What we handle
Green cards through family and through employment, in the United States and at consulates abroad.
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Petitions for relatives
Form I-130 for spouses and children of U.S. citizens, parents and siblings of adult citizens, and spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents.
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Adjustment of status
Form I-485 for people already in the United States, with work and travel permits while the case is pending.
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Consular processing
Immigrant visas through the National Visa Center and a U.S. consulate abroad.
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Affidavits of support
Form I-864, including joint sponsors when the petitioner’s income is not enough on its own.
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Employment-based cases
The green card that follows a PERM certification or an EB-1 or national interest waiver petition.
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Waivers of inadmissibility
Waivers for past immigration violations and other grounds that would otherwise bar a green card.
How the process works
Five steps for most cases. The wait between them depends on the category and the applicant’s country.
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Confirm the category
Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens, and parents of citizens 21 or older, are immediate relatives, with no annual limit. Other relatives and most employment cases fall in preference categories that have one.
Who: you and the attorney
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File the petition
A relative files Form I-130, or an employer files Form I-140. The filing date usually becomes the priority date. After PERM, it is the date the labor certification was filed.
Who: the firm files for the sponsor
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Wait for a visa number
In preference categories, the priority date must be current in the Visa Bulletin before the next step. Immediate relatives skip this wait.
Who: the Department of State publishes the dates monthly
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Apply for the green card
In the United States, the applicant files Form I-485 if eligible to adjust status. Abroad, the case goes to the National Visa Center and then a consulate.
Who: the firm prepares the application with you
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Medical exam, interview and decision
The applicant has a medical exam with an approved doctor and attends an interview. An attorney goes with you to interviews in the United States.
Who: USCIS or the consulate decides
Adjustment of status or consular processing
The same green card, applied for in one of two places. Eligibility decides more often than preference.
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In the U.S.
Adjustment of status
For people in the United States who entered lawfully and remain eligible. They can usually stay, and apply for work and travel permits, while the case is pending.
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Abroad
Consular processing
For people outside the United States, or not eligible to adjust. The interview is at a U.S. consulate, and the green card arrives after entry.
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Waiver first
Provisional unlawful presence waiver
For some relatives who must leave the United States to process abroad. The waiver is decided before departure, so the time away is shorter.
Representative matters
A few recent green card matters, described without client names.
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Spouse
Adjustment of status for the wife of a U.S. citizen after an earlier petition by a former employer was withdrawn.
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Parents
Immigrant visas for the parents of a naturalized citizen, processed at a consulate in Eastern Europe.
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Waiver
Approved provisional waiver for the husband of a U.S. citizen, who then completed his interview abroad and returned.
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Employment
Green cards for a research scientist and her family after an employer’s PERM certification and I-140 approval.
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.
Common questions
Can I work while my green card case is pending?
If you file Form I-485 in the United States, you can apply for a work permit with it. Abroad, you wait for the immigrant visa.
Can I travel while my case is pending?
Leaving the United States without advance parole can abandon a pending I-485. We file for advance parole with the application when travel may be needed.
What happens if we married less than two years ago?
The green card is conditional for two years. You then file to remove the conditions in the 90 days before it expires.