Читать книгу U.S. Citizenship For Dummies - Jennifer Gagliardi - Страница 23

To become a lawful permanent resident, an alien must first be admitted as an immigrant. Most people get their immigrant visas because a qualified relative or employer has sponsored them as follows:

1 The employer or relative filed a petition with the USCIS.

2 The USCIS approved the petition and then forwarded it to the National Visa Center for further processing.

3 The State Department issued a visa after an immigrant visa number became available.

If you’re already living in the United States, you may be eligible to adjust your immigration status from temporary to lawful permanent resident without leaving the country. And here’s some good news: As an applicant, you may apply for a work permit while your case is pending. (You can find out more about this in Chapter 3.)

If you plan to leave the United States while applying for adjustment to permanent resident status, you must receive advance permission, called advance parole, to return to the United States. If you do not apply for advance parole before leaving the United States, the USCIS will assume that you have abandoned your application and you may not be permitted to reenter the United States.

In most cases, as an alien applying for permanent residence, you will need to provide

 A valid passport

 Three photographs

 Birth and police certificates

 Marriage, divorce, or death certificates of your current and/or prior spouse(s)

 Proof of financial support

 Proof of medical examination

You can get more-specific details about what to provide at the National Visa Center (NVC); requirements vary slightly from consulate to consulate. Submit online immigrant visa case inquiries at https://nvc.state.gov/inquiry. You can visit the NVC website at https://nvc.state.gov for more information.

Customer Service Representatives for Immigrant Visa inquiries only are available at (603) 334-0700 from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. You can see the current status of your case or make updates by logging into the Consular Electronic Application Center at https://ceac.state.gov.

Customer Service Representatives for Nonimmigrant Visa inquiries only are available at (603) 334-0888 from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Please note only English-speaking representatives are available on this line.

The NVC is not open to the public. Unfortunately, some people have traveled long distances to inquire about their case in person, only to discover that NVC staff is unable to meet with them.

Seek competent legal help if you have been in the United States illegally. If you leave the United States to obtain an immigrant visa abroad and the unlawful presence accrued after March 31, 1997, you will be barred from reentering the United States for three years (if the continuous unlawful presence was from 181 days to one year) or ten years (if the continuous unlawful presence was for more than one year).