immigration law. Family-based immigration, a tightly regulated system, allows
for close relatives of U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) to
rejoin their families here in America.
Family-based
immigrants are admitted to the U.S. either as immediate
relatives of U.S. citizens or
through the family preference system.
Immediate Relatives are:
Spouses of deceased U.S. citizens (under
certain conditions)
Parents of U.S. citizens (petitioner must
be at least 21 years old)
Persons who qualify as immediate relatives of U.S.
citizens are so highly preferred as candidates for immigration that, unlike
most other candidates, no numerical limitation is placed on the number of
immediate relatives of citizens who may become permanent residents in any one
year.
A person
who marries a citizen can qualify for immigration in this category. The marriage must not be a 'sham,' - that
is, one entered into in order to obtain an immigration benefit. The marriage must be legally entered into -
that is, parties were free to marry, all prior divorces were legal, and the
marriage formalities themselves are recognized as legal in the jurisdiction
where the marriage occurred. The
marriage must still legally exist - the parties cannot be divorced or legally
separated. However, if the parties are
separated, but have not yet entered into a legal separation agreement, it is
still a valid relationship for immigration purposes.
The spouse of a citizen whose marriage was created within
two years prior to being granted permanent
residence is granted
residence on a conditional basis.
He or she is a full permanent resident in all respects - eligibility
for employment, ability to travel freely in and out of the United States,
accumulation of time toward compliance with residence and physical presence
requirements for naturalization as a U.S. citizen. However, that residence is
subject to termination within two years after it is granted, if the marriage
has been terminated by divorce or annulment during that period, or the marriage
turns out to be sham.
Spouses of deceased citizens qualify as immediate
relatives for whom immigration may be sought under some circumstances. In order to qualify, the alien must have
been the spouse of the deceased citizen for at least two years and must not
have been legally separated or divorced at the time of the citizen's
death. The alien spouse must file a
relative immigrant visa petition within two years of the date of death and must not be remarried at that
time. Alien spouses seeking residence
on this basis must use a different form (Form 1-360) than other
family-sponsored immigrants, which they can file themselves. The unmarried minor children of the alien
spouse may be included in the petition as well, under a provision of the
technical corrections bill passed by Congress in October 1994.
The new Immigration Act of 1990 significantly
changed certain aspects of family sponsored immigration in the United States.
The present four family preference categories are as follows:
1.
First Preference :
Unmarried sons and daughters (any age) of U.S.citizens
2.
Second Preference :
Spouses, unmarried sons & daughters of LPRs
3.
Third Preference :
Married sons & daughters of U.S. citizens
4.
Fourth Preference :
Brothers & sisters of U.S. citizens
Unused
visas (if any) from higher preference categories may be allocated to lower
categories.
The
new Act also allows 75% of these visas to be distributed without regard to
individual country quotas.
v Bringing my spouse to live in the U.S.
v Bringing my children to live in the U.S.
v Bringing my parents to live in the U.S.
v Bringing my Brother/sister to live in the U.S.
The
information in this article is of a general nature and may not apply to any
specific or particular circumstance. It is not to be construed as legal advice
and does not establish an attorney-client relationship between The Law Offices
of S Nallaseth Cyrus and the viewer.