Archive
How a marriage-based green card works in 2026: the I-130 petition, adjustment of status or consular processing, fiancé(e) visas, the affidavit of support, the interview, conditional residence and the I-751, and the bars that end cases.
How priority dates work for family and employment green cards: where the date comes from, FY2026 limits, reading the two Visa Bulletin charts, chargeability, retrogression, keeping a date, the Child Status Protection Act, and planning.
How the I-864 affidavit of support works: who must file, the 125% income requirement and household size, assets, household members and joint sponsors, the sponsor’s enforceable obligation, and when it ends.
How travel affects naturalization and permanent residence: continuous residence and the six-month and one-year rules, physical presence, Form N-470, nonresident tax filings, abandonment of residence under Matter of Huang, and reentry permits.
A printable, bilingual N-400 document kit: status, travel and residence, good moral character, marriage-based and special situations, when to file, organizing the kit, court and tax records, Selective Service, and the 2025 civics test.
How the physician national interest waiver works under INA 203(b)(2)(B)(ii): five years of full-time service in a shortage area or VA facility, the public interest letter (IDPH in Illinois), Schneider v. Chertoff, reporting deadlines, job changes, and Conrad 30.
How the I-601A provisional unlawful presence waiver works: the three- and ten-year bars, eligibility under 8 C.F.R. 212.7(e), extreme hardship under Cervantes-Gonzalez, what the waiver does not cover, common denials, and 2026 consular timing.
How good moral character works in naturalization: permanent bars, conditional bars under INA 101(f), false testimony under Kungys, the regulatory catch-all, the August 2025 totality-of-the-circumstances guidance, convictions under immigration law, and timing.
The legal framework for adjustment of status: inspected and admitted or paroled under Matter of Quilantan, TPS under Sanchez v. Mayorkas, visa availability, the 245(c) bars and immediate relative exemption, 245(k), 245(i) grandfathering, and when departure is unsafe.
How EB-1A extraordinary ability petitions are decided: INA 203(b)(1)(A), the ten criteria in 8 C.F.R. 204.5(h)(3), Kazarian and Amin on the two-step review, Policy Manual guidance on each criterion, letters, sustained acclaim, and visa timing.