Tax issue no barrier
QMy parents want to get green cards. Will their not having filed tax returns be a problem? My parents came here in 1990. They applied for permanent residence years ago and got Social Security cards. Apparently they never followed up on their permanent residence request, but I don’t think immigration denied their applications. My dad started working and paying taxes until he lost his job in 2013. I am a U.S. citizen. I plan to petition for my parents and they will apply for green cards again based on those petitions.
Name withheld, Los Angeles, CA You can get their green cards despite their not having filed tax returns and not having income. You, and if necessary a friend or relative, will need to file affidavits of support.
It’s best to find out for sure what happened with their old case. Get a copy of their immigration files before submitting new applications. Sometimes immigration denies a green card application and sends the case for deportation proceedings. Then, if the person doesn’t get the notice to appear, a judge will order the person deported “in absentia.” If that happened to your parents, you’d want to address the deportation order before filing their green card applications. Your
Aparents can get copies of their files by filing USCIS form G-639, Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Request. Get the form and filing instructions online at uscis.gov/forms or by calling 800-870-3676. Someone brought my girlfriend here using another person’s passport and visa. She was just a baby then. If we marry, can she get her green card?
Omar York Yes. If she can prove that she entered with another person’s documents, she can get her green card without leaving the United States. This process is called adjustment of status. If she can’t convince USCIS that she was inspected at entry, she can renew her application before an immigration judge. Though her entry was based on a fraudulent misrepresentation, she will not need a fraud waiver. She was too young to commit fraud. With a good legal advocate, your girlfriend can get her green card.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York's Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
QAHayes, New