Jailbird’s dilemma
Is immig wife using him?
am incarcerated. Meanwhile, the time is coming for my wife to apply for her permanent green card. How will my situation affect her case? I am a U.S. citizen. I petitioned for my wife and she got her two-year conditional green card. I was sent to prison until August 2018. Sometimes I feel that she is just using me. If I don’t cooperate, what will happen to her?
Valentin, New York If you support your wife’s application for her permanent card (valid for 10 years and renewable), your incarceration shouldn’t be a problem. If you want to make things hard for her, don’t sign the form she files for her permanent card, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form I-751, Petition to Remove the Condition of Residence.
AYour wife received a two-year card because she became a permanent resident within two years of your marriage. Usually, USCIS approves I-751 petitions based on submitted documents. Sometimes USCIS calls the couple in for an interview, but that’s not typical.
If you don’t sign the I-751 petition, your wife may still get her permanent card if: 1) she entered the marriage in good faith and it was terminated by divorce or annulment, 2) she is the victim of spousal abuse or you have abused her child, or 3) leaving the United States would result in her suffering extreme hardship.
I was born in the Czech Republic in 1984, my father moved to the United States and I ended up in Australia. We lost touch years ago and I want to go to the United States to look for him. How can I get permission to visit for more than the typical 90 days available to Australian citizens?
Anonymous, Sydney, Australia To visit the United States for more than 90 days, you need to apply for a visitor’s visa at a U.S. consulate. Your right to visit for 90 days without a visa comes from Australia being part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. To stay longer, you need a visa like that required of citizens and nationals of nonwaiver countries.
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, 4 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
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