OK to petition for green card twice

Q

I am a U.S. citizen and I want to petition to bring my fiancé here from abroad. My concern is that his dad filed for a green card for him in 2011. Due to the long wait under the quota system for his country, he is still waiting. Will the previously-filed petition be a problem? Name withheld

A

You can petition to bring your fiancé here without concern about his pending case. An intending immigrant can have more than one petition pending. Your fiancé can come to the United States based on whichever visa comes through first — the fiancé(e) visa or an immigrant visa based on his father’s petition.

Q

Many years ago I came to the United States by sneaking across the Mexican border. I applied for my green card under the 245(i) law, but couldn’t win my case. My U.S. citizen daughter is now 21. If she petitions for me, can I interview for my green card in the United States or must I return to Mexico? Name withheld, Dallas

A

You may be able to interview here; the process is called “adjustment of status” based on your daughter’s petition. You need to prove that your earlier immigration case was “approvable when filed.” In most employment green card cases that means that your employer had a real job for you. In family immigration cases, it means that the qualifying family relationship was genuine.

The 245(i) law, sometimes called the 245(i) Grandfather Clause, allows an individual who otherwise would not qualify to interview here to adjust status if a qualifying relative or employer filed a petition for the individual on or before Jan. 14, 1998; or a qualifying relative or employer filed a petition for the individual on or before April 30, 2001 and the individuals were physically present here on Dec. 21, 2000; or the individual is a derivative beneficiary of a 245(i)eligible individual — that is, the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of a family or employmentbased preference category applicant. Your rights under the 245(i) law last forever.

Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York Citizenship Now! project.