IMMIGRANT VISAS
Immigrant Visas
An immigrant visa is used by a foreign national who intends to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The appropriate process depends on the legal basis for permanent residence, the applicant’s family or employment relationship, visa availability, admissibility, and whether the final application will be completed in the United States or through a U.S. consulate abroad.
Mark Weiner Law has represented individuals, families, employers, professionals, executives, investors, and other intending immigrants in permanent residence matters since 1989. The firm focuses on identifying the correct immigrant classification, developing the supporting evidence, anticipating admissibility or procedural issues, and coordinating the case through the appropriate USCIS or consular process.
Family-Based Immigration
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents may petition for certain qualifying family members. The available category, waiting period, and procedure depend on the petitioner’s status and the family relationship.
Spouses of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents
Parents of U.S. citizens, when the U.S. citizen petitioner is at least 21 years old
Unmarried children and adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents
Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, when the petitioner is at least 21 years old
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not subject to the numerical preference limits that apply to the family-preference categories. Other family-based cases may require waiting for a priority date to become current before permanent residence can be completed.
Employment-Based Immigration
U.S. immigration law also provides several employment-based paths to permanent residence. These classifications are divided into preference categories and may involve employer sponsorship, labor certification, or, in certain classifications, self-petitioning or waiver of the job-offer requirement.
EB-1 priority workers, including persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational managers and executives
EB-2 professionals holding advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability, including National Interest Waiver cases where the statutory requirements are met
EB-3 professionals, skilled workers, and other workers
EB-4 certain special immigrants
EB-5 immigrant investors
The requirements are different for each category. Some cases require a permanent job offer and Department of Labor certification, while others do not. The legal strategy must therefore begin with the particular immigrant classification rather than with a generalized assumption that every employment-based case follows the same process.
Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing
After the immigrant petition stage, permanent residence is generally completed in one of two ways. A person who is eligible to apply from inside the United States may file for adjustment of status with USCIS. A person completing the process abroad generally proceeds through the National Visa Center and a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
The choice is not simply a matter of preference. Eligibility for adjustment of status can depend on the manner of entry, maintenance of status, the immigrant category, statutory exceptions, and other facts. Consular processing presents its own documentary, procedural, and admissibility issues. These questions should be evaluated before filing.
Priority Dates and Visa Availability
Many family-preference and employment-based immigrant categories are subject to annual numerical limitations. The priority date determines a person’s place in line, and the Department of State Visa Bulletin determines when a visa number is available for the applicable category and country of chargeability.
Visa availability can affect when an adjustment application may be filed, when the National Visa Center will move a consular case forward, and when permanent residence can ultimately be granted.
Consular Processing
For applicants completing permanent residence abroad, an approved petition is generally forwarded for immigrant visa processing. The National Visa Center may collect fees, the immigrant visa application, financial sponsorship documents where required, and civil documents before the case is scheduled for an interview at the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Consular cases require careful review before the interview. Prior immigration history, unlawful presence, misrepresentation, criminal history, prior refusals, public charge issues, and other grounds of inadmissibility can materially affect the case. Where a waiver or other remedial strategy may be necessary, that issue should be identified before the applicant appears for the immigrant visa interview.
How Mark Weiner Law Approaches Immigrant Visa Cases
Immigrant visa cases are rarely improved by treating them as a sequence of forms. The first task is to identify the correct legal path, determine whether any procedural or inadmissibility issue may interfere with that path, and build the evidence around the actual requirements of the case.
Mark Weiner personally oversees the legal strategy of each matter. The firm assists with petition preparation, adjustment of status, consular processing, National Visa Center issues, employment-based permanent residence, family-based immigration, and related waiver analysis where applicable. The objective is to present a complete, accurate, and well-supported case while identifying problems before they become filing or interview issues.
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