Public charge has been part of U.S. immigration law for more than 100 years as a ground of inadmissibility and deportation. An individual who is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible to the United States and ineligible to become a legal permanent resident. However, receiving public benefits does not automatically… Continue Reading
Discussion of immigration issues, news, legal developments, and more
Category Archives: Naturalization and Citizenship
Travel Documents, Application to Preserve Residency, Abandonment of residency and the Continuance of Residence
If a Permanent Resident is out of U.S. continuously for more than one year, DHS takes the position that residency has been abandoned. The criteria in determining whether a LPR abandons his residency include purpose of departure, existence of fixed termination date for visit abroad, and objective intention to return to U.S. as place of… Continue Reading
Good Moral Character
Person applying for citizenship must show good moral character for 5 years (or for a spouse of a United States citizen, 3 years, or for person in the military, 1 year) prior to filing and up to the time of admission. For example, a person convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, multiple crimes or… Continue Reading
USCIS Memo on Nautralization Interview Process
USCIS issued a memo on changes to the naturalization interview process. “The only difference from current practice is the sequence – that the English and civics testscan be administered before the interview following the pre-examination check-in process,as opposed to during the actual interview. “ For a copy of the memo, please seehttp://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=25932… Continue Reading