15 January

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How To Become Eligible For A Green Card As A VAWA Self-Petitioner

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is U.S. legislation drafted to combat violence against women. It aims to protect women who suffer from domestic and dating abuse and improve criminal justice. Under this federal legislation, one may obtain legal permanent residency (Green Card) in the U.S. if they were the victim of battery committed by a U.S. citizen. The citizen could be their spouse, former spouse, parent, child, or a lawful permanent resident (LPR) parent or spouse. It’s possible to file a self-petition under VAWA for Amerasian, Special Immigrant (Form I-360), or Widow (er) without the consent of your abusive family member. If the...

12 January

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Personal Injury 101: Who Pays In a Hit and Run Accident?

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It’s just another night and you’re driving home after a long day at work. You’re driving within the speed limit but the car behind you definitely isn’t. It’s traveling incredibly fast; so fast that the driver happens to lose control. The car sharply turns in, hitting your car and sending you crashing into the wall. You’re shaken but conscious. You look around to see if anyone else got hurt and that’s when you realize that the vehicle that hit you is nowhere to be seen. It’ll take a few moments for you to settle down but it will soon dawn on you...

19 November

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Eligibility and Benefits Of Refugee Status

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Every year the USA accepts thousands of refugees. To be considered a refugee, you need to be born outside the US and seek protection from the extreme persecution you’ve suffered due to your religion, race, nationality, belonging to a specific group or holding certain political views. Persecution refers to horrific situations such as imprisonment, torture, political turmoil, genocide, etc. People that qualify for refugee status can enter and live legally in the USA; they also have paths to citizenship. Eligibility for Refugee Status In order to be officially classified as a refugee, the USCIS has to assess whether you qualify for refugee status and...

16 November

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Getting Citizenship Through Marriage: Why Is It So Tough For Undocumented Spouses?

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The path to citizenship through marriage is fairly straightforward for legal immigrants. They just need to apply for a residency, show their documents, be interviewed by an immigration lawyer, wait for their green card, fulfill its requirements and eventually become a citizen. As long as the couple successfully proves to the immigration law specialist that their marriage isn’t a sham, obtaining legal status shouldn’t be any trouble. However, if the immigrating spouse is undocumented, the story is very different. Becoming a US citizen is very tough and sometimes impossible for undocumented citizens. In US immigration law, the term “undocumented” refers to anyone that entered the...

12 November

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Options For Sponsoring An Undocumented Spouse’s Green Card

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Family reunification has been a key component of the U.S. immigration policy. Bringing in immediate relatives into the country was fairly simple a couple of decades ago. Even now it is still possible to sponsor an undocumented spouse’s green card. The expenses, risks and timelines depend on whether or not the sponsoring spouse is a U.S. citizen and if the immigrating spouse entered the U.S. legally. Here’s how sponsoring an undocumented spouse’s green card works in the following scenarios: 1. Sponsoring spouse is a U.S. citizen, immigrating spouse entered legally but overstayed Obtaining a green card in this scenario is much easier than it is...

09 November

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4 Paths To Legal Status For Undocumented Immigrants

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The ultimate goal for undocumented immigrants living in the USA is to attain a long-term legal status, through which they can one day become permanent residents (green card holders) and eventually obtain U.S. citizenship. Before we delve into the different paths these undocumented immigrants can take to become legal citizens, it’s important to define what we mean by “undocumented immigrants.” Defining Undocumented Immigrants The phrase “undocumented immigrant” is used to define an immigrant that does not have a legal status. This could mean that they entered the country with a non-immigrant visa (ex. student visa, tourist visa) and overstayed the legal duration or...

05 November

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For Landlords in NY: How to Legally Evict Default Tenants

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Some tenants can be difficult to handle. They may not pay rent on time (some may not pay at all), or they may regularly violate the lease terms. "Hey, you were NOT supposed to bring pets with you in the house. We agreed to this when signing the lease agreement. Yet…<Hangs the phone>… Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" Bad, bad tenants! Obviously, everyone has their limits to patience; you’ll have yours. You can’t just keep putting up with the fussy behavior of your tenants all the time. There comes a point when you say: Okay, that’s enough! You don’t want them on your property anymore. But you...

02 November

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U Visa or a VAWA Self Petition? What’s Best for You?

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The U.S immigration law has set aside three visa categories for victims of crimes and domestic violence who may wish to stay in or come to the country when they might not otherwise be able to do so. These visa categories include: U visa VAWA self-petition, and T visa Since the eligibility statuses for these visa categories often overlap in requirements, determining which one is best suited for you given your existing circumstances can be difficult. In this post, we’ll be specifically discussing U visa and VAWA self-petition; that is, when it’s best for you to apply for a U visa and when...

30 October

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Types of Abuses That Qualify Immigrants for VAWA Protection

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The U.S immigration law provides special protection to immigrants subjected to domestic abuse, and a possible path to U.S citizenship under the VAWA Act. The statutes of the act permit both men and women (spouses, parents or children) to file a petition and seek justice against their abusers. However, in order to be successful in their application, applicants must be able to prove that the abuse occurred. This means that they must have complete understanding of what qualifies as “abuse” under the VAWA Act when filing their petition. In this post, we’ll review some common types of abuses that qualify immigrants for VAWA protection. What qualifies...

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