A Complicated Matter: Marriage and Adjustment, Part II
This is the second installment of Mr. Carrico’s email conversation with Anne about her marriage quandary. Dear Mr. Carrico, Thank you for answering my email. I am glad you think I can win my case. But I am still worried. What happens to me if the judge does not let me wait while I get [...]
A Complicated Matter: Marriage and Adjustment, Part I
A potential client contacted Mr. Carrico a year ago with a very complicated question and asked for his help. Below is an email exchange between Mr. Carrico and Anne. Dear Mr. Carrico, I am from Philippines and have been in U.S. for about 2 years. I came here on a 6-month tourist visa. I just [...]
The Attorney Discusses Marriage Visas
Today we bring you an email exchange between Attorney John Carrico and a reader of our blog. The reader wrote in with concerns about a marriage visa. Dear Mr. Carrico, I saw your blog from earlier this week and was made very sad by the article about the woman from Japan. This poor woman fell [...]
Married to a U.S. Marine, but not Recognized by the U.S. State Department
Current immigration policy affects a great number of foreign nationals who wish to come to the United States for a wide variety of reasons. But as some recent journalism has shown, access to the country is sometimes restricted in strange, unyielding ways. A recent editorial from the New York Times advocates an end to “ideological [...]
For Some Detainees, Immigration Reform Can’t Wait
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants have waited since 2000 for a new wave of immigration reforms, hoping that change will offer them a path to legalization or even amnesty. But for many immigrants detained in federal detention centers, immediate conditions are more pressing than comprehensive reform. As the Obama Administration has begun to examine [...]
H1-B Visas and Immigrants in the School System
Programs like Teach for America recruit talented college graduates and challenge them to serve in the nation’s struggling schools to help them improve. But the program—both very challenging and low-paying—has a high rate of turnover, and in the face of a global recession the program alone has not been able to meet all the nation’s [...]
Scapegoats, Illegal Immigrants, and the Costs of Politicking
Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-SC) verbal assault during President Obama’s speech to Congress is just a preview of things to come when immigration reform takes center stage later this year. As mentioned in a post last week, the conservative Right Wing frequently uses undocumented immigrants as scapegoats for domestic problems, seldom with any basis in fact [...]
Registry: Another Approach to Immigration Reform
There are two major elements of the immigration issue that must be addressed: (1) regulations for future immigration (legal and unlawful) and (2) treatment of current undocumented immigrants. The latter issue is the thornier one—with critics blaming everything from the sub-prime fiasco to the outbreak of swine flu on illegal immigrants, no politician wants to [...]
Successful I-485 Adjustment of Status (Green Card) Secures Nevada Family’s Future
“Elsa” is 39 and came to the U.S. as a permanent resident. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006, divorced her husband in 2007 and met “Santos” shortly afterward in Reno, Nevada. “Santos,” 35, visited the U.S. twice on a visitor visa, returning both times before the visas expired. On his third visit he [...]