Immigration Blog

In recognition of Veterans Day last week, Wilson Law Group would like to send a reminder of important benefits available to certain members of the military and family of service members. 

MAVNI - Direct Path to U.S. Citizenship

MAVNI stands for “Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest.” MAVNI may be a quick path to U.S. citizenship for certain eligible foreign nations because it skips the permanent residency (“green card”) process altogether.

The MAVNI program started as a pilot program to allow certain branches of the U.S. military to recruit and enlist foreign nationals...

Citizenship offers substantially more benefits than permanent residency.  Here are a few of the many reasons to naturalize:

Risk of abandonment

Permanent residents can travel internationally, but must be cautious about spending too much time outside of the U.S.  If you spend a year outside of the U.S., you will be presumed to have abandoned your permanent residency, and you risk being placed in removal proceedings and possibly deported.

Even those permanent residents who have spent less than a year outside the U.S. might be accused of abandoning residency.  Unfortunately, there is no...

We are happy to report that Wilson Law Group received a “TPS as status” adjustment approval from the USCIS office in Bloomington, Minnesota. The person never traveled with parole, and relied exclusively on this TPS status to assert he could proceed under section 245 to adjustment his status to a lawfully admitted permanent resident with an approved immediate relative I-130 petition.  This is a complete change in the government's approach to temporary protected status and the ability to apply for residency.  

Now, one approval is not a pattern of acquiescence; however, it is a harbinger...

Wilson Law Group is separating fact from fiction in a series of blogs to clarify some common questions and misconceptions of various topics in immigration law.  The short answer to the question above is "maybe".  There are several requirements for a U visa; each situation is different and needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.   

To be clear, being a victim of a crime alone does not qualify someone for a U visa.  It is more complicated than that.  Being a victim of a crime is just one of several requirements to qualify for a U visa.  Before discussing the requirements,...