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True love may pave the way for a ticket to the United States.

An alien who is the fiance(e) of a U.S. citizen petitioner may be issued a K-1 visa which will allow entry to the U.S. for the purpose of marrying the U.S. citizen petitioner.

To qualify for a K-1 visa, the petitioner and the alien must satisfy the following requirements: (i) the parties have personally met within two years preceding the date of filing of the petition; (ii) they must have a bona fide intention to marry; and (iii) they are legally qualified and actually willing to conclude a valid marriage in the U.S. within ninety days after the fiance(e)’s arrival.

WASHINGTON D.C. – More and more states and counties in the United States are passing laws to crack down on undocumented immigrants in their respective areas now that Congress and President Bush have abandoned the comprehensive immigration reform bill.

President Bush, who pushed for the passage of the reform bill three months ago, is now in favor of cracking down hard on undocumented immigrants.

Use, possession, trafficking and other drug related actions could cost an alien the opportunity to become a permanent resident. Drug abuse and drug addiction are grounds for inadmissibility for permanent resident purposes. The regulations define drug abuse as the non-medical use of a substance listed in the Controlled Substances Act which has not necessarily resulted in physical or psychological dependence.

True love may pave the way for a ticket to the United States. An alien who is the fiance(e) of a U.S. citizen petitioner may be issued a K-1 visa which will allow entry to the U.S. for the purpose of marrying the U.S. citizen petitioner. To qualify for a K-1 visa, the petitioner and the alien must satisfy the following requirements: (i) the parties have personally met within two years preceding the date of filing of the petition; (ii) they must have a bona fide intention to marry; and (iii) they are legally qualified and actually willing to conclude a valid marriage in the U.S. within ninety days after the fiance(e)’s arrival.

Permanent residents ordinarily need only to produce their green cards at the port of entry in the US upon returning from a brief visit abroad. Absence from the US for more than one year requires a reentry permit, in addition to exhibiting the green card for readmission. Without a reentry permit, an alien who made a trip abroad and remained outside of the US for more than one year must apply for a “special immigrant” visa at a US embassy abroad that will permit the alien to be readmitted as a permanent resident.

It is advisable to apply for a reentry permit if the intended trip abroad would possibly extend beyond one year. The reentry permit is valid for up to two years from the date of the alien’s departure from the US.

Note:

WASHINGTON D.C. – Homeland Security’s US and Immigration Services is raising its citizenship and green card fees by as much as 66 per cent effective at the end of July, 2007.

Immigrant advocates immediately denounced the doubling of citizenship and the tripling of fees for permanent resident green cards. Citizenship fees will rise from $330 to $675, permanent resident visa from $325 to $930.

USCIS would like to inform the public that, although the U.S. Senate is debating and considering immigration legislation (S. 1348), that bill has not become law. If immigration reform legislation does become law, USCIS will advise the public on how to proceed.

May 29, 2007 - Following a comprehensive review of more than 3,900 public comments, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today a final fee structure that includes benefits for some families with children and also expands the availability of fee waivers and exemptions

USCIS Sets Final Fee Schedule to Build an Immigration Service for the 21st Century (33KB PDF)
CLICK THE LINK TO VIEW THE COMPLETE TEXT.

Having a green card is not an absolute guarantee that an alien will not be removed from the United States. A permanent resident alien who commits certain crimes may be subject to removal.

The Immigration law however affords permanent residents discretionary relief from removal if they meet the following requirements:

What happens to a family based petition if the petitioner dies? If the death of the petitioner occurs before the approval of the petitioner, it is automatically revoked.

Advance parole advisory If you have a pending application for adjustment of status, you can generally apply for advance parole to enable you to leave the US pending the processing of your application and reenter to resume your application.

A word of caution, you could be barred from reentering the U.S. even with an advance parole.

Advance parole is permission granted by the Immigration Service to certain aliens who do not have a valid visa to reenter the U.S. after traveling abroad. The following aliens are eligible to apply for advance parole:

• (a) an application for adjustment of status pending;
  
• (b) beneficiary under the Family Unity Program;
  
• (c) been granted Temporary Protected Status; or
  
• (d) asylum application pending.
  
• (e) Aliens with H-1 status and their dependents who have pending applications for adjustment of status do not need to file for Advance Parole if they are still maintaining their lawful H-1 status. The application for advance parole is filed and obtained before the alien departs from the U.S.

Illness can be a ground for inadmissibility to the U.S.

Aliens who are infected with highly communicable disease of public health significance such as HIV or tuberculosis are inadmissible. The law however provides a waiver for those afflicted aliens (i) who is the spouse or the unmarried son or daughter, or the minor unmarried lawfully adopted child, of a US citizen, or permanent resident, or of an alien who has been issued an immigrant visa; (ii) or has a son or daughter who is a US citizen, or permanent resident; or (iii) in accordance with such terms, conditions, and controls, if any, imposed by the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretary of Health.

Children born outside the U.S. and out of wedlock to an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother automatically acquires U.S. citizenship at birth provided that the U.S. citizen mother had previously been physically present in the U.S. or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year.

In the spring of 2008, all applicants for U.S. naturalization will have to answer a new set of questions to pass the test on American history, civics and government. The USCIS has formulated 144 new questions to be given to 5,000 volunteer citizenship applicants in 10 pilot cities in early 2007. The Service will study the responses in the pilot program and narrow down the final set of questions to 100. To pass, the applicant must be able to answer six out of the selected ten questions.

Most of the people who come for a visit to the U.S. intend to return to their home country. There are some however who fall in love with America it pains them to part with Lady Liberty.
What are possible options for a tourist who would like to remain in the US legally?