Issues With Immediate Relative Visas in Maryland
One of the roadblocks that a family may face when legalizing the stay of an immediate relative is the individual’s status at the time they will be applying. If they have overstayed a status, that may need to be addressed or if they have entered on a status that does not allow them to apply for a Green Card. For instance, some J-Visa holders are subject to foreign residency requirements, meaning that they have to go home for two years before they can come back and apply for a Green Card. It is important to be aware of all the potential issues that may arise when applying for an Immediate Relative Visa.
Another major roadblock that a lot of people run into is the beneficiary’s criminal or immigration past. If the individual has a prior deportation or has applied for some other status and has been denied for some reason, it will need to be addressed with an experienced Maryland family immigration attorney.
Another roadblock that may arise is if the individual has a criminal history. At some point that may cause a problem for them when they are applying for a Green Card.
Common Reasons for Visa Denial
The most common reason a person will not be issued an Immediate Relative Visa is that the individual has some sort of criminal record that will bar them from receiving a Green Card. The criminal history could either be from crimes committed within the United States or in a foreign country.
Another very common reason a person is denied a visa is that they have some sort of prior immigration record that makes them ineligible. Maybe they entered without permission or were in immigration proceedings at some time, but failed to depart. Finally, an application can be denied because an individual was in some sort of status that precluded them from receiving a Green Card, for instance, a J-Visa that was subject to a foreign residency requirement with which they didn’t comply.
Important Precautions
If the person applying for an immediate relative visa has any kind of atypical case then they should consult with an attorney before filing an application. The first precaution is just to make sure to have competent legal advice when moving forward with this type of application.
The other precaution is to make sure that the petitioner, the legally permanent resident, is truly aware of the beneficiary’s entire history. In some cases the petitioner says, “No, this person doesn’t have any criminal record” and it turns out that the beneficiary maybe hasn’t disclosed this information to the petitioner. It is important to have complete knowledge of their entire criminal and immigration history before applying.
Finally, the aplicant and resident should also want to make sure that they will be able to demonstrate their immediate familial relationship with documentary evidence. This is more of a concern when applying for a spouse. Sometimes people can be married, have a marriage certificate and think that is all it takes, and that is not true. They need to have other evidence proving they are co-habituating and have a bona fide marriage in place at the time of filing.
Common Mistakes
One common mistake in spouse-based petitions is that people fail to realize that they do need to submit a significant amount of documentation evidence to demonstrate their bona fide relationship and that a marriage certificate is not enough. Lots of people just fill out the forms, send in a copy of their passport and birth certificate, and expect them to be approved. They won’t be approved without more evidence that the relationship is valid and was not entered into for immigration purposes. A big mistake is that a marriage certificate is simply not enough proof.
Another common mistake people make is that they think that the fact that they are married to a citizen automatically makes them eligible for Green Card themselves, and they don’t think about their own prior immigration history and what kind of obstacles that can present.
Finally, another big problem that people run into is not completing the forms correctly. Having errors in the application or in the documentary evidence can cause delays or even result in a denial. An individual can always reapply if their case has been denied based on improper filing or errors on the application, but in many cases they won’t be refunded for the rather significant filing fee.