U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Your Complete Guide, 2nd Revised Edition
~ Updates and Errata ~
March 2001
Latest USCIS Info on the 245(i) Law
For more on the 245(i) extension and other recent changes, see my Daily News Column.
An USCIS memorandum, issued on January 26, 2001, explains how the agency will carry out the extension of USCIS immigration law section 245(i). Section 245(i) give the right to adjust status (the right of permanent resident applicants to get interviewed here) to many who wouldn?t normally have that right. To qualify you must have a family or employment-based petition or a labor certification filed for you by April 30, 2001. If you qualify for 245(i) based on a case started after January 14, 1998 you must have been physically present in the United States on December 21, 2001, the day President Clinton signed the law.
The USCIS memorandum explains how to prove physical presence in the United States on December 21, 2000. The USCIS prefers that you submit a federal, state or city-issued document. However, the memorandum instructs USCIS officers to accept other documentation as well, including letters and affidavits. The USCIS recognizes that sometimes several documents taken together may prove physical presence on December 21, 2000. The memorandum gives the example of a person who makes a mortgage payment on December 1, 2000 and another on January 1, 2001.
Now is the time to gather proof that you were here on December 21, 2001. It may take years before you can file your 245(i) application. Keep copies of the proof (and all other important documents) in your freezer.
The USCIS memorandum clarifies also that dependent spouses and children need not prove physical presence on December 21, 2001 to qualify for 245(i). Suppose that you qualify for permanent residence as the married daughter of a U.S. citizen. You were here on December 21, 2001 having entered as a visitor in 1999. Your U.S. citizen mother files for you on April 30, 2001. It may take five or more years for you to qualify for permanent residence under the preference quota system. When you do qualify, the USCIS will interview you here. The USCIS will also interview here your spouse and your unmarried under-21 children, regardless of whether they too were here on December 21, 2001.
The New V and K Visas
The new V and K temporary visas for families waiting to get green cards, won?t be available until early Spring. The USCIS says that?s when procedures will be in place. The Q and A will give you some sense of how the new law will impact the lives of immigrants.
Q. Who qualifies for the new V visa?
A. The V visa is available to the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents. The applicant must have been waiting for permanent residence three years. You start counting from the date the USCIS received the preference petition filed by the permanent resident. The USCIS need not have approved the petition, but it must have received the petition on or before December 21, 2000.
Q. What are the benefits of the V visa?
A. V visa holders can live legally in the United States during the lengthy visa process. Due to backlogs in the quota for the spouse and children of permanent residents, that process can take six years or longer. During that time, the spouse and children of permanent residents abroad found it almost impossible to get a visa to visit the United States. Those who came here unlawfully can?t work and often live in fear of getting caught by the USCIS.
Q. How do I get a V visa?
A. V visa applicants outside the United States will apply at a U.S. consulate abroad. The bars for applicants unlawfully present don?t apply. Applicants in the United States, even those here unlawfully, can change status without returning home. In most cases, V visa holder will be able to apply for permanent residence here once she or he gets to the front of the line under the preference quota system.
Q. Is the V visa available to undocumented immigrants?
A. Yes. V visa applicants ARE NOT inadmissible for having been unlawfully present in the United States more than 180 days or one year or more.
Q. Who qualifies for the new K visa?
A. The K visa is available to the spouse of a U.S. citizen and to the spouse?s unmarried children under age 21. Unlike the V visa, to future spouses and children. To qualify you must have a U.S. citizen spouse petition filed on your behalf. The spouse petition need not have been approved.
Q. What are the benefits of the K visa?
A. K visa holders will benefit if USCIS and U.S. consuls will process K visas more quickly than immigrant visas. Then, the spouses of U.S. citizens and the spouse?s children will get here faster than through normal immigrant visa processing. K fianc? visas, available now, usually process a couple of months faster than immigrant visas. K visa holders will also benefit since their unmarried minor children over 18 but under 21can accompany them to the United States. Under current law, such children would need to wait years for approval of separate visa.
Q. Explain the benefit for children?
A. The new law allows the unmarried children under 21 of the foreign spouse to accompany or follow their parent to the United States. And the way that I read the law, these children can adjust status (get permanent residence) with their parent. Note: Not everyone agrees with this interpretation. I?m anxious to see what stand the USCIS will take on this question.
When a U.S. citizen files and immigrant petition for a spouse, often the 18-or-over children of the immigrating spouse can?t accompany the parent to the United States. These older children could get legal status only after their parent got residence and petitioned for them. That often took six years or longer.
Now, these 18-to-under-21 children can accompany or follow their parent here in K status. Then, they should be able to apply at the same time as the parent for permanent residence.
Q. Is the K visa available to undocumented immigrants?
A. Sometimes, but it may not be advisable to try. The visa application will be made a U.S. consul abroad. If the applicant is inadmissible on any grounds, he or she could have a hard time getting a visa.
Q. How does one get a K visa?
A. If the petitioner is in the United States, he or she will file here and the notice of approval will be forwarded to a U.S. consulate abroad. The spouse and children will then apply for a visa at the consulate. Where the marriage has taken place abroad, the new law requires that the applicant apply in the country where the marriage occurred.
2001 Poverty Guidelines
Here are the new poverty guidelines. You need this to decide whether a person signing an affidavit of support has enough income to sponsor an applicant for permanent residence.
2001 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia Poverty
Size of family
unit guideline
1............................................................ $8,590
2............................................................ 11,610
3............................................................ 14,630
4............................................................ 17,650
5............................................................ 20,670
6............................................................ 23,690
7............................................................ 26,710
8............................................................ 29,730
For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,020 for each additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes also, as can be seen in the figures above.)
2001 Poverty Guidelines for Alaska
Size of family
unit guideline
1............................................................ $10,730
2............................................................ 14,510
3............................................................ 18,290
4............................................................ 22,070
5............................................................ 25,850
6............................................................ 29,630
7............................................................ 33,410
8............................................................ 37,190
For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,780 for each
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)
2001 Poverty Guidelines for Hawaii
Size of family
unit guideline
1............................................................ $9,890
2............................................................ 13,360
3............................................................ 16,830
4............................................................ 20,300
5............................................................ 23,770
6............................................................ 27,240
7............................................................ 30,710
8............................................................ 34,180
For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,470 for each additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes also, as can be seen in the figures above.)