The I-130 petition is the foundation of this category; our clients use them to file for their relatives. Some of the beneficiaries will be outside the United States waiting; others will be here and seek to “adjust” their status to permanent residence.

A third category are in the United States but ineligible to adjust and will travel to their home countries to pick up their immigrant visas. For further information, please see our waivers section.

At Harris Beach, we have filed thousands of I-130 petitions, observing through the years as USCIS and the former INS have kept some requirements consistent, while changing others.

We have also successfully navigated complex I-130 petitions involving children born out of wedlock, children of extramarital affairs, missing and defective marriage and birth certificates, stepchildren after the marriages terminated and the deaths of petitioners and principal beneficiaries.

Lawful permanent resident status (commonly known as a “green card”) can be obtained through several family-based relationship categories. These categories include: immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen, preference relatives of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or certain accompanying relatives of a preference category beneficiary.

Immediate relatives include spouses of U.S. citizens, unmarried children (under the age of 21) of U.S. citizens, and parents of U.S. citizens at least 21 years of age.

Preference categories for relatives include:

• Family-Based First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age or older) of U.S. citizens.
• Family-Based Second Preference (F2):
  • F-2A: Spouses and children (under age 21) of lawful permanent residents
  • F-2B: Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age or older) of lawful permanent residents
• Family-Based Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
• Family-Based Fourth Preference (F4): Sisters and brothers of adult U.S. citizens

Where the beneficiary of a family-based visa petition is in the United States in a valid visa status, it may be possible for that family member to “adjust” to lawful permanent resident status by applying to USCIS. In the family-based context, this is typically an option for Immediate Relatives of U.S. citizens, for whom there is no backlog of visa availability. For many of the preference categories listed above, however, lengthy backlogs prevent visas from being immediately available. In those cases, it is more common that the immigrating family member will have to obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad, through the “Consular Processing” path described below.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys can assist you and your family in evaluating the available family-based immigration options and determining the optimal path to achieve family unification.

Our attorneys assist in bringing foreign nationals to the United States through Consular Processing, which, in addition to the Adjustment of Status process described above, is the other primary way a foreign national may obtain permanent resident status (an immigrant visa, or “green card”) for family members who are physically located outside the United States, in order to enable them to immigrate to the United States.

“Consular Processing” is the process in which an individual who is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition, and has an immigrant visa number immediately available, applies at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad for an immigrant visa in order to come to the United States and be admitted as a permanent resident.

If your fiancé(e) is not a U.S. citizen, is located overseas and plans to marry you in the United States, then your fiancé(e) may qualify for a K-1 fiancé visa. This process starts with the filing of a petition on Form I-129F with USCIS. After the petition is approved, your fiancé(e) can obtain a K-1 visa at the U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, which he/she may then use to seek entry to the United States for the purpose of getting married. Once your fiancé (e) enters the United States, the marriage must take place within 90 days of entry. Once married, your fiancé(e) would be eligible to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status, based on now being the spouse of a U.S. citizen.

In most cases, U.S. citizenship is the final step in the immigration journey. Harris Beach Murtha attorneys assist individuals in becoming U.S. citizens through the naturalization process. Lawful Permanent Residents are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship after five years of having acquired permanent resident status. This eligibility period/waiting period is reduced to three years if lawful permanent resident status was acquired through marriage to a United States citizen or if on active duty with three years completed service in the U.S. military. U.S. citizenship brings many rights and benefits, including the right to vote in U.S. elections, as well as other tax, employment and other benefits such as automatic or “derived” citizenship for minor children in some cases. Harris Beach Murtha attorneys can assist you in determining your eligibility for naturalization and evaluating whether any obstacles to naturalization may be present in your case.

Entrepreneurs and investors may have several options to stay legally in the United States. Our immigration attorneys assist both employers and interested investors in assessing all visa possibilities. We advise on the benefits and drawbacks of each before making a decision about which options to pursue. Harris Beach Murtha has a depth of experience in the processing of “Treaty Investors” (E-2) and “Treaty Trader” (E-1) visas. We draw on the talents of not only our immigration team, but also our attorneys in the corporate, tax, intellectual property, and other practices, to offer clients a full suite of services relating to the establishment of a new U.S. enterprise or the purchase of an existing business, to establish eligibility for investment-based visa options.

Some J-1 exchange visitors become subject to a two-year home-country residence requirement as a condition of their J-1 program. This provision requires that certain J-1 holders return to their home country for at least two years after the conclusion of the J-1 program. This requirement is part of U.S. law, in the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212(e). If the applicant is unable to return to his/her home country, or wants to remain in the U.S. after completion of the J-1 program, he or she must apply for a waiver. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security must approve the waiver application before the applicant may change status in the United States, receive a visa in certain categories or adjust to permanent resident status.

There are four primary categories of available J-1 waivers:

1. “No Objection” Waiver: Your home country government may issue a No Objection Statement, through its embassy in Washington, D.C., confirming your home government has no objection to you not returning to your home country to satisfy the two-year home-country residence requirement.
2. Request by an Interested Government Agency: If you are working on a project for, or of, interest to a U.S. federal government agency, that agency may request an Interested Government Agency Waiver on your behalf, attesting that your departure for two years would be detrimental to the agency’s objectives. There are several Interested Government Agency waiver options/programs dedicated specifically to foreign physicians, which typically require the physician to work for a set period of time in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Area. In addition to programs administered by a few federal government agencies, foreign physicians may also avail of the Conrad State 30 Program, which involves a request by state public health departments for a waiver on a foreign physician’s behalf, in exchange for agreement by the physician to provide patient care in a medically underserved area within that state for a period of three years.
3. Persecution: Individuals who believe they will be persecuted based on their race, religion or political opinion if they return to their home country may qualify for a waiver on this basis, establishing that they are unable to return to their home country for the required two-year period for safety reasons.
4. Exceptional Hardship to a U.S. citizen (or lawful permanent resident) spouse or child of an exchange visitor: Individuals who have a spouse or child who is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident may qualify for a “hardship” waiver if they can demonstrate that their departure from the United States would cause exceptional hardship to the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or child.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys can assist international medical graduates and other J-1 exchange visitors in evaluating potential waiver options/categories based on their particular situation, and in navigating the complex J-1 waiver process.

In the immigration context, waivers are granted by the various agencies to allow applicants to obtain benefits to which they would not normally be entitled, usually by showing “extreme hardship” to a certain U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident relative. In other words, the agencies could refuse the benefits, but choose not to because such refusals would cause extreme hardship.

Sometimes an individual who is applying for immigration benefits or an individual with permanent residency must file a waiver for certain violations of the immigration law. Immigration waivers are needed for periods of unlawful presence in the United States, criminal activity, fraud or willful misrepresentation or health-related issues. Waivers may be filed while the applicant is in or out of the United States.

Most of the available waivers require that the applicant have a “qualifying relative,” such as a parent, spouse or child who is either a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. In order for the waiver to be approved, the applicant must demonstrate that “Extreme Hardship” would result for the qualifying relative if the applicant was not permitted to remain in or enter the United States, or if the qualifying relative had to live in the applicant’s country. There are additional requirements depending on the type of waiver being sought.

Our immigration attorneys have vast experience in analyzing unique fact patterns and complex immigration histories to develop the best strategy to pursue the appropriate waiver category and develop the required supporting evidence.

Every year people come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered, or feared, persecution in their home country due to:

• Race
• Religion
• Nationality
• Membership in a particular social group
• Political opinion

Harris Beach Murtha immigration attorneys provide counsel to foreign nationals facing persecution in their home country. Our attorneys assist in the preparation and submission of asylum applications to USCIS for individuals in the United States who are afraid they will be persecuted if they were to return to their home country. We invest significant time in developing strong supporting documentation for clients’ applications, and in preparing clients for their affirmative asylum interview. Our attorneys perform country condition research, assist in preparing/gathering affidavits and other personalized evidence, conduct mock asylum interviews, and attend asylum hearings/interviews with clients at USCIS Asylum Offices around the country. We also represent clients in asylum defense matters before the immigration court (Executive Office of Immigration Review).

DACA allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to use prosecutorial discretion and not pursue removal, or “defer action,” of an unlawfully present individual for a certain period of time, usually for humanitarian or law enforcement purposes. Those granted deferred action are eligible to receive a work permit during this period of deferred action. Harris Beach attorneys can assist in assessing clients’ eligibility for DACA and in preparing/submitting DACA and work authorization applications to USCIS.

A Harris Beach Murtha attorney, Dana Bucin, is the honorary consul of Romania to Connecticut. The Romanian government appointed Dana and the U.S. Department of State confirmed the appointment.

In this role, she runs diplomatic programs to reunify families separated at the border (Roma populations), coordinates assistance for vulnerable Romanian citizens in Connecticut and assists in the transfer of Ukrainian refugees from Romania to Connecticut.

She also develops cross-border business exchanges with Romania and enhances the economic, educational and cultural visibility of Romanians in Connecticut.

The U.S. government recognizes the important sacrifices made by U.S. service members, veterans, enlistees and their families. To support these individuals, we assist in applying for discretionary options such as parole or deferred action.

Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative (IMMVI)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will accept and consider, on a case-by-case basis, parole requests under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) from certain noncitizen current and former military service members, and qualifying family members of current and former military service members, who are outside the United States and wish to enter the United States to benefit from U.S. legal counsel and systems and access certain veterans’ benefits. IMMVI-based parole requests for current and former service members are: (1) adjudicated by immigration officers who have received specialized training developed in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (2) automatically processed with expedited handling.

Military Parole in Place

Under section 212(d)(5)(A) of the INA, USCIS has discretion to grant parole in place on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. You may be eligible for parole in place in one-year increments if you are one of the following, or are the spouse, widow(er), parent, son or daughter of one of the following: (1) active-duty member of the U.S. armed forces; (2) individual in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; or (3) individual who (whether still living or deceased) previously served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve and was not dishonorably discharged.

Parole in place may be granted only to individuals who are present without admission and are applicants for admission. If you were admitted to the United States lawfully but are present in the United States beyond the period of stay authorized, you are not eligible for parole in place because you are not an applicant for admission. However, you may qualify for deferred action.

Harris Beach Murtha can assist qualifying military members in requesting parole in place through USCIS. Military families on assignment in an area different from their permanent place of residence may submit their request to the office with jurisdiction over either location.

Military Deferred Action

Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action (deportation) against an individual for a certain period of time. If granted, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considers you to be lawfully present in the United States for the period deferred action is in effect. Deferred action does not convey lawful status, nor does it excuse any past or future periods of unlawful presence. Under existing regulations, if you are granted deferred action, you are eligible to apply for employment authorization for the period of deferred action if you can demonstrate “an economic necessity for employment.” DHS can terminate deferred action at any time, at its discretion.

Applicants are eligible for deferred action for up to two years if they are the spouse, widow(er), parent, son or daughter of an: (1) active-duty member of the U.S. armed forces; (2) individual in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; or (3) individual who (whether still living or deceased) previously served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve and was not dishonorably discharged.

In addition, Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program enlistees in the Department of Defense Delayed Entry Program (DEP) may be eligible for deferred action. Spouses, parents, sons and daughters of enlistees in the DEP may also be eligible for deferred action.