Here's 5 Tips for Your Green Card Application
Your life problems don’t face you one by one as you expect. Rather, they lunge at you out of the blue, and you have to get rid of a tangled mess like playing whack-a-mole. If you are under a Green Card application, you may be experiencing this chaos. It is already a handful to get through a Green Card application itself, but things get more complicated as other issues are intermingled together. That’s what we focus on in this article. We have picked up 5 tips for Green Card applications, especially when you have to juggle multiple life issues at once.
1. Do not submit Form I-485 within 90 days of arrival to the U.S. if you are a non-immigrant visa holder.
Most non-immigrant visas such as B-1, B-2, TN, and F-1 imply “single intent”. In other words, those visa holders are assumed to stay in the U.S. temporarily, as opposed to having “dual intent” to settle in permanently as well. Otherwise, USCIS will get suspicious if they adjust their status to, for example, lawful permanent residence right after entering the U.S. That is why USCIS introduced the “90-day rule”. The rule says that temporary visa holders who marry or apply for a Green Card within 90 days of arriving in the U. S. are automatically presumed to have misrepresented their original intentions. Although you will have a chance to convince USCIS that your original intent was genuine, it is more safe to wait until 90 days passed before applying for a Green Card.
2. Do not leave the U.S. in the midst of your Adjustment of Status until you get a travel permit.
Generally, if you have a pending Form I-485 and you leave the U.S. without an advance parole document, you will have abandoned your application. Unless your application is underway outside the U.S., apply for Form-131 for a travel document and feel free to travel outside. Check more information here.
3. Combo Card application is free when you apply with Form I-485.
Combo Card combines an Employment Authorization Document with Advance Parole permission allowing you to travel and return to the U.S. without abandoning your Green Card application in progress. One of the biggest benefits is that you don’t have to submit each application separately and carry two cards with you anymore. Why don’t you submit both Form I-765 for EAD and I-131 for a travel permit when you adjust your status in the U.S.?
4. Your main sponsor can’t meet the minimum income requirement? Look for a joint sponsor.
During your marriage-based Green Card application, the minimum income that your sponsor provides is one of the primary requirements to get over. If you find it hard to satisfy the requirement, you should consider adding a joint sponsor. Even if the main sponsor has sufficient income and financial assets, she may not be able to provide such documentation to prove her income. The joint sponsor must also file a Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, just as the main sponsor will be required to do so.
5. Report your address change to USCIS as soon as possible, if your Green Card application is still pending.
Your journey doesn’t always go as planned, and sometimes you need to move and settle in a new place within a short amount of time. If your address has changed when your Green Card application is pending, you should report your new address to USCIS online, by phone, or mail. If you have already received a Green Card, you should report the change within 10 days of changing your address.
Green card application can be complicated not just because its long process and unpredictability are inevitable, but also because it often accompanies other matters that we just mentioned above. Lawfully can help you go through a complex immigration process as well as a Green Card application. Download Lawfully case tracker app now and track your multiple cases at your fingertips!
