Knowledge and Professional Experience

Adjustment of Status

1. Things to Consider

   • Adjustment of status allows you to change status from a temporary visa holder to a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) without ever needing to leave the United States.
   • This process can be done through a family-based-petition, an employment petition, refugee or asylee status, being a Cuban national or spouse or child of a Cuban national, or other circumstances.
   • While your application is pending, you can be granted employment authorization and sometimes permission to travel outside of the United States with advanced parole.
   • Obtaining your permanent residency will allow you to remain in the United States legally, work indefinitely, and bring family members to the United States.
   • You do not lose your status as a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) of the United States by the mere fact that your green card has expired. However, you will need to replace your green card to have valid evidence of your status. It is important to have valid evidence of status for work and travel purposes and other benefits incident to LPR status.
   • Most Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) can apply for US Citizenship after 5 years (3 years if he or she is married to a United States citizen) if you have successfully maintained your LPR/ green card status and meet other eligibility requirements.

2. How We Can Help

   • At The Law Office of Tanya Fekri we have the experience and knowledge in preparing these applications and supporting documentation to ensure that all requirements are met and to ensure that the process goes as well as possible for you and your family members.
   • Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and we will answer your questions and guide you through the adjustment of status process. Call 425-240-8643 or fill out our contact form on this page.

I-130 Petition for Alien Relatives

1. Things to Consider

   • A U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder) of the United States may apply for his or her family members who are residing overseas. The first step in this process is to file the I-130 Petition with USCIS.
   • The time it will take to complete the process varies depending on the relationship (i.e. parent, child, spouse, siblings) and the petitioner’s status (US Citizen or permanent resident).
   • The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) does not limit the number of immediate relative “green cards” that are issued each year and the processing time is not subject to a numerical limitation. Therefore, the wait time for an immediate family-based-petition is generally between 6 months to one year. Under the INA, immediate relatives are defined as:
     • Spouses of U.S. Citizens
     • Parents of U.S. Citizens
     • Unmarried Sons and Daughters (under 21 years of age) of U.S. Citizens
   • The INA, however, does limit the number of family based “green cards” that are issued each year to relatives other than “immediate relatives” based on a preference category. These family petitions are subject to visa quotas based on their preference category and the wait time can be years. There are four family preference categories listed below:
     • Family Preference Category 1
       • Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years or older) of U.S. Citizens
     • Family Preference Category 2
       • A. Spouses and Children (under 21 years) of Permanent Residents
       • B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years or older) of Permanent Residents
     • Family Preference Category 3
       • Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
     • Family Preference Category 4
       • Brothers and Sisters of U.S. Citizens

2. How We Can Help

   • The immigrant visa process is long and time-consuming and we recommend seeking an experience immigration attorney.
   • At The Law Office of Tanya Fekri we have handled all kinds of family-based petitions and are equipped and ready to learn more about your case.
   • Call us today to make an appointment and we will guide you through each step with the goal of reunifying families as quickly as possible. Call 425-240-8643 or fill out our contact form on this page.

Consular Processing for Permanent Residency

1. Things to Consider

   • Family members who reside outside the United States or who are ineligible for adjustment of status (i.e. entered the United States without inspection) will need to apply for an immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate in their country. This pathway is called consular processing.
   • Once the I-130 petition is approved by the USCIS, it is forwarded to the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC).
   • The NVC requires your family member (and any children) complete an online immigrant visa application and file an affidavit of support along with required civil supporting documentation.
   • Once the NVC reviews the immigrant visa application, affidavit of support and documentation and the background check is complete and the results are satisfactory, the NVC forwards the petition and file to the United States consulate nearest to your family member’s foreign residence or the consulate that has jurisdiction of the case.
   • The United States consulate conducts an immigrant visa interview and issues a visa allowing your family member to legally enter the United States. Upon issuance of the immigrant visa, your family member must enter the United States within 6 months.
   • After your family member enters the United States, he or she will receive his or her green card within 1-4 months allowing them to live permanently in the United States.

2. How We Can Help

   • Our firm is well-versed in handling the complexities of the immigrant visa process as it affects most of our clients.
   • The Law Office of Tanya Fekri can efficiently guide you through each step of the process. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and we will assist you in reuniting with your family in the U.S. as quickly as possible, as we have been able to do for many of our clients in the past.
   • Call 425-240-8643 or fill out our contact form on this page.

I-601A Provisional Waiver

1. Things to Consider

   • If you have been “unlawfully present” in the United States for over 6 months (i.e. 180 days), and depart the United States, you are banned from entering the U.S. for three years from the date of your departure. If you leave the United States after having been “unlawfully present” for over 12 months (i.e. 365 days), then you are ineligible to re-enter for ten years starting from the date of your departure.
   • The I-601A waiver affects those immigrants who would be subject to the 3-year or 10-year bar due to being unlawfully present in the U.S, and waives the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility while in the United States.
   • In order to gain an approval of an I-601A waiver application, the applicant must show that if he/she were forced to return to their home country and if the applicant’s immediate family (spouse, parents, children) were to move with the immigrant to his/her home country, that his/her U.S. citizen or LPR spouse or parent would suffer “extreme hardship.”
   • The term “extreme hardship” is not specifically defined in the INA; hence, the term has been subjectively interpreted. USCIS considers several common factors in deciding whether “extreme hardship” exists. These factors include:
     • Physical and mental health disorders of the U.S. Citizen or LPR’s immediate relatives (the immigrant is needed in the U.S. to care for the U.S. citizen’s husband’s cancer treatment or severe depression and anxiety)
     • Educational issues and lack of opportunity to the U.S. citizen children (e.g. the US citizen Autistic child cannot access special education classes and would suffer if moved to another country)
     • Family ties in the U.S. (e.g. majority of the immigrant’s family are legally present in the U.S.)
     • Economic concerns (e.g. the family would suffer a significant decline in standard of living, the U.S. citizen spouse would not be able to support himself/ herself in the immigrant’s home country, and the U.S. citizen spouse would not be able to support him/herself in the U.S. without the immigrant spouse).
     • Other considerations: U.S. citizen spouse would be ostracized due to social, religious, or gender discrimination, and language barriers would hinder U.S. citizen spouse’s ability to prosper. Also, your U.S. Citizen spouse would be persecuted while overseas.

2. How We Can Help

   • At The Law Office of Tanya Fekri we can provide you assistance with obtaining a provisional waiver for unlawful presence (I-601A).
   • Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and we will answer your questions and guide you through the provisional waiver process. Call 425-240-8643 or fill out our contact form on this page.

I-751 Petitions to Remove Conditions

1. Things to Consider

   • When an individual applies for a green card through a marriage that is less than two-years old, he or she is granted conditional residency for a period of two years.
   • The immigrant spouse must apply for removal of conditions 90 days prior to the expiration of his or her conditional status of residency.
   • To apply for removal of these conditions, immigrant spouses must file joint petitions with their US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse and prove the ongoing and good faith nature of their marriage.
   • Under certain circumstances, the immigrant spouse may file a waiver of the joint filing requirement. The basis for the waiver can be divorce or abuse.
   • It is imperative for the immigrant spouse to apply for removal of the conditions to avoid loss of residency and to be eligible to later apply for U.S. Citizenship.

2. How We Can Help

   • At The Law Office of Tanya Fekri we can assist you in preparing and filing your petition to remove your conditional residency and/or apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement.
   • Contact our office today to schedule a consultation regarding the removal of conditions process. Call 425-240-8643 or fill out our contact form on this page.

K-1 Fiancé Visa

1. Things to Consider

   • If a U.S. Citizen is engaged to marry his or her foreign fiancé, the U.S. Citizen can petition the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a K-1 fiancé visa.
   • The foreign fiancé must marry his or her U.S. Citizen fiancé within 90 days of his or her arrival in the United States.
   • If the foreign fiancé marries his or her U.S. Citizen fiancé within that timeframe, he or she may remain in the United States and later file a separate application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder).
   • A foreign fiancé may be eligible for the K-1 Fiancé Visa if:
     • The foreign fiancé is engaged to a U.S. Citizen (not an LPR);
     • Both the foreign and U.S. Citizen fiancé are legally eligible to marry (all previous marriages have been terminated);
     • The foreign fiancé has a genuine intent to marry his or her U.S. fiancé upon arrival to the United States; and
     • Both the foreign and U.S. Citizen fiancé have met in person within the past two years.

2. How We Can Help

   • The fiancé visa process is complicated and time consuming.
   • At The Law Office of Tanya Fekri we are well versed in the complexities of this process and we can help guide you through each step of the process.
   • Contact our office today to schedule a consultation regarding the fiancé visa process. Call 425-240-8643 or fill out our contact form on this page.