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What You Don’t Know in Immigration Law Can Hurt You

A new client, “Jose”, came into my office recently and said he wanted to petition for his sister, “Maria”, who was almost 20 years old and about to turn 21 years of age in six months.  Jose had become a naturalized U.S. Citizen about five years ago. So, we have a brother who is a U.S. Citizen, who wants to petition for his sister, a Honduran Citizen, so she can one day become a Lawful Permanent Resident of the U.S.

When a person comes into my office about petitioning for his sibling, I have to break the bad news to him that petitioning for a sibling can take a very long time.  In this case, it would take approximately 14 years for this visa to become available for his sister according to the current Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin is issued monthly by the Department of State and shows the number of visas available worldwide for each country.

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Jose was shocked at our initial consultation when I told him it would take 14 years, as all people are, when they find out that it takes that long.  After gathering more information from him, I found out that Jose had petitioned for his dad, “Alberto”, as soon as he got his U.S. Citizenship, and his dad immigrated to the United States four years ago.  So, dad, Alberto is a Lawful Permanent Resident.

When I found out Alberto was here as a green card holder, my immediate question to Jose was, “why didn’t your dad petition for Maria?”  His response: we didn’t know he could do that.

WHAT??!

Why am I yelling right now? (I’m sorry that I am, but I was a little bit sick to my stomach during the consultation). The reason is because what Jose didn’t know about immigration law will delay his sister’s arrival to the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident by many, many years.

How?

Well, once Jose’s dad, Alberto, arrived to the U.S. on an immigrant visa/green card holder four years ago, he could have petitioned for his daughter, Maria, who at that point was only 16 years old.  That is important because when a parent petitions a child under 21 years of age, the visa is available on average in about two years. Two years as compared to 14 years, that’s a big difference!

So, after Jose was done shaking his head in dismay after finding out about this, I told him that instead of petitioning for his sister, his dad should petition for her. Jose was excited that it would take only two years, but there’s an evil twist.  Because Maria will turn 21 in six months, it will take much longer for her dad to petition for her than if she were under 21. It will take approximately 7 years instead of two years. It’s still way better than 14 years though (the time it would take for Maria to come to the U.S. had brother Jose petitioned for her and not her dad).

Are you confused? Immigration law is confusing, it’s true. But an immigration attorney can sort it all out for you during a consultation just like we did for Jose, Alberto and Maria.  The information you can get from a consultation like this may not what you want to hear, but you do have to hear it so you get and stay on the right path. Good luck on your immigration journey, and please, please, go talk to a professional about your case (even if it’s not me) so you don’t make these same mistakes.

Related posts:

  1. Watch Out for School Buses and School Zones
  2. Citizenship Day 2019
  3. Get Peace of Mind with Gardner & Mendoza
  4. One Good Reason You Need to Lawyer Up

Filed Under: Immigration Blog Articles

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Well, hard to believe… job done! I’m frank to admit I had no idea that it would be so involved compared to 10 years ago when I did the renewal myself. Happily I was fortunate enough to find the best people to help get it done this time. When I was a working stiff it was mostly as a field guy in sales & marketing. High tech communication in those days was a pay phone in customers’ lobbies, so someone back in the office skilled in dealing w/problems was absolutely essential when I couldn’t be contacted. Most of those who supported me that way were good at what they did, some were outstanding. None were better than you!! This tedious & sometimes worrisome process would have been unbearable without your keeping it, & me, on track. So we want to extend our thanks to you and Radlyn. Hoping for Gardner & Mendoza to continue the good work for many years to come. - Anonymous
Gardner and Mendoza Law Firm is a great law firm no matter what kind of situation you may be in! For example I had court today, John Gardner, my attorney represented me today and got the charged dismissed totally the first time we both appeared in front of the judge in Virginia Beach Traffic Court. He uses every bit of knowledge he can to help you get the best results!! He also works very well with Latinos! They have a Spanish speaking person in their office at all times!! - Sebastian
My husband and I had a great experience with Mrs. Mendoza. She provided excellent information and a sense of urgency with every step of our immigration process. Her team was always supportive in getting us the information we needed throughout the whole process. This legal firm also treats their clients with the highest levels of respect. In all of Virginia I would say that the Gardener & Mendoza team is the best recommendation for same sex immigration cases and for immigration cases in general. It was a pleasure to work with them. - Anonymous
I Highly Recommend Radlyn Mendoza, An Excellent Immigration Lawyer. My wife and I were very worried about my wife’s immigration and legal status. We were quite impressed with Attorney Mendoza during our initial consultation. She proved to be a smart, knowledgeable, and very capable immigration attorney. She and her staff were very helpful and responsive to all of our requests. Kudos to her and staff, especially Leesa, for successfully handling our case. Thanks for a job well done. - Thomas and Cheong W.
My daughter received a reckless driving ticket going 60 in a 35 mph zone, so understandably, I was very concerned. In court, Mr. Gardner was able to get the reckless driving charge and ticket completely dismissed due to his knowledge of what the police officer had to present in court. Mr. Gardner was a familiar face to the judge and the clerks in the Virginia Beach courthouse. When we contacted John Gardner’s office at Gardner & Mendoza, he and his staff made us feel comfortable by explaining the whole process to us. His track record and the reviews online helped make the decision to choose Mr. Gardner over other attorneys easy. I highly recommend Mr. Gardner. He gave us peace of mind and won the case too! - Michelle

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