Lake Park, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

A foreign national may apply for a visitor's visa (B1/B2) to visit her U.S. Citizen child in the U.S., so long as she genuinely has the intention to remain in the U.S. only temporarily, and then return abroad. If the foreign national later were to decide that she would like to remain permanently, her U.S. citizen adult child could petition for her to adjust status in the Immediate Relative visa category. In that process it would be important to be able to persuade a skeptical USCIS adjudicating officer that she genuinely intended to stay only temporarily when she entered the U.S. If an adjustment of status application is filed within 60 days of entry on a visitor's visa, there becomes a legal presumption that she had "immigrant intent," and that she misused and was ineligible for a visitor's visa, which could result not only in denial of the adjustment of status application, but also could result in even more harsh consequences. Legal presumptions, however, may be rebutted upon presentation of convincing documentary evidence. If a foreign national visits her adult U.S. citizen child on a B1/B2 visa, and then timely returns home abroad, and then decides that she would like to reside permanently in the U.S., the U.S. citizen and foreign national parent may apply abroad through "consular processing" for the parent to return to the U.S. and become a Permanent Resident.

You appear to recognize that criminal arrest matters can have significant immigration-related consequences, including on the eligibility of a Lawful Permanent Resident to apply to become a naturalized citizen. This is true regardless of whether a criminal conviction becomes expunged - many people, including some attorneys who do not practice immigration law, mistakenly believe that an expungement will make an arrest and/or a conviction meaningless for immigration purposes, but they are wrong. In order to assess whether the petty theft and the DUI may stand in the way of eligibility there really is no alternative to engaging an immigration attorney to review copies of the disposition documents for those offenses (note that court-certified copies of those documents will have to be submitted to the USCIS in the naturalization application process) and advise you about eligibilities, options and strategies. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.

I recommend speaking with an immigration attorney regarding your situation. If you are planning on getting married, you would be able to file a petition for him as an immediate relative. Whether he would qualify to adjust status while in the United States depends on several factors including whether he entered legally or without inspection. If he entered without inspection, he may still be able to qualify through 245i, which is a provision in the INA. This is a narrow provision and may be an option depending on when he entered and whether a petition has been filed on his behalf. If not, there are still other options you may pursue. I highly recommend speaking with an immigration attorney regarding your case so you can determine your best course of action.