National Security Issues Delay Green Card

Many times, an individual applying for asylum in the USA, may have been a member of a political action group abroad. While such individuals may get asylum in the USA and be permitted to live here, how do they get a green card?

Once an individual has lived as an asylee/refugee in the USA for at least one year, they may apply for a green card. In order to get a green card, they must pass certain background checks. Interestingly, the same membership in a political action group that warranted their getting asylum, can now cause them to have problems in getting a green card.

Our office recently handled a case for a man from the nation of Cameroon. He was a member of a rebel group seeking democratic changes. Unfortunately, the USA government had his rebel group on a list of terrorist organizations. This caused a huge delay when he tried to get a green card. In fact, such delays are a nationwide problem.

In my client’s case, he waited over 6 years before seeking help from my office. The immigration service now has a special officer in most cities, who is in charge of national security cases like this. The special officer will conduct the interview and then do a report to a supervisor and legal counsel, and that team will decide if the individual gets a green card or is denied for national security reasons. This process can take years.

Some proven ways to dislodge a delayed green card case in thus situation is to enlist the help of a Congressman, or hire an attorney, or file a lawsuit to compel action. In the case of our client from Cameroon, he just recently received his green card, about 7 months after he hired our law firm.

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Bruce Coane is a leading lawyer with 30 years of experience in the field of immigration law and employment law. He may be reached via email at houstonlaw@aol.com or his website at Coane and Associates.

Green Cards come faster for spouses and unmarried children of Green Card Holders

There has always been an immigration quota for spouses and unmarried children of green card holders, to immigrate to the USA. That quota typically took 3-7 years before being able to get a green card, thereby keeping many families separated from one another.

Just recently,in the late-summer of 2010, that green card quota has surged ahead so that instead of waiting 3-7 years, these individuals only need to wait about 5 months.

In past years, the spouse of a green card holder would not even have a case filed, rather they would wait five years until the green card holding spouse became a USA citizen, before filing a case. That strategy no longer makes sense with a quota that takes only 5 months. As a result, our office has been filing many of these “2a preference cases,” in order to allow families to legally immigrate and be together again.

The green card sponsor, such as the parent sponsoring unmarried children, does not even need to be in the USA to file the case. The entire visa petition process is all done by mail.

Client Gets Green Card Back from Immigration After Airport Incident

Our client from Thailand, received a new green card today, after fighting for 2 years to get it back.

What happened? It turns out she had been arrested for a couple of misdemeanors. Those arrests made it into the airport computers for customs and border protection. When she took a trip abroad and was returning to the USA, she was detained when passing through immigration, and they took away her green card. They still allowed her to enter the country.

Since that time, more than two years ago, she has been trying to get back her green card, all to no avail. Finally, with our law firm’s efforts, using various forms and inquiries, she received a brand new green card in the mail today.

This case presents a very common scenario. The government’s computers at the airport have been loaded with all sorts of criminal databases. If they detect an arrest of a non-citizen, they will often seize the green card and put the person in immigration court proceedings. It is important to remember, however, that the immigrant is entitled to proof of status and there are various ways to try to get such proof, and to get the green card back.

Green Card Seized at Airport

Our client’s green card was seized by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after she tried to re-enter the USA after a short trip abroad.

The DHS now has most USA criminal records in the database at the airports. They even have criminal records from certain foreign countries, like Canada, etc.

If the DHS believes the crime could make the person subject to deportation, they often seize the green card at the airport. Such a person, like our client, is then left with no proof of legal status.

In our client’s case, we tried unsuccessfully to get the green card returned, and finally, today, the DHS office in New Orleans, stamped her passport with proof of legal status.

Obtaining that stamp was no simple task because it requires the filing of form I-90, which is normally used to replace a lost or stolen passport. In this case it was neither lost nor stolen, and it took great effort to get DHS to accept the form. And, without proof that the form was filed, DHS was refusing to stamp the passport with proof of green card status. Now that she has proof again, our client can travel abroad, renew her driver’s license, and work legally.