Start gathering documents, Dreamers

QI qualify for President Obama’s Dream program for young immigrants. What should I do to get temporary work permission? I’m currently a student at the City College of New York. I came to the United States at age 14. I have a high school diploma and I have been studying here for the past 10 years. I have never been charged with a crime.

S.K., Queens

AFor now, just gather documents to prove you came to the United States before age 16, that you have been here for five years and that you were here on June 15. Your case should be easy, given that you have been in school all of your life here. Still, make sure you have your high school and college transcripts and your high school diploma. Also, you’ll need your birth certificate to prove that you had not yet turned 31 on June 15. If your birth certificate is in a language other than English, you’ll need it translated. Anyone competent in English and your home country’s language can certify the translation.

We have yet to get information about filing procedures, so beyond getting your documents together, you can’t do much. We don’t know whether the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service will require a particular form, whether the agency will require a filing fee and, if so, will USCIS wave the fee for indigent and low-income applicants. We don’t know where individuals will send their applications. Most important, we don’t know whether Dreamers will get travel permission. I’ll provide that information as soon as it becomes available.

QMy father was convicted of marijuana possession in 1986 and the judge sentenced him to five years probation. The judge told him that because of his crime, he would need to leave the United States, and he did so voluntarily. My father left and he is still in his native home. Can he return to the United States? What if he were exonerated? I am a U.S. citizen over age 21 and I would be willing to petition for him for permanent residence.

E.A., New Jersey

AIf your father were to be exonerated (cleared of having committed the offense) or he can get a judge to vacate his conviction, he can immigrate based on your petition. Otherwise, from what you write, I doubt he can come back to the United States. Except for a single conviction for simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, drug convictions are a permanent bar to permanent residence, with no waiver available.

QCan I bring my fiancée here from Africa or must I marry her there to qualify her for her green card? I am a U.S. citizen. I was planning to marry my fiancée there, but I’m wondering I can bring her here for a wedding and then petition for her.

Karim, New York

AYou can probably bring your fiancée here, marry her, then file her application for permanent residence. It is probably the fastest way to get her to the United States. You could marry her in Africa and then petition for her, but bringing her here as a fiancé(e) may work best for you. Readers should note that only a U.S. citizen can petition for a fiancé(e).

To petition to get your fiancée a K-1 fiancé(e) visa, file USCIS form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). Usually, the U.S. citizen must prove that he or she had a face-to-face meeting with his or her fiancé(e) in the two years prior to the U.S. citizen filing the petition. USCIS will exempt a couple from this meeting if traveling abroad is unusually difficult for the U.S. citizen. For instance because the U.S. citizen can’t travel for health reasons. The USCIS can also exempt a couple from the meeting requirement if meeting before the wedding would violate the couple’s customs, religion or culture.

If you two have been together within the last two years, you’ll need to provide proof. Examples are plane tickets, hotel bills and photos of you with her in Africa. You’ll want to submit other evidence your relationship with your fiancée is real or bona fide. For instance, copies of emails, letters and phone records. Nothing too risque. You don’t want to make the U.S. consul blush.

The process from filing until the day of your fiancée’s interview should be about nine months. If all goes well, the U.S. consul in her country will grant your fiancée a visa. When she arrives in the United States, she’ll be admitted for 90 days. When you marry her, she may then apply for her immigrant visa using USCIS form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Even if you don’t marry your fiancée within 90 days of her arrival, she can still get her green card here. If you don’t marry her, she will need to return home.