Bringing a spouse to the United States and helping that person become a citizen isn’t as easy or as straightforward as one might think. You don’t get a green card just because you’re getting married, or you plan to.Here’s what you need to know. You might need to plan on staying in your home country for awhile. Believe it or not, it may be a lot easier to get married in your home country. From there, you can apply for an immigrant visa. It may be a bit of a wait, but it will also allow you to establish married life if you and your spouse stay together during this period. It will also prevent you from attempting to set up a new life in the United States only to see it all fall down if your visa isn’t accepted. You will have to fill out the appropriate forms, pass a background check, pass a medical exam, and make it through an interview at the consulate. It’s important to note that you can bring your spouse but you can’t bring an attorney. All of your prep work will have to be done with your attorney before you start the interview. If you absolutely must come to the United States prior to getting your immigrant visa you can use a K-3 visa. You will then receive an adjustment of status should your immigration visa receive approval. One advantage to the K-3 is you can bring an attorney to a K-3 interview. Coming into the states as a fiance is possible, but there are no guarantees. If you want to get married in the United States you’ll need a K-1 visa. You must be able to prove you and your spouse met in person within the past two years, and you must get married within 90 days of receiving the visa. Once you’re married, you’ll then submit an application to adjust your status. If the application is approved you’ll receive a 2-year conditional green card. After the 2 years is up you’ll need to apply to have the conditions removed. This is a step that USCIS takes to reduce the number of fraudulent green card applications. Green card interviews are getting tougher. At your green card interview you can expect to be asked everything from whether your spouse has a tattoo to what your bedroom looks like. You must be prepared for the fact that the immigration official might choose to conduct a thorough investigation, right down to interviewing your neighbors. Keep in mind the immigration officer is going to start with the assumption that the marriage is fraudulent. Don’t let this make you nervous, but do be prepared for the attitude. Note that answering every question perfectly doesn’t guarantee anything. Officials are looking for a reason to deny your application, not to approve it. You need an attorney. You’ll increase your chances of success by submitting a solid application packet, something you have a much better chance of accomplishing with the help of an attorney. Your attorney can also help you anticipate problems before they arise, and navigate them. With persistence, luck, and a commitment to following the procedure to the letter, your love story can have a happy ending here in the United States. See also: Health Insurance Now a Requirement for Family-Based Immigration 4 Steps to a Smoother Immigration Process What is Family Immigration and Who is Eligible?

  Last month, the Trump Administration launched a policy which prevented visa applicants from entering the country unless they could prove they had adequate health coverage. Under the policy, immigrants had to secure a policy, then share details of the policy and coverage dates with immigration officers. They could waive the insurance requirements if they could prove they had “enough money to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs.” The policy did not offer any guidance as to what amount of money would qualify. Immigrants who tried to meet the new standard found it nearly impossible to do so. Even immigrants who could afford policies swiftly found most health insurers wouldn’t work with them because they didn’t have a social security policy. The Trump Administration proclamation allowed immigrants to take advantage of short-term insurance policies, but none of the available short-term policies would cover them long enough to allow them to meet the standard. In other words, all but the wealthiest of immigrants found themselves caught in a catch-22 that would have prevented them from entering the country.  Advocacy groups launched a class-action suit almost immediately. They filed the suit in Oregon. There, US District Judge Michael Simon issued a nationwide preliminary injunction which prevents the Trump Administration from enforcing this policy. The court battles aren’t finished yet, but they will not be able to enact the policy until the matter is settled. Simon’s ruling stated that this policy was something that Congress would have to vote into law. The ruling also said it conflicted with existing immigration law, namely the Immigration and Naturalization Act, and that the president had failed to provide adequate justification for the policy.  The policy would have impacted nearly 400,000 visa applicants, some 60% of those applying for the right to live in the United States as a lawful permanent resident.  Current Immigration law already prevents lawful permanent residents from using Medicaid, though they are allowed to use the subsidies offered by the Affordable Care Act. Asylum seekers and refugees are currently allowed to use Medicaid. What should your next steps be?  This is an excellent opportunity to try to move forward with your application. It will take some time for this to work through the courts. There’s no telling what will happen in the future. It may go all the way to the Supreme Court, who may overturn the policy or uphold it. In the meantime, you have some time to contact your immigration lawyer. Use the time to try to get your application approved under current laws, so you won’t have to worry about impossible health care standards.  

If you’re a legal resident of the United States who is trying to bring family members over with you, a recent policy is going to present some hurdles. On November 3, 2019 a bill goes into effect which requires prospective immigrants to prove they will have U.S.-based health insurance within 30 days. The law also allows for immigrants to come into the country if they can prove they have enough money to pay for “reasonably foreseeable medical costs,” a term which remains undefined in the policy. The lack of definition is a source of confusion and distress for those who might actually be able to meet the financial requirement. The Trump Administration has made it clear they are using this policy to limit family-based immigration, and so far it’s a pretty effective limiting factor. Health insurance is exorbitantly expensive for almost anyone who doesn’t have an employer-sponsored plan, and the Trump Administration has disallowed the use of the Affordable Care Act subsidies that make health insurance even remotely feasible for many households. The policy also prevents immigrants from using Medicaid to meet the requirement. You can use temporary or short-term insurance, but it has to cover you for 364 days. Immigrants face other hurdles. For example, many U.S. based insurers refuse to issue a policy to anyone who doesn’t have a SSN, though Kaiser-Permanente has issued a statement saying they do (and is educating front-line employees about this). Some employer-sponsored health plans may work if the working, legal family member can cover incoming family members. There are two strategies you can adopt to try to work around the provision. The first is buying time. You can do that by rescheduling your visa interview.  Time may bring one of three remedies: “Reasonably foreseeable” may get defined, which means you may be able to proceed if you can meet the standard with cash. The United States District Court may overturn Trump’s decision. Seven people and one non-profit have already filed a suit in the District of Oregon, so this is entirely possible. Extra time might help you locate health insurance that will meet the requirements. The second is to work closely with your immigration attorney. You may be able to join your loved ones in this country if you can qualify under visa types which are not bound by this policy. There’s a pretty big list: H-1B visa holders. International students. Unaccompanied children. Asylum seekers and refugees. Children of US citizens. Visitor and tourist visas. If you already got your family immigration visa prior to November 3rd, you’re safe for now. You will not have to retroactively meet the requirement.

The H-4 Visa is a dependent’s visa designed for children under the age of 21. Typically, this visa would be issued to a child whose parent is on the H-1B work visa.  As your child ages it’s important to plan ahead. When your child turns 21, he or she will need the F-1 visa instead in order to remain in the country. This will allow him or her to go to college and will prevent a situation in which your children have to return to a country with which they are unfamiliar. Children born directly in the United States are currently given automatic citizenship. The Trump Administration wishes to end the practice, but as of right now this is true. If this describes your child, you don’t have anything to worry about. If it does not, you’ll need a plan. There are long waiting periods for F-1 visas. The waiting periods can be longer or shorter depending on the country in question, but they are nevertheless difficult to navigate and problematic for kids. This has been an especially tricky issue for Chinese and Indian children.  Students should also consider their visa status in their career planning. Even if they are successful at getting an F-1 visa they will have to obtain an H-1B visa later if they themselves wish to live and work in the United States. The other option is to file a request for a green card. Unfortunately, there is a green card backlog as well. It’s wise to have an immigration lawyer review all of your child’s paperwork before they proceed. Reasons for requesting the visa that seem sensible to the average person do not necessarily seem sensible to USCIS. For example, “no ties to the home country” is not an argument that is likely to succeed. It’s important to remember that in the current climate, USCIS is looking for reasons to deny visas rather than to grant them. Instead, you need to be prepared to meet a request for evidence in a way that might succeed. This can often mean providing the government with extensive documentation. The language in RFEs is often vague, making it unlikely you will be able to decipher what the government wants on your own.  There is hope. The House of Representatives recently passed the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants bill. This bill would phase out per-country limits on employment-based visas. The Senate has not passed the bill yet. Immigrants would then receive green cards on a first-come, first-served basis. Which is all the more reason to plan ahead, and to start early.  See also: 4 Steps to a Smoother Immigration Process Student Visa Policies Tougher Than Ever An Ongoing Conversation: Will There Be Changes to Popular Employment Visa, H-1B?

In the past, immigrants with serious medical conditions could request a deferral of deportation. But this month, USCIS has started sending out letters which has informed many ill immigrants that they will no longer consider deferred action requests under the medical deferred action program. ICE is now in charge of making these decisions, but USCIS has not been publishing this fact in their denial letters. The Trump administration failed to formally or publicly announce the change. This change affects both pending applications and new ones. It affects both renewals and new applications. The program allows individuals to remain in the United States for two year periods if they can prove they have an extreme medical need. Most of the immigrants who ask to take advantage of this program came in legally, and need help because their visas have expired or are expiring. The move is alarming because ICE is primarily tasked with removing immigrants. The USCIS letters demand that immigrants leave the country in 33 days. If you’ve received one you’ll want to contact your immigration attorney immediately. You don’t have much time to find a different legal way to stay in the country, or to convince ICE to let you stay. This program does not provide a path to citizenship. Ideally, if you or a member of your family need lifesaving medical care, it may be optimal to get you accepted on a status that does. The medical deferred action program was always a long shot, and many immigration activists are convinced this is a round-about way of ending the program. Our office routinely handles removal defense cases, and we may also be able to protect your ability to remain in the United States through other removal defense methods, such as the standard Non-Legal Permanent Resident Cancellation of Removal, if you happen to qualify. It may also be possible to negotiate the termination of removal proceedings via prosecutorial discretion, which would then buy some time to find another way to keep you and your family in the country while you navigate these serious medical problems. Don’t give up hope, and don’t try to go it alone. Retaining an experienced immigration attorney can give you options where none seem to exist. See also: What Are the Grounds for Cancellation of Removal? What is Family Immigration and Who is Eligible? Your Visa Renewal: What Steps Are Required to Continue Working in the US?