How to retrieve lost immigration documents
How can I get my immigration records? I may have gotten permanent residence long ago, but I have lost all my papers. I’m so frustrated that I am thinking of turning myself in to immigration just to find out my status. Mark
End your frustration by filing a Freedom of Information Act request with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You can either use USCIS form I-639, Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Request, or file online. You can learn more here: bit.ly/3aDsmy4. The FOIA law does not require that you use a government form, but if you are mailing your request, I recommend using form I-639. That said, filing online is usually best. If you need help with filing online, try your local library.
If you have ever had contact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or had a case in immigration court, file a separate FOIA request with the U.S. Department of Justice. Learn how to file by mail or online here: bit.ly/3H783Fj.
Even if you are undocumented, you need not be afraid to file FOIA requests.
A doctor is treating me for hepatitis
B. Will that be a problem if I apply for permanent residence? William
Your condition will not keep you from getting your green card. Hepatitis B is not on the list of diseases that would bar a person from getting permanent residence. That list includes diseases only that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers a communicable disease of public health significance.
On the department’s list are chancroid, gonorrhea, granuloma inguinale, infectious leprosy, lympogranuloma venereum, infectious syphilis and active tuberculosis. Note that being HIV-positive is no longer on the list.
Permanent residence applicants must submit a medical exam to show that they don’t have a condition on the list. Some applicants with conditions on the department’s list qualify for a waiver of a medical ground of inadmissibility.
To qualify for a waiver, an applicant must be the spouse, parent or unmarried son or daughter of a permanent resident or U.S. citizen or is a son or daughter of a person to whom a consul abroad has issued an immigrant visa. Applicants with treatable diseases such as tuberculosis or syphilis can become permanent residents once they are no longer contagious.