Dear friends,
As the congress agenda is getting full and the prospect of immigration reform happening by the end of 2013 seems dimmer, we want to remind our immigrant clients and friends that if we truly want immigration reform to pass, we need to make our voice “count” and be heard. The best way to do this is by reinforcing our views with our vote, and for this we need more immigrants to be come U.S. citizens. In addition, USCIS filing fees have been consistently increasing and as we all know, there are usually a few steps one has to go through to become a U.S. citizen involving wait times (which will only get longer if immigration reform does pass). Therefore, the earlier you start filing your applications, the sooner you and your family will reach the goal of U.S. citizenship.
In order to assist you in identifying the earliest filing eligibility date for the next step in the path to citizenship for your and others in your family, we have prepared the following chart as a guide:
For example, if you are under a non-immigrant visa status you may be eligible to apply for a green card/residency (see chart for earliest filing eligibility). There are advantages of becoming a legal permanent resident, such as legally living, studying and working in the United States, being able to petition for residency for your spouse and unmarried children, and being able to travel in and out of the U.S.
Similarly, if you have been a legal permanent resident for 5 years (3 years in the case of a residency by marriage), you may be able to apply for citizenship. Being a citizen will grant you additional benefits, such as voting in government elections, being able to sponsor all immediate relatives for residency, obtaining a U.S. passport to travel, and remaining outside the U.S. unlimited time.
Finally, if you are a citizen you may want to apply for a green card/residency for eligible family members. If you are eligible to apply for any immigration benefits, we advise you to do so as soon as possible in order to have quicker access to the benefits of residency and citizenship.
To find out more about these application processes and the types of documents that you need for filing these applications, please call our office right now for an appointment: (617) 303-2600 or compete this online form [1].
Please forward to whoever you think may find this useful.
Sincerely,
The FitzGerald & Company team
We would like to introduce the New England immigrant community to a new organization we are supporting which benefits Colombian children in need, NEACOL. The organization seeks to raise funds via membership and events to support its vision of “A more prosperous life for Colombian Children”. If you are interested in finding out more about this organization and how to become a member and get involved, please visit: www.neacol.org [2]
Sincerely,
Desmond P. FitzGerald and
The FitzGerald & Company team