If you add up all the people with pending asylum cases at the Asylum Offices, Immigration Courts, and Board of Immigration Appeals, there are over one million souls waiting in limbo. Many will be waiting for years. During that time, some applicants will inevitably become eligible to obtain legal status in the U.S. through other means. Here, I want to discuss the possibilities for a green card for those with a pending asylum case.
We’ll start with the easiest and most common path to a Green Card for asylum seekers already in the country: Marriage to a United States citizen. In a future post, I will cover other ways asylum seekers might obtain residency in the U.S., such as marriage to a lawful permanent resident, sponsorship by an employer, and the Visa Lottery.
As a preliminary matter, I should say that the rules discussed here apply not only to spouses of U.S. citizens, but also to other “immediate relatives” of U.S. citizens. Immediate relatives are (1) spouses, (2) unmarried children of U.S. citizens where the child is under 21 years old, and (3) parents of U.S. citizens where the U.S. citizen child is over 21 years old.
Second, I should note that under U.S. immigration law, same-sex marriage is allowed, and such couples are treated the same as heterosexual couples for purposes of immigration.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about obtaining a Green Card by marrying a U.S. citizen. Not everyone who marries a citizen is eligible to obtain a Green Card, but most people are. If you entered the country lawfully (usually with a visa), you have not been ordered deported, and you have no serious criminal issues, you are most likely eligible to adjust status (i.e., obtain your Green Card without leaving the U.S.) based on the marriage. Check with a lawyer to be sure you are eligible, as there is no sense starting the processing (and paying a lot of money), if you are not legally able to get your Green Card.
Cases at the Asylum Office: The process of applying for a Green Card varies depending on whether you have a case pending with the Asylum Office or the Immigration Court. Normally, for Asylum Office cases, we file the I-130 (petition for alien relative), the I-485 (application for a Green Card), and accompanying forms and evidence with USCIS. This includes filing for a work permit and Advance Parole, which will allow you to work and travel while the Green Card application is pending (when you pay for the I-485, the fee includes these applications as well).
If you are lucky, USCIS will process the case normally and you will get a Green Card. If the marriage is less than two years old, you will receive a Conditional Permanent Resident card that is valid for two years. Prior to the card’s expiration, you will need to file another form to obtain the lawful permanent resident card. If the marriage is more than two years old, you should receive the lawful permanent resident card, which is valid for 10 years. Once you have the temporary or permanent Green Card, you can inform the Asylum Office and close your case.
Some Green Card applicants are not so lucky, and their cases get delayed. If that happens, we contact the Asylum Office and tell them about the pending Green Card. In some mysterious way, they sometimes help move things along (it may be that the Asylum Office has a file that USCIS needs to adjudicate the marriage case). If that doesn’t work, we can try withdrawing the asylum case to pursue only the Green Card case, but at least in my opinion, it is preferable to keep the asylum case alive until you have the Green Card in hand.
Cases in Immigration Court: The process is different for people in Court (or before the BIA). For one thing, you don’t normally file the I-130 and the I-485 together. Instead, the U.S. citizen spouse files the I-130 petition alone. The purpose of this form is to get USCIS to “approve” the bona fides of the marriage (in other words, to agree that the marriage is true).
In contrast to I-130 cases where the alien is not in Immigration Court, the burden of proof is higher, meaning you need to submit stronger evidence that the marriage is real. Technically, you are asking for a bona fide marriage exemption (USCIS suspects that people in Court may get married in order to avoid deportation, and so such cases are flagged for extra attention). In practice, while USCIS often asks for a formal declaration from the couple that the marriage is bona fide, the standard of evidence is not discernibly different than in “regular” I-130 marriage cases.
Once the I-130 is pending, we typically inform the Court and give them a copy of the I-130, the supporting evidence, and the I-130 receipt. Depending on the stage of the case, we often ask the Immigration Judge for a continuance, so that USCIS has time to process the I-130 petition. If there is a processing delay from USCIS, we sometimes contact the DHS attorney and ask whether they can help facilitate the I-130, which they usually agree to do. This can sometimes magically move things along at USCIS.
Once the I-130 is approved, we inform the Court and can then try one of two paths to get the Green Card. Either we ask the Judge to terminate proceedings so the person can “adjust status” (i.e., obtain a Green Card) with USCIS, or we ask the Immigration Judge to grant the Green Card in court. Often, the Immigration Judge will make this decision for you. But if you have a choice, you should know that there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach.
If you decide to go with USCIS, which is probably the more common choice, the first step is to get the Judge to terminate proceedings (be sure that you get an order “terminating” proceedings, not an order to “administratively close” proceedings, which keeps jurisdiction with the Judge and blocks you from obtaining a Green Card from USCIS). When we tried this in the past, the DHS attorneys and the judges were amenable to termination, as that makes life easier for them. However, in a recent case, the DHS attorney would not agree to terminate proceedings until we completed the I-485 and provided proof that we paid the fee. The problem is, the fee has to be paid in a particular way for cases in Immigration Court. We paid the fee and received the receipt. After that, the case was terminated. We then tried to use the fee receipt to “pay” for the I-485. In the past, USCIS has accepted the fee receipt in lieu of payment, but this time, they refused, and so my client had to pay the fee a second time ($1,225!). Next time I have a case like this, I will ask that proceedings be terminated without the fee receipt, which will hopefully avoid the problem of paying double fees.
Once the case is terminated, the applicant can adjust status with USCIS. It is pretty common to see delays in such cases, where the person was previously in removal proceedings. But ultimately, everyone who does this seems to end up with a Green Card, and it is easy to get a work permit and travel document (Advance Parole) while the case is pending with USCIS.
Alternatively, you can ask the Judge to schedule an Individual Hearing to approve the Green Card in court. This can be faster (depending on the Judge’s schedule), and should avoid the problem of double fees, but it is more difficult to get a work permit while you are waiting (you can try to use the I-485 fee receipt to “pay” for the EAD, but as we found out, that does not always work). Also, you cannot travel outside the U.S. until the Green Card is granted (if a person in Immigration Court leaves the U.S., he has effectively deported himself). Once the Judge approves the Green Card, you will need to make an Info Pass appointment to obtain the physical card.
Some Exceptions: Not everyone who enters the country illegally, or who has a criminal conviction or a deportation order, is ineligible to get a Green Card through marriage to a U.S. citizen. However, if you fall into one of these categories, you would want to talk to a lawyer about your eligibility.
For people who entered illegally, there is a law called INA 245(i) that allows certain people to pay a fine and obtain their Green Card despite the unlawful entry. To qualify, you would have had to be present in the U.S. since at least December 20, 2000 and have had a family member or employer file an immigrant petition or labor certification for you (or possibly a parent) prior to April 30, 2001. There are other requirements too, and so you would want to discuss the specifics of your case with a lawyer. Also, potentially you can leave the U.S. with a provisional waiver and obtain your Green Card overseas. This can also be problematic, especially for asylum seekers who cannot go to the U.S. embassy in their home country, and so you would want to check with a lawyer before trying this option.
For people with a criminal conviction, there are possible “waivers” available. A waiver is basically a form (usually with a steep fee) that asks the government to forgive your crime and allows you to obtain your Green Card. Many waivers require that you have citizen or resident relatives (parent, child or spouse) in the U.S. and that the relative(s) show that they would suffer some type of hardship if you were deported. Again, you would want to talk to a lawyer about this.
People with a deportation order, or some other type of immigration issue (such as the J-1 two-year home residency requirement) might also be eligible to adjust status. But especially for people with a deportation order, it is very important to talk to a lawyer. Part of the Green Card process involves an interview with USCIS, and there have been many recent examples of people with deportation orders being detained by ICE at their I-130 interviews. A lawyer can’t stop you from being detained, but she can evaluate the likelihood of a problem, and help you weigh that risk against the possibility of a successful outcome.
For most asylum seekers who marry a U.S. citizen, the likelihood of obtaining a Green Card is quite high. However, the process can be bureaucratically challenging. For all these reasons, if you can afford a lawyer to get you through the system, that is probably a good idea.
In a future post, I will discuss some other paths to residency for asylum seekers, Stay tuned.
I’ve an asylum case in immigration court and I got married last year. I’m about filing for i130 but my Asylum base EAD expires next year October. Pls I want to confirm if I can apply for EAD renewal for asylum while my i130 is still processing with uscis or if it gets approved before the EAD expiration can I still apply for EAD renewal base on my asylum case? Thanks for All you do Jason. Happy holidays
You can continue to renew the asylum-based (c-8) EAD as long as the asylum case is pending, and so you should be able to do that now (and you will get a 5-year EAD; not a 2-year EAD, as the rule changed a few months ago). Take care, Jason
I have pending asylum case in court and not date yet for my case.
I got married in September and I want to file i130 to uscis in December. I intend filing i130 myself and include my supporting documents since my lawyer is charging me over 5000$ and that’s on the high side for me. Pls advise . Thanks
Hi Jason,
The judge terminated my case after I-130 got approved,
My attorney filed I-485 when he filed for the i-130 the I-485 still at the service center for almost 3 years and i just got the termination letter what should my next step be ? Emailing the service center with the termination letter or is the judge sending the file to uscis ?
I think you will have to take some action, but you need to know whether your lawyer just paid the I-485 fee by sending in the form (in anticipation of getting the GC in court), or actually filed the form with USCIS. If he sent the I-485 with other forms (I-864, maybe the I-765 and I-131) and evidence, then it is probably filed, but if he only submitted the I-485 and the fee, it is probably not submitted. If the I-485 is submitted, you probably want to submit the dismissal order, which you can do online if you have or create an account, and then if nothing happens, contact USCIS for an out of normal processing time inquiry. Take care, Jason
He submitted the i-130 with the evidences then a month later he submitted the i-485 only and paid the fees what should be my next step with this process? Should I submit another application and pay the fees again ?
You should check with the lawyer, but it sounds like he paid the fee in anticipation of doing the adjustment (getting the GC) in court. If the court case is dismissed, you can try to re-use the fee you already paid rather than paying again, but that often does not work. Supposedly, there is a new way to make sure USCIS accepts the fee, but I have not tried that yet, and in the past, they usually do not accept the fee. If you are willing to file the I-485 and all accompanying documents and pay the fee again, it may save you some trouble and move the case along, but you might also look into using the fee you already paid instead of throwing away another $1,225. Take care, Jason
Can either US citizen parent sponsor children with pending asylum case, especially when the children are derivatives of their spouses?
The reason for my question is because myself and brother have our spouses as major applicants of asylum and our cases are pending; our parents have been green card holder for five years and are due for citizenship this year.
A US citizen can sponsor an adult child for a green card (however, a green card holder cannot sponsor a married child). The wait time is very long – maybe 8+ years. You can Google “DOS visa bulletin” to see that. Once the time passes, you would most likely need to leave the US to get a GC, but there are exceptions to that rule. I wrote about this on August 28, 2018 and September 6, 2018, but if you think this is a path you want to take, I would talk to a lawyer to see whether you are eligible and how it would work. Take care, Jason
Hello, Mr. Jason,
An asylum-seeker who entered the U.S with inspection but whose case has been referred to the court, does it mean that the I-130 will be submitted to the USCIS or presented to the judge?
Also, regarding your article, does the process same if the asylum-seeker (entered with inspection) marries to a permanent resident, not a U.S citizen? How does it differ?
Thank you very much
The I-130 is always filed with USCIS. If that is approved, the I-485 can be filed with the court or USCIS, depending on the case. If the person filing the I-130 has a GC, you probably can’t get your own GC without leaving the US. Whether that is possible depends on the case, and you will need to talk to a lawyer about specifics. One option is to wait for the spouse to become a US citizen, which usually makes it possible to get the GC without leaving the country. Again, it depends on a number of factors and a lawyer should be able to review your situation and advise you. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Thank you so much for this great blog, I have a question, I applied for asylum in 2018 and I’m in court proceedings, I recently just got married and my husband has filled I-130, I-785 and other forms, Now my question is I do have a pending EAD renewal since last year October and I also just filed for EAD based on marriage, Does this affect my Asylum category EAD renewal, do I need to call them to inform them?
The other question is do I need to inform the court about my marriage case for an administrative closing or does the administrative closing come after I-130 has been approved, is there anything I need to do?
1 – I think the marriage-based EAD will not affect the current EAD. I am not 100% sure USCIS will issue you a second EAD while the first is valid, but I think they will. 2 – It depends on what you want. You can inform the court and ask to put the case on hold until the I-130 is approved, and then have the court make a decision in the I-485. Or you can try to dismiss the case (dismiss, not admin close) and have the whole thing adjudicated by USCIS (as long as the court case is open, even if it is admin closed, USCIS does not have the authority to make a decision in the I-485). The court may be unwilling to dismiss the case until the I-130 is approved, but different judges have different approaches, and some will even force you to adjudicate the I-485 in court. I recommend you talk to a lawyer about the specifics of the case to see what is the best way to go forward. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I have a pending asylum application in the Asylum office since 2017, so far I haven’t called for interview and I just got married this month. My wife is a U.S citizen, how do I proceed and what are the accompanying documents to file for a G.C based on Marriage ? I also renewed and received my EAD for 5 years with C(8) category in October 2023.
Please kindly advise me how to initiate the process and get a G.C based on marriage.
Thank you very much!!
You would just file normally, as if you did not have a pending asylum case (forms include the I-130, I-130A, I-485, I-864, and probably the I-765 and I-131, but there could be other forms depending on the case, plus all the evidence). You may also want to talk to a lawyer to be sure you are eligible to get the GC without leaving the US, as not everyone is eligible. Once your GC is approved, you can then withdraw the asylum case, but I would not withdraw before that time. I explain my logic for this in a post dated December 7, 2022. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I really appreciate for your quick response!
Thank you!
Hi Jason,
I have pending asylum case in court and not date yet for my case.
I got married in September and I want to file i130 to uscis in December. I intend filing i130 myself and include my supporting documents since my lawyer is charging me over 5000$ and that’s on the high side for me. Pls advise . Thanks
I do not know about the fee, as it depends what the lawyer is doing. If that is only for the I-130 and nothing more, it does seem expensive. In any event, if the lawyer is ok with it (and assuming you are eligible to get the green card this way), you can file the I-130, but it is very important that you keep a copy of every single piece of paper you file with USCIS. You (or your lawyer) will later need to give a copy to the court and DHS (the prosecutor). The next step depends on the court and DHS – in some cases, they will agree to dismiss your case once you file the I-130. Other times, they want to see an I-130 approval. In still other cases, they want you to pay the I-485 fee before they agree to dismiss, and in some cases, they will not agree to dismiss at all, and you have to process the green card in court. I would try to use the lawyer to help with this if you can, as it will be much easier. Maybe if you do the I-130 yourself, the lawyer can do the court part for a lower fee. Take care, Jason
[…] include people who can actually obtain their Green Card from USCIS–most commonly, through marriage to a U.S. citizen or to a Green Card holder who will become a citizen. Others who might benefit from EOIR’s […]
Hello Jason. If someone entered illegally and Ice processed him in the border and released with form i220A (release in own recognition) and he is in removal proceedings now with and pending asylum application can he apply for marriage based green card? How can he go back to his country to face consulate as he has a pending asylym case? and he is not paroled or admitted as he just got i220A, not a parole. Can he adjust? Can he just apply to terminate removal and then adjust ?
In most cases, a person who entered illegally is not eligible to get a GC in the US, even if the person marries a US citizen. He does not have to go to the home country, but he would probably have to process the case outside the US. There are rare exceptions where the person could be eligible to adjust status (get a GC) without leaving, but they are quite rare. And if the person has to leave, it is certainly better to not go to the home country, as that would raise questions about whether the asylum case was fake. I wrote about these issues in a series of posts on August 6 and 28, 2018 and September 6, 2018. Maybe those would help, but I think if you plan to pursue this, you need to talk to a lawyer about the specifics of your case and make a plan for how best to proceed. Take care, Jason
Good afternoon,
My husband has a pending asylum case he filed before we got married. I just submitted the I-130 application since we are now married. My question is do we go ahead and file the I-485 right now as well? I’ve read you can file the 485 a year after being granted asylum but since it’s still pending, I wasn’t sure if we still go ahead and submit it.
Thanks
If the I-485 is based on an I-130, you could submit it at the same time as the I-130 (or after you get the I-130 receipt). However, not every beneficiary is eligible to benefit from an I-485, and there are many factors to consider. I recommend you talk to a lawyer to see whether your husband is eligible for the I-485 or not – if he is eligible, you can file now. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I filed for marriage based green card. My asylum application is pending for interview at asylum office. I filed 485 and 130 concurrently since my husband is citizen.i130 approved two months ago but i485 still pending is it normal? My concern is that the asylum file causes 485 not approved along i130. Have you had such experience with your clients? What was the outcome?
Thanks
I doubt that is the reason, and the I-485 for a spouse often takes 1 or 1.5 years. However, you can email the asylum office, inform them of the pending I-485, and ask whether there is anything they can do to speed the process. I doubt it will help, but there is no harm in asking. You can find their email if you follow the link under Resources called Asylum Office Locator. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I’m in removing proceeding, got married to us citizen and applied for I-130 and got it approved, my lawyer wants to ask the judge for individual hearing for my asylum case and my adjusemtent of status, not sure if it’s the right move to try to schedule a hearing for my asylum which will cost a lot in expert witness and prep work id rather for it to be terminated or just ask the judge for a green card hearing ? Need your advice on it
Thank you
In most cases, you can do it either way (maybe if you have criminal or immigration problems, you would need to do the case in court, but even then, you could probably apply with USCIS if the judge and DHS allow that). For our clients, we mostly get these cases dismissed and proceed with USCIS, as that is less expensive for the clients and less risky, since USCIS cannot order them deported if something goes wrong (though USCIS could refer the case back to court). Take care, Jason
Hello Hesham,
Can you let me know how long your I-130 stayed before it was approved? This will help in my case, please.
Thank you
We see I-130 forms filed by US citizens for immediate relatives (spouse, minor child, parent) take about a year or 1.5 years, but you can check the processing time at http://www.uscis.gov. Take care, Jason
It stayed for 18 month until my attorney send a motion to DHS attorney letting them know that we will sue them in federal court if they didn’t process the application two weeks later they scheduled the interview.
Hi Jason,
Finally got my I-130 approved now we have to go back to ask the judge to terminate the case so I can adjust my status with USCIS, but we wanna try to adjust it in court instead of waiting another two years with USCIS, if the judge agreed to adjust it in court is it a long trial? where the DHS attorney fights it for any reason or it should be a sample one in your experience?
Thank you
If the judge agrees, your case can be scheduled whenever the judge has time (and such cases are often quick). However, for various reasons, including laziness, many judges will not allow this and send you to USCIS. Also, some DHS lawyers will not agree to keep the case in court and try to get it dismissed. In any case, there is probably no harm in trying to adjust in court, but just realize that if the case is denied for some reason, the judge could order you deported (if the case is “clean” there really should be no problem). Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
If the judge decided to terminate the case would my Ead card that I got from asylum will be invalid ? I have a renewal Ead application submitted and paid the fees for but still pending not sure what will be the right move here
There seems to be no clear answer about whether an EAD terminates when the court case is dismissed. It seems there is support in the regulations for the idea that the EAD remains valid until it expires, but I think there is no clear rule about this. In practical terms, if you have a valid EAD, you should be able to renew the driver’s license and work until it expires. However, if the case is dismissed before you get the new EAD, the new EAD is likely to be denied (since there is no more underlying asylum application). If the case is terminated, you can file for asylum again at the asylum office (though you probably have to file at at the Asylum Vetting Center – see the I-589 Special Instructions at http://www.uscis.gov), wait 150 days, and then apply for a brand new EAD (not a renewal). Take care, Jason
Can I apply for another Ead with the pending I-485 form but will have two pending Ead applications ?
The I-485 EAD is a different category (if this is based on marriage, it is c-9). We have had two EADs pending, especially since you can also get a “combo card” (EAD + advance parole) when you apply for an EAD based on a pending I-485, if the I-485 is based on marriage. So that is a different type of EAD than you get based on asylum pending. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
Is the court route still faster on granting green card after the i-130 gets approved ? Or is there an annual statutory limitation on approvals of cancellation of removal cases ?
Thank you
There is no annual limit and so if the judge can schedule you quickly, that is probably the faster way to get a GC. Many judges will not allow that and will dismiss the case so you can file the I-485 with USCIS, but it depends on the judge. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I am waiting for master calendrer hearing date from judge since 2014, Can I file i-130 petition for sibling since my sister is US citizen? What will happen to my asylum case, If I apply I-130.
Kindly advise, Thanks
Your US-citizen sister can file an I-130 for you, but the waiting period is 14 years or more (Google “DOS visa bulletin” to see the wait times). So I doubt this will help you. Also, even if you can wait 14+ years, you then have to apply for a GC, which will probably require you to leave the US. I wrote more about this on August 28, 2018 and September 6, 2018. Those posts may help, but if you decide to pursue this, you would want to talk to a lawyer about the specifics of your situation to see what your options are. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason, Today I got the update that my green card through my marriage is being produced and hoping to see it in my hand in 7-10 days. In the meantime, I want to withdraw my asylum case which has been pending since March 2017. What is the best way to reach out my asylum office to ask for withdrawal? Is it emailing them or mailing with an intention letter? How soon do they usually answer with an inquiry like withdrawal? I am also curious how visiting my home country would come across after withdrawing my case. I frankly visited my country for the first time ever after losing my mother with an advance parole issued to me through my marriage-based case last summer and re-entry was not a problem. I also have my 80 years old dad living with my sister and need my attention from time to time. He will be my only reason to visit my home country within following years. Do you think it would be an issue with my green card obtained through my marriage even though I withdraw my asylum case?
Thanks, and have a nice day.
I plan to post something about withdrawing an asylum case in the next week or so, but the easiest way is to email the asylum office and send them a copy of your GC (front and back). You can find their email address if you follow the link under Resources called Asylum Office Locator. The fact that you got your GC from marriage does not erase the asylum case, and so you have to be careful about visiting the home country. USCIS could ask you about the trip at a future interview and you should be prepared to explain why you returned and how you stayed safe (I wrote more about this on January 6, 2016). If USCIS concludes that your asylum case was fake, it could result in losing the GC, so it is best to be prepared to explain about this if asked. Take care, Jason
Thanks Jason, I will email my asylum office once I have my green card in hand. I will also be careful about visiting my home country even after withdrawing my case. Do you think I should be good travel to third countries with my home passport as a green card holder? Does it create any problems in future?
Take care.
It is probably fine to travel using the passport but if you have a fear of your home government, you should be prepared to explain why you used the passport if asked. I wrote about this issue on May 25, 2022. That post was for people with asylum, but for the most part, it would apply to you as well. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have pending asylum at the asylum office and applied for the green card through marriage to a US citizen, interview will be next month. If granted the GC, how can I withdraw my asylum case? Is it a good idea to go back to my home county to reunite with my family? It’s been more than 10 years and a lot has changed back home.
Thanks!
Once you have the GC, you can contact the asylum office to withdraw the case. If you return to your country, it could raise issues of fraud in the original asylum case. Withdrawing the asylum does not erase the fact that you filed. So you should be prepared to explain (maybe with evidence) why you returned to your country and how you stayed safe. I wrote more about this issue on January 6, 2016. Take care, Jason
I have a pending asylum case with immigration court in Chicago. I got married with a US citizen in 2020. My attorney helped me get an administrative closure which was granted after submitting the receipt for i-130. Now that the I-130 has been approved my attorney believes we should apply for adjustment of status with an immigration judge, and this will require that we request that my case by re-calendared by the judge. Do you know how fast the judge can re-calendar our case (at least the Chicago court)? Should we instead request for the termination of the case and instead apply with for adjustment of status with uscis?
I do not know how long it takes to re-calendar, as it depends on the judge. In this situation, we always try to get the case dismissed, and in most situations, this is what DHS and the judge want to do (there are exceptions). If the case is dismissed, you can file the I-485 along with an application for a work permit and travel document while you are waiting for the GC (some people file those forms with USCIS even before the case is dismissed from court, but I do not like to do that because if the case ends up not being dismissed, USCIS will not be able to approve the I-485, though you could use all the same documents and receipts with the court). Applying for the GC with USICS usually makes life easier since you can work and travel while you wait. Keep in mind that if you have an EAD based on a pending case with the court, that EAD will technically become invalid when the case is dismissed. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, my recent inquiry through the congressperson’s office got this answer from NBC couple days ago:
Your case is waiting on review of the A-file from the New Orleans Asylum office so the National Benefits Center (NBC) can review the case. I don’t know the timeframe of this review, and I’ve followed up asking for a timeframe I can share with you. I know you’ve been waiting a long time, and the NBC team understands how frustrating this is for you. If we can get the review done by the New Orleans Asylum Office, we should start seeing some progress.
I see that my marriage case which is already ready to be scheduled for an interview is looking for an update from the Asylum Office regarding to my pending case. Do you think NBC will end up scheduling my marriage-based case depending on what the Asylum Office say them about my pending asylum case? What should I understand from this response? I know you personally don’t recommend withdrawing asylum cases before being permanent resident through marriage case, but I feel like in my situation it seems like it is causing delays and delays. Do you think it would be smart to withdraw my asylum case and walk through with my marriage based only at this moment?
Thanks.
It does sound like the New Orleans office needs to take some action with the file for the marriage case to go forward. You can email them directly to ask about that – you can find their email if you follow the link under Resources. Otherwise, I would talk to a lawyer before trying to withdraw the asylum case, as that could cause you to lose your EAD (if you do not already have an EAD based on the pending marriage case) and may not help in terms of speeding things up. Anyway, I would start by emailing the NO office directly to see whether they can help. Good luck, Jason
Thanks Jason, I will go ahead and ask the NO Office for their help.
I entered the US via a B2 visa, always live and work legally, and got married to a US citizen in 2019 eventually. Unfortunately, my asylum case was referred to the court in 2020. I am going to have a Master Hearing in 2023, and have already submitted my i-130 to USCIS one year ago. I would like to know if I definitely will be scheduled for an interview to get the i130 approved or it could be approved without an interview?
Next, it’s better to “get the Judge to terminate proceedings without the i485 fee receipt, which will hopefully avoid the problem of paying double fees, then I can adjust status with USCIS?”
Could you please explain a little bit about the difference between “administratively close” and “prosecutorial discretion (PD)”, because I have seen “PD” everywhere, and it’s really confusing?
Thank you very much for this help!
Once the I-130 is approved, you can try to terminate the case. The case must be dismissed in order to get your GC through USCIS. It is also possible to get the GC through the court. The above article discusses this. In terms of PD, sometimes, the case remains alive (called administratively closed) but is removed from the active docket. Other times, the case is closed (no longer in court) – that is what you need if you want to adjust status with USCIS. Sometimes, they will not agree to close the case unless you pay the I-485 fee, and you would have to ask DHS about that (once the I-130 is approved). Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have a pending asylum case. I also got married to a US citizen. I submitted my I-693 with the marriage case. My interview was scheduled. The copy of the I-693 that I have is signed by the civil surgeon on the exact same date 2 years prior to the interview. When I submitted my case first, it was returned to me and I had to re-file so I got a new sealed I-693. I did not get a copy of it. I am not sure if the physician dated it the same as the last one or dated it when he actually signed. I tried to call USCIS to know that date, but they don’t have access to it. Do you know of a way that I can get that date on my filed I-693? Also, if it is exactly 2 years prior to the interview, do I need to re-do the medical exam?
Thank you!
As far as I know, the only way to get the date on the I-693 is to ask the doctor. If USCIS has opened the document, you could do a FOIA request, but I do not know when in the process they do that. I think your best bet is to not worry about this and if USCIS needs an updated exam, they will let you know. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
I have a pending asylum case and I got married to a us citizen. Last week, I had my individual hearing to adjust my status and the judge have granted my permanent resident status. Does this mean my asylum case terminated/closed automatically?
Should a motion submit to close my asylum case? Can I write a letter and send it somewhere to close my case if need action? My attorney made a lot of mistakes, I really want to terminate the relationship now.
Thanks
If you got your GC through court, the asylum case is no longer pending. Normally, the judge asks in court for you to formally withdraw your case, but even if that did not happen, the case is over, since the court case is done. Don’t forget that you still need to take steps to get the actual GC. You can Google “post order instructions in immigration court” to learn more (or your lawyer should tell you about this, but it sounds like you have little confidence in the lawyer). You might also get a copy of your entire file, either from the lawyer or from a Freedom of Information Act request, as you need to know what is there, so you do not say anything inconsistent in your citizenship application (or at least so you can explain any inconsistencies before they create problems). Take care, Jason
Thank you very much, Jason.
I called USCIS and waiting for their call back for the appointment now as they told me.
I don’t know why my attorney says that. In the court, he forgot to ask to withdraw my asylum case, and afterward, he said he can submit a motion to close it. And the law firm is asking me to pay this fee now.
As I understand even there is a step on the contract to submit a motion to close the case but if the law firm did not do this for me, I don’t need to pay them. And now I have paid almost twice the contract flat fee, some of the fees are not listed in the original contract.
So, I will refuse to pay them this fee.
This is annoying, but sometimes the contracts are unclear – you can always take the contract to another lawyer to review it. Also, if you feel that you were tricked or ripped off, you can Google “bar association” + your state, and ask them for assistance (every lawyer is a member of the bar association – that info should be on the lawyer’s letterhead and business card). Take care, Jason
Thank you very much, Jason!
Hello Jason,
Thank you for all the work that you are doing.
I have a pending asylum application for over 6 years now. I got married 2 years ago to a US citizen. More thn a year & a half ago, we filed I-130 & I-485 based on marriage to US citizen. My application now is delayed according to the their processing times on their website. My question is, how do I file mandamus arising from delay to adjudicate the case? Do I need a lawyer? Or is it fairly simple to do on my own?
Thank you Jason!
I would not start with a mandamus. I did a post with some suggestions for dealing with delay on June 2, 2021. This was for asylum, but some of the links are the same – to USCIS and the USCIS Ombudsman. Try those first. If that does not work, then consider a mandamus. It will not be very easy to do it on your own, and a lawyer would help, but if you prefer to do it on your own, you can try. I have not looked for websites that provide guidance, but I imagine there are some. Or maybe do a consult with a lawyer about it and see if the lawyer is affordable, or what the lawyer advises. Then you can decide to file yourself or with the lawyer. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason!
Another quick question, does requesting FOIA of my I-130 & I-485 or A-pack expedite my case since they will pull it and see that it is beyond processing times? If not, will it hurt to pull it just to see what is that status on the folder?
Thank you!
As far as I can tell, it makes no difference, but I am not sure. I could see it going either way, but I have never seen any reports about that, and so I do not. I do know that if there are any concerns with the case, and if you think you need a copy of your file, it is best to get that, even if it causes some delay. Take care, Jason
Good morning Mr.Jason!
I have pending asylum case defensive in court and a i130 from my US citizen husband submitted in 08/2019, we submitted an AOS in 06/2020, I had the interview in 10/2021, had a long wait before the interview 3 hr later and long interview around 2 hours, never was in question the marriage (4 years marriage before the asylum), it was in question the intention to stay which at the end I was able to explain how all this situation happen by lack of advice taking the worst vacation trip to Mexico. I had my court coming up next june, but after more than 5 months I dont have any answers my case still in review, I already request USCIS 2 times withouth any real answer, Im not sure if it was right to submit the AOs to USCIS because my case was still open in court (I was paroled in my last entree, but unable to use B1/B2 got canceled), we just did it.
Had you ever seen any similar situation like this that they keep you in hold even after the interview?
Which are further steps? I dont have a lawyer, because the initial lawyer was in the city of the detention center, how can I find a lawyer in LA? I had call some offices but they honestly said they dont have experience in removal, My court is coming up. I appreciate any advice!
I think you really should have a lawyer for this. One place to look is at http://www.aila.org – that is an immigration lawyer association and they have a referral page. Many lawyers do removal defense, and so you should be able to find someone. USCIS does not have jurisdiction (i.e., authority) to approve the Green Card since your case is in court. Either you can dismiss the court case and get your GC from USCIS, or you can get your GC from the court (assuming you are eligible). In either case, USCIS needs to approve the I-130. If that has not happened, your spouse (who signed the I-130) can open a case with the USCIS Ombudsman – a link is under Resources. They can sometimes help with a delayed case. Once the I-130 is approved, you can get the GC from USCIS or court (again, assuming you are eligible). It seems to me that you should be able to get your status, but the process is tricky, and I think you should make a strong effort to find a lawyer as soon as possible who can guide you through this. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, today I got Adjustment of Status section 245 was granted, the DHS attorney told USCIS may mail me Green Card? will they mail me automatically? or should I get infopass appointment?
If you won your case in Immigration Court, you need to Google “post order instructions in immigration court” and follow those. That is how to get the GC for an approval in court. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
My Asylum to marriage with us citizen case is almost the last step, we decide to adjust my status in court and I paid off the law firm all the fees including the part that represent me in court, but did not list this part as how much on the contract. Now my individual hearing date is on 02/11/2022 and the law firm wants to kick me out (because the manager wants more fees and I argued). Can they just not show up in court if I have not agreed to withdraw my case from the law firm?
I read your other blog on how to deal with the bad law firm, and I feel like I don’t want to compromise with them anymore. If I find another attorney, do you think I can get a refund from the current law firm?
Thanks very much for answering all my questions
I don’t know the contract or if they are violating it, but certainly you can threaten to file a bar complaint if they are violating the contract with you, or changing the terms at the last minute. You have very little time remaining (evidence must be filed at least 15 days before the final hearing date (it used to be 30 days), though some judges require the evidence earlier), and so it may be difficult to switch lawyers, but certainly you can try, if you can find someone to take on the case now. Good luck, Jason
Hi, Jason
I have an asylum case change to marriage with a us citizen. This September, my lawyer submitted my I-485 and they only send me the sign page to sign. After a while, they were preparing an I-485 package to advance my individual court, they sent me the same I-485 form they submitted with other documents to sign, then I found a lot of mistakes. Like my eye color, hair color are wrong, my address spelled wrong and my husband’s working info was old from 3 years ago. Now they mailed the motion with corrected info I guess. I heard if i-485 is not filled correctly will be a big problem. Should I ask them to resubmit my 485, will I get into trouble on my green card application in court?
Thanks,
This seems like more than carelessness, and it makes me wonder if the lawyers are doing their job properly. I do think this needs to be corrected. These errors may not be that important, but it shows that you were not consulted about the form, which is a very big problem. You should have reviewed it before it was submitted. This makes me worry what else you do not know about your case. I would ask for a copy of the whole file – you are entitled to that, and given these errors, it would be a good idea for you to go over everything to make sure the case is in good shape. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
They did do very bad work on my case. I sent them all the info in an I-485 format and they copy the information wrong, they did not send me for review either, just sent the signature pages. They did not inform me about my I-130 interview, saying they did not receive the letter, also did not receive my I-130 approval letter and my I-130 was over the normal processing time for around 10 months, they still did not do anything just asked me to wait until I contacted USCIS myself and got the interview passed. There are even more…but I signed a contract with them, they put if I left them I will need to pay $750/h for the time they expended… I am super frustrated now. Now I am waiting for my individual hearing, I am wondering if my attorney not showing on my individual hearing, can I represent myself to adjust my status and apply for green card in court?
Thanks,
It seems to me that these are serious problems. I am also not sure that the contract they gave you is enforceable, as it sounds strange to me. I think you would do well to talk to another lawyer and get a second opinion about the case. My thinking is that what they might warrant a bar complaint, and a refund of your money. The chances that they can take additional money from you seem very low. But to know for sure about the contract and the case, you would do well to talk to another lawyer who can review everything and advise you about how to proceed. Finally, I did a post on April 10, 2019 about people who have problematic lawyers – maybe that would be worth a look. Take care, Jason
Thank you, Jason.
I also read your April 10, 2019 post, really help relieve my sadness a lot. Thanks a lot.
Hello Jason, I had filed my marriage based about 2 years ago, while my asylum case was still pending. I recently got in touch with my congressperson to make an inquiry for expedite processing on both my I-485 and I-765 which I applied under c9. The first good news came, and they approved my new EAD and yesterday I got my card! I am hoping to be interviewed soon and will end up withdrawing my asylum case once they grant my permanent residency. My question to you is whether it would be a problem to re-enter after visiting my sick parents who are about 80 in my country that I claimed I would see harm upon returning due to the political and religious reasons. This will be the primary reason that I will end up going there and I will keep all the legitimate doctor reports and affidavit letters with me while reentering. Do you think the officers may still give me hard time to enter the US because of my record of asylum case? My wife will also be travelling with me to give me any support she can give.
I would appreciate reading your advice on this matter.
Thanks,
The Poet.
I do think there is some risk of going to your country, even if you get a GC based on marriage. If the return trip causes the US government to think that your asylum case was fake, that could cause problems. So you should be prepared to explain why you returned and how you stayed safe, and also provide evidence about that. I have had clients return to their countries, and no one has had any real problems, but that is a possibility, and it is best to try to be careful. I did a blog post on January 6, 2016 that provides more detail on this – it is not exactly on point, but may be helpful. Take care, Jason
Thanks for your explanation, Jason. I am aware of the possibilities, and I will carry the health records of my sick parents and will ask a witness to write a letter about my purpose of the visit and will have it notarized. I see most people reenter easily with this situation but once in a while it may occur to anyone. It is better to be prepared! I will also read your other post now.
Happy Christmas,
Take care.
Hello again Jason, my expedite request to the USCIS through the congressperson on my marriage was declined, although I provided them the medical reports of mother. Things are getting harder for her, and she needs my support there. However, I have my pending asylum case along with my pending marriage case. Do you think applying for advance parole under my marriage case and going to my country when accepted would make my re-entry hard? Have you had any client with the same situation? I am seriously in need of a help for my situation and willing to follow whatever your advice.
Thanks.
You might talk to a lawyer about the specifics, but if you go to your country, it could very possibly cause you to lose the asylum case. It should not effect the marriage case, but if the return trip causes USCIS to think that the original asylum was a fraud, that could cause you to lose the marriage case. At a minimum, you need to be able to explain why you returned and how you stayed safe while there. If possible, it would be better to meet your mother in a third country. Also, if you have the option, it is much easier (and less expensive) to get AP based on the marriage case rather than asylum. Good luck, Jason
Hi Jason, thanks for your response. Since I am already prioritizing my marriage-based case, I of course am thinking to apply the travel document under my marriage case via info pass along with my grandmother’s serious medical reports. (She is the one who raised me after my parent’s separation when a was about 3). However, as I said I have my asylum case pending since March 2017. I am weighing the possible consequences. I am happily married here, and my spouse is also coming with me to my home country. I believe she can tell the officers in case they try to give me a hard time upon re-entering. I frankly need someone like you to encourage me to do this trip with the travel document through the marriage case, while my asylum case is pending. Additionally, I want to learn if I ever overstayed with this timeline: I entered the US on May 30th, 2016, with a non-subject to 2 years rule J1 visa and filed my I-539 on time to be granted to stay until March 28th, 2017. As of March 30th, 2017, my asylum case is pending and as of February 25th, 2020, my marriage case. Overall, there is only 2 days gap in between extension and asylum case, and I also know that both pending asylum and marriage-based cases are stopping the unauthorized stay clock to work against an applicant, is that right?
Thank you so much for your answer in advance.
Take care.
It seems to me that you only have a couple days of “unlawful presence.” For that to matter, you have to have at least 6 months of unlawful presence. Even if you had that, I believe you could still return to the US with AP (though you would want to double check that with a lawyer, as the rules have changed over time – I am pretty certain this is correct as of now). In any event, with only 2 days of unlawful presence, there is no bar for you to return. I am concerned about returning to the home country, and a possible accusation from USCIS that the asylum case was fake, but if you can explain that, you should be ok. You may want to talk to a lawyer about the specifics of your case, just to be prepared for any issues that may come up based on the return trip. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason, thanks for all the recent information you gave. I think, I will wait for a while to apply for an advance parole under my marriage case because I learnt today that my marriage-based case was moved to New Orleans Field Office, although I live in Salt Lake City. The only think this situation tells me that they are looking at both cases together since my asylum case was pending at New Orleans Office. Does this make any sense to you? Why do you think they moved my case to where my asylum case have been pending? Is this a common procedure for applicants who have both cases at the same time? I hope there is nothing to worry. Next month, my marriage case will complete its second year and yet there is no other update since they attached my fingerprints to my case on August 6th,2020. I went through congressperson to expedite it but did not get any solution. Should I try senator or ombudsman?
Thanks.
It seems a little strange that they would move the case to the NO Field Office, unless they think you are in New Orleans. In that case, you should be sure they have your current address (you can use form AR-11, available at http://www.uscis.gov). If you live in UT and they schedule an interview in LA, not only will you have to travel there, but you could have the whole case postponed and moved to UT instead of having an interview (they will not interview a person if they think the person does not live in their jurisdiction). Maybe there is another reason that the case was sent there, but I do not know. Also, make sure your asylum case is under your correct address as well (using the same form). Otherwise, maybe you want to try the Ombudsman. I think that is more likely to get a result than a Senator’s office. You can also try both. Take care, Jason
That is also very odd to me. I knew that my asylum case was transferred from Houston to New Orleans sub office couple years ago, but I cannot think of why they move my marriage-based case to New Orleans Field Office. Also, as far as I know asylum offices are different offices than regular immigration field offices in each state. Yet, under both of my cases I have my current living address which is in Salt Lake. While it is normal that they keep my asylum case under the New Orleans Asylum Office since the state I live at is under their jurisdiction, it is unusual to me that they transferred my marriage based cased there. I think I will go ahead and try the senator. Both the USCIS representatives on the phone and EMMA are helpless and they are often rude. I made numerous service requests and USCIS have never answered them. I hope to get this thing done soon because it is unfair that there is not even a single update on my case almost a year and half.
Thanks Jason, I really appreciate for your time to answer my questions.
If you check the Asylum Office Locator (a link is under Resources), the asylum office for Utah is Houston, not New Orleans, so I do not know why the case would be sent to that Field Office. You may want to email the New Orleans Asylum Office to see if they have your updated address. You can find their email if you follow the links at the Asylum Office Locator. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, yesterday I got connected to another representative via EMMA and asked to confirm if my marriage case was moved to New Orleans and I was answered that my case was not moved there! I feel like the first person somehow got confused about what he said on the phone. I also checked the address details on my asylum case which is matching with my Salt Lake address on my other case. I may end up asking another representative to do my triple check soon! Couple minutes ago, I submitted my concern to the senator Romney’s office. I hope they can help me get this case resolved as early as they can.
Thanks, and Take care!
I have very little confidence in these online messages (or even in what the representatives sometimes tell you) and I don’t really pay much attention. I would prefer if they would just process the case instead of posting useless “updates” that really tell us nothing. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason I am my Husbund applicant on asylum and our case in court mcr next year and my 2 kids .. so we are divorce next month and I merry with my boy friend (us citizen) so my question do I have to go to court for my green card? Because I am not main applicant asylum I am dependent my husband asylum case
You would need to go to court, yes (and so would the children). However, probably you need to separate the two cases and this requires filing a motion with the court. I think you should have a lawyer help you, as it sounds like you have a path to a GC, but the bureaucracy is tricky. Also, note that once you are divorced, you are no longer an asylum seeker dependent and are no longer eligible for a c-8 work permit (based on asylum pending). Also, you are subject to the one-year asylum bar, meaning that if you want to also have a pending asylum case, you need to file as soon as possible – talk to a lawyer about that too, if it applies. Take care, Jason
Dear Jason
I have been reading through the comments to see if i could find a post/comment from others that is similar to mine, unfortunately i couldn’t. I have a couple questions please.
1. I am an asylee since 2016, no interview yet. Now i am about to settle down and get married to a US citizen. The guy got married some 12 years ago to his then wife, now divorced. Wife had to run away from him because he was abusive and opened a case against him. eventually, she got GC. NOW, this guy and i want to get married. However, before we do the wedding, i wanted to check and see if he will be able to file for my GC given that he once got married but couldn’t go as far as processing GC for his “wife”.
2. Do you think he needs to divorce first or its okay we can go ahead with our marriage plan?
Thank you
1 – The prior domestic issue could be a problem for you. I do not remember the rules, but I think if a person has a domestic violence conviction, he may not be eligible to sponsor a noncitizen spouse for a green card. I am not sure about this, and I do not know whether a conviction is required, but maybe you can read the I-130 form instructions (available at http://www.uscis.gov) to check. Better yet, have a lawyer check the law on this for you, as it would be a bad idea to start the process and pay for it, if your spouse is not eligible to sponsor you. 2 – If there is a prior marriage for either of you, that marriage must have legally ended in order to get married again, so if he is not yet divorced, he must do that before you and he marry. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
Thank you so much for answering all the questions we have.
I have an asylum with removing preceding hearing early next year(2022). I got married in 2018 and my husband is a US citizen. I got my i-130 approved and submitted 485 and got the receipt. The original plan was that my attorney will file an advance court motion and then apply GC on the court, but till now this motion is still not been file yet. Will this motion be helpful, do I need it? Can I apply for c9 EAD and I-131 now?
Thank you
At this point, it is very unlikely that you will get a sooner court date, as 2022 is only 2.5 months away. One option is to file to dismiss the court case so you can adjust status with USCIS, but it will probably be faster to wait for the court date. The one issue with that is that many court dates are being canceled due to Covid. If that happens, you could file a motion to dismiss at that time. In terms of a c-9 EAD and the I-131 (Advance Parole), if you have the I-485 receipt, you should be able to file for those. Note that as long as the court case is going, you cannot travel outside the US and return, even if you have AP – if you leave, you might be considered to have deported yourself and you could be refused re-entry (or detained upon arrival). That document would only be useful (and use-able) if your court case were dismissed and you were waiting for a GC from USCIS. Take care, Jason
Thank you, Jason.
my current removal hearing court date is May 31st, 2022, do you think still worth a try at the advance court motion? Since I have the i-130 approved and the i-485 receipt, if I dismiss my court case now, how long do you think I probably need to wait for an i-485 interview with the USCIS? And thank you for reminding me of the usage of the advance parole document.
Thank you,
In terms of the time, it is impossible to say which path will be faster. Many court cases are being postponed (one of mine for Friday was just canceled this morning). If your case is not canceled, I think will get the GC faster in court (probably). But if want to travel more quickly, even if the GC arrives more slowly, maybe the better bet is to try to terminate the case – once that happens, you can get Advance Parole, which could happen before May (and remember, even if you win your case in May, you still have to get the physical GC in the mail – and I am not sure how long that takes; hopefully weeks, but with USCIS, which issues the card, you never know; this could affect your ability to travel). In any event, I think there is no way to know for sure, but if your goal is a fast GC, court is probably better, but if your goal is to travel more quickly, maybe dismissing the case would be faster. I am really not sure. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
Thank you for answering the question so fast.
And sorry for more questions.
I just find out that I have a master hearing on January 25, 2022, from this website https://portal.eoir.justice.gov/InfoSystem/CourtInfo, which was on May 31st, 2022 before, will the court move the court date ahead without any notice? And can I do status adjust and apply GC on this court? I was told by the attorney assistant that I cannot do status adjust on this court and I have to file the advance court date motion to change this court into a merit hearing then I can apply GC. Do you think this sounds right? if I wanna a faster GC instead of travel faster docs, do you think the motion can change the January master hearing into a merit hearing as they suggested? or since I don’t have a merit hearing yet, should this motion be used as advance the merit hearing date instead?
Thank you very much
Unfortunately, the courts do change dates around with little notice, and it creates real chaos. As for your case, you are probably better off to try to terminate the case and adjust status with USCIS. If you only have a MCH, it may be difficult to get an individual court date anytime soon. Maybe you could try, and if that fails, then try to terminate the case to go with USCIS. At a MCH, you would not be able to adjust status (at least I have not seen that before), and so you would then have to wait for an individual hearing. I suppose you could ask for a soon individual hearing date at the MCH, and if the judge does not have one, you could then try to terminate the case then and there. Probably that will not work unless you (or your lawyer) communicates with the DHS attorney (the prosecutor) prior to the MCH to see whether they would agree to a quick hearing date or termination. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason. I’m a pending asylum since 2017 got married with a US citizen on 2018. We went to our I130 interview on 2019 everything proceeded perfect except the officer said she would grant me the GC but the only thing she needed was the Asylum office to transfer her my A-file. I am getting confused on weather I should withdraw my asylum case since the office is holding my a-file for over 2 yrs now. I was advised by my attorney to withdraw my asylum case prior to my I130 interview to avoid this to happen. However, at that time when I arrived to the asylum office for withdrawal the administrators who work inside the asylum office have said it is risky to withdraw my asylum case since I haven’t gone to i130 interview yet at that point. So, I did what they had told me didn’t withdraw. But as of now I don’t know what to do anymore. I tried mailing, emailing, and calling there’s no answer. I got another interview from the asylum office on 2020, but I couldn’t make it since I was at quarantine for COVID-19 at that time. Please give me advise weather I should withdraw my asylum case at this point? Or I should wait? Or what else I should do?
Normally, we do not withdraw the asylum case until the GC is approved and you have it. However, in this case, something is holing up the GC. Contact the asylum office by email to see if they can help (you can find their email if you follow the link under Resources called Asylum Office Locator). Maybe you will need to formally try to withdraw the case, but there is a risk that if you do that, they will send you to Immigration Court. That may be better than waiting forever. But whatever you do, you have to coordinate with your lawyer. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, I would like to say thank you for your help & hard work on the asylum cases. I’m your blog followers since 2016 with pending cases.
I married a us citizens & have two children while my cases are pending. I applied adjustment of status through my wife & I received notices (I-130 & I-485) are to be interviewed but My EAD expired two month ago. I’m on extensions notices & this extension will expire soon. form I -765 still on process.
I’m so confused what to do?
I tried to filled a form “out outside processing time” but the system couldn’t be accept me. any recommendations please?
I think you just have to wait for the new card. You can call USCIS (800-375-5283), but that is difficult and often not very helpful. If you are worried about “illegal” work, that does not affect your ability to get asylum or get a GC based on marriage to a US citizen. Also, if you have a pending I-485 based on the marriage case, you can apply for an EAD based on that, but if you have not done that yet, it is probably going to be faster to get the EAD you already applied for. Also, hopefully, the marriage case is approved and you get the GC quickly, which would solve the problem. Good luck, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have a pending I-130, my lawyer filled a motion with the judge to ask for a continuance but the judge denied it and did administrative closure for my case instead not sure where this leaves me ? and how bad is it ?
Thank you
Probably it is fine – it just means you have time now to wait until the I-130 is approved. Once that happens, your lawyer will have to file papers with the court to either dismiss the case, so you can file the I-485 with USCIS or re-calendar the case so you can file the I-485 with the court. Talk to your lawyer to be sure, but based on what you wrote, I think that is what is happening. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
I have an Asylum case pending for over10 year for I moved from NY to Chicago then to CA now. The individual hearing is May next year with removing proceedings. I got married with citizen in 2018 and got i130 approved early this year and not filed 485 yet.
Should I keep the asylum case until i receive my marriage green card? Terminating removing proceeding is not equal to terminate my asylum case, right? if i terminate my asylum case now, I will lose my EAD and I will have maybe over 1 year cannot work, right? Should I ask the court to terminate the removing proceeding but keep the asylum case in the status dock while moving forward with 485, ask the court to let me file 485 through uscis instead of court, using c8 EAD till i got my 485 approved?
Thanks you!
You can either terminate proceedings and file for the GC or try to get the GC from the court. You may not have a choice in the matter, and you should talk to a lawyer about the best approach. But if you do terminate, you can file the I-485 and at the same time, file for an EAD and a travel document. You should get the new EAD/travel document in maybe 4 to 7 months. But if you do not want to lose the EAD at all, maybe you can get the GC from the court. The problem is that not all judges will allow this, but certainly you can try. Take care, Jason
Hi, Jason
Thank you very much for answering my question.
If I understand correctly, a safer or judege-would-allow move now would be terminate proceedings (not the whole asylum case)and file the I-485, file for an EAD and a travel document. My attorney is terminating my asylum case now, I am worried that I would be in a totally illegal status for a while, would I?
my renewal of c8 is in processing for around 6 months now and I think I can receive it within 2 months, so if my lawyer file terminate motion after I receive the new EAD, I would be able to continue work till the new c08 EAD expire?
Thank you again Jason
If the court case is terminated, the asylum case is also over, and the c-8 EAD is no longer valid. Technically, you could not legally work once that happens, but many people do, since they have the EAD and there is no easy way to know that it is invalid (I do not know if e-verify reveals this). Once you file the I-485 and accompanying forms, you would have a pending case. This is not “status”, but it does protect you from being deported and unless something goes wrong, you would get your work permit in 5 or 7 months and your GC sometime after that. Take care, Jason
Thank you very much!
Hi Jason, I’m waiting for my individual hearing, I got married last year to a us citizen my lawyer filled I-130 then before he send the motion to the judge filled the i485 and payed the fees, then filled the motion with the judge to reschedule the individual hearing until the uscis decide on the i-130
Was that the right move to make ? I send your article to him before we file the i485.
I am not sure I understand what happened. There are two ways to pay the I-485 fee – for adjustment in court and for adjustment with USCIS. If you paid the USCIS way, you should (probably) be able to use that in court as well. But if you paid the court way, and then you terminate your court case and try to adjust (get the GC) with USCIS, you may have to pay the fee a second time, since USCIS does not always accept the fee when you pay as if you have a court case. Other than this, I don’t know that it much matters. In my case, I normally only have the client pay the I-485 fee once we decide whether the case will be adjudicated in court or once the case is terminated to adjudicate with USCIS. I feel like this avoids some confusion and potentially saves the expense of paying twice. However, sometimes, you may want to pay the USCIS way even in court – one reason to do that is to get a work permit based on the pending I-485. Take care, Jason
Hi again Jason,
We filled the i130 about 2 weeks ago and we mailed the judge all the evidence we submitted with the i130 with the filing receipt to ask to reschedule the individual hearing until we have a decision for the i130
We haven’t heard back from the judge How long does it usually take to hear back from the judge ? with My individual hearing in November.
Thanks
It varies by judge. You might want to call the court to ask the judge’s clerk – their contact info can be found under Resources if you follow the link called Immigration Court. There is also a link to the DHS Office of the Chief Counsel (the prosecutor). You can also call them to see if they would agree to your request, and if so, maybe they can contact the court. Take care, Jason
Hello,
I came here as a F1 student, I applied for asylum when I was 17 , got my interview when I was 18, but fall out of my F1 status before my asylum interview, but I am in school right now not as a F1 student.
I had two interviews in 2017 one in March and another in September . Since then my decision is still pending .the name of my mother on my visa application and asylum application was different and I had explained to the officer that it was because of fear of being denied a visa since my mother was already in United state that we were advised not to put her name and I had to leave the country ASAP. I am not sure if that is what caused the delay in my application or something else.
I have been dating a US citizen for almost 3 years and we are thinking about getting married. How will the process of getting a green card look like for us since my decision has been pending for almost 4 years ? Will my mum’s name discrepancy on my visa and asylum application and the fact that I have been out status affects the Green card process ? Will my asylum case interfere with the Green card under marriage ?
The above article discusses this in more detail, but if you entered the US with a visa, you are probably eligible to “adjust status” and get a green card in the US. There is a potential issue of fraud, since you misrepresented your mother’s name on the visa. That would probably not affect the asylum case (based on a precedent decision called Matter of Pula that says if you lie to escape your country, you are generally not blocked from asylum). However, it could be an issue for a GC case. At a minimum, you would need to be prepared to explain what happened. Talk to a lawyer about this, as the specifics of the situation matter and in this situation, you should have some legal help to identify and prepare for any legal issues in the case. Take care, Jason
Thank you for your answer. So could this cause a deny in my green card case? What can the possible complications be?
I think a denial is possible based on fraud, but it is unlikely. That said, you do need to address this issue, and a lawyer can help with that. I think in the worst case, you would need a waiver (a form where you pay money and ask USCIS to forgive you for lying), and that should work. Sometimes, if you make a good explanation about what happened, you do not need the waiver, which is better, as that will save you money and time. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Jason I’m in removing proceeding and I got married and just filled the I-130 form.
How long does it take to get the interview darling this time ?
Thanks.
It’s not so predictable – you can check I-130 processing times at http://www.uscis.gov, and I have seen cases take in the neighborhood of a year, but it could be slower or faster. Sometimes, the DHS attorney (the prosecutor) can help speed things along – you or your lawyer could try to talk to them. You can find their contact info if you follow the link under Resources called DHS Office of the Chief Counsel. Take care, Jason
Hi Jason, I hope all is well. I have a few questions that is a little complicated and would appreciate your advise on it. My asylum was denied at the uscis and is currently in removal proceedings, scheduled for late 2023. I recently got married to US citizen and have submitted the I-130 to uscis (received the receipt). So this is all under process. After the news that I read about people with TPS might be eligible to apply for GC directly. I was thinking I should re-register for TPS, do you think this will complicate my court case if the TPS gets approved? I will not be able to travel even if my I-130 gets approved but my grand mother is very sick and I am really hoping to visit her next year (hopefully my I-130 gets approve by then).
Do you think it makes sense to apply for TPS and cancel my court case and apply for I-485 to USCIS directly? Would this be a lot easier than waiting for the court case or would it complicate the case?
Many thanks Jason.
I do not see how TPS would make a difference to your asylum case or marriage case, but I am not sure you are eligible to register for it now. Also, the path to the GC is just a proposal and we do not know whether it will go into effect. If the I-130 is approved, you cannot travel. However, if it is approved and you can get the court case terminated, then you could file the I-485 (application for GC) and also apply for Advance Parole so you could travel. None of this will be quick, but you can always try to expedite with USCIS. I wrote about that on January 29, 2020. Finally, if you do get TPS, it is unlikely you will be able to terminate your case on that basis, but maybe some judges would be willing to do that. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I Came with B2 visa 2015,I applied for Asylum after 7 months 2016, got interview and got denial 2018. referred to court for master hearing 2020 then rescheduled for 2023.
Got married to US citizen 2019.
Sent i-130 May 2019 and still pending.
Can I get my green card via USCIS or the only one can approve the green card is the judge via immigration court 2023?
Unless the court terminates the case, you can only get the GC through the judge. Often times, they will agree to terminate, and then you can get the GC through USCIS. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
Thank you for your last answer.
I had I-130 interview a week ago and it went good, and the officer told us she can’t give us an approval for I-130 right away without going back to her supervisor approval because I am in removal process. But she told us everything looks fine and our answers matching, so we shouldn’t be worry.
Two days ago we got a letter form uscis (request for evidence) and inside the letter they are asking for (marriage bona fide exemption) to be written and send to them so they can make a decision.
My question is: is it something we missed to send? Or they need more evidence? Is it bad sign for something?
I am already sending to a lawyer but need your opinion too please.
It is standard for an I-130 petition where the person is in court. You just have to write a statement indicated that you married for love and that you request a “bona fide marriage exemption,” meaning, basically, that there is a higher standard of evidence for marriage cases where the person is in court, and so you are seeking an exemption to that rule because your marriage is bona fide (i.e., true). Take care, Jason
Thank you,
so no need to send more evidence?
Just send this statement?
I do not know about that. You each need an affidavit to ask for the exception. You may need other evidence as well, depending on what they asked for and whether you think you already submitted enough. Take care, Jason
HI JASON,
i have a court hearing next year November and wants to withdraw my spouse from my case, what do i need to do?
I think you would have to inform the court, which you can do in writing (with a copy to the DHS lawyer) or when you next go to court. Withdrawing the spouse from the asylum case would not remove the spouse from your removal case. If you are getting divorced, for example, you made need to separate your court case from the spouse’s court case. Again, you can do that in writing or in person, but you might want to talk to a lawyer who knows more about the procedure. Your spouse would probably need a separate lawyer at that point if the spouse wants to litigate his/her own case. Take care, Jason
I got married to an American and I have a pending case, and planning to file the necessary forms would clamming unemployment would effect getting A green card during this hard time ?
Unemployment insurance is not part of the public charge analysis, so you should be ok. However, you probably should talk to a lawyer, as being unemployed and not having an income can effect the public charge analysis. You can learn more if you look at the instructions for form I-944, available at http://www.uscis.gov. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason,
Will strong financial and capital evidence and credit history will support that I won’t be a public charge ?
Yes, but check the I-944 instructions, as that gives more specific info on this point. Take care, Jason
I have a case in court scheduled for Nov of next year I got married to an American citizen, how soon can we get the interview ? And anyway we can expedite it ?
And if I decided to go home for a visit would that cause a cancellation of my Green card because I had an asylum case ?
As discussed above, the first step is the I-130. You can try to expedite – I wrote about that on January 29, 2020. As for returning home, it could cause the US government to think your original asylum case was fake, and so you need to be careful about that. If you do go, you should be prepared to explain why you went and how you stayed safe. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason that’s helpful,
Even though getting a Green card based on marriage not the asylum which It will be terminated will be an issue to go home for a short term to visit a sick family member ?
If the return trip causes the US government to think that your asylum case was fake, it could be a problem. If you are going to visit a sick relative, be prepared to explain that (maybe with evidence, such as medical records) and also explain how you stayed safe during your trip. If you fear non-government actors, this is easier to explain than if you fear your home government (which can presumably arrest you when you arrive at the airport). Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I have a question regarding my marriage.
I have asylum case and had interview in 2017. Got denied and referred to court on October 2020. I am married to american citizen for two years but till now my i-130 still pending. We have marriage problems now and planning to get divorce. Is this will effect my asylum case? Specially I will go to court and officially we did not divorce yet. Also our marriage is in a good faith. And we are getting divorce because she has a serious problems with anger and abusing me. Can I still file for a green card based on marriage? Or the only case left is the asylum?
Thank you.
This should not affect your asylum case. You may want to talk to a lawyer to see whether you might qualify for a GC under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), as it is sometimes possible to get a GC if you were in an abusive relationship (both women and men can get a GC based on this law). Take care, Jason
Hi Jason,
I have a pending asylum case. I also just filed I-130 and I-485 and applied for a new employment authorization card, even though I have one based on the asylum case. My current card is expiring December this year. Should I apply for a renewal now for my current card? Or I cannot apply for the renewal since I applied for a new one based on the adjustment of status case? I just want to make sure that there is no gap period where I do not have a valid one.
Thank you.
I have not filed two EAD applications for the same person lately (or maybe ever), and so I am not sure if they will issue a card if you already have one. The cards are different (for example, the EAD based on the I-485 can be used as an Advance Parole document if you also filed an I-131), and so maybe they would issue both. It sounds like you have some time, so you may want to wait and see if you get the adjustment-based EAD, and if you do not have it by November, file the asylum-based EAD application (you should have the receipt in 3 or 4 weeks, and the automatically extends the validity of the asylum-based EAD by 180 days). Take care, Jason
Hello Jason,
I have similar question please, my EAD card based on asylum is expiring in one month and I filed I-485 last month, Is it better to renew my EAD card based on asylum or based on I-485?
Thank you.
If you renew based on asylum, you will get the automatic 180-day extension as soon as you receive your receipt and so if you mail the application soon, you should not have a gap in your employability. However, you have to pay the $410 renewal fee (or do the fee waiver, which is a bad idea given that it is a negative public charge factor for the adjustment of status). On the other hand, if you apply for an EAD based on the I-485, there is no fee aside from the $1225 you paid for the I-485, but it will take months to get the new card, and so you will have a gap in your ability to legally work. Also, if you apply for both, I am not sure whether USCIS will deny one application since you really should not have two cards. Take care, Jason
Hello Jason
I filed I-485 & I-130, all the documents were returned as the I-485 is an outdated version.
Should I just change the I-485 and re-submit all the other forms that were returned to me, i.e I-130, I-864, I-944? Or should I change all of these forms as well so they have the same date as the I-485?
Also, the opened the I-693, so now it is not in a sealed envelope, should I get a new one?
Thank you.
As long as the other forms are the most recent version (which you can check on the http://www.uscis.gov website), you can just re-do the I-485 and re-file the other forms that were rejected. It’s actually a bit annoying that they did not accept the I-130, since that can be processed separately, but so it goes. As for the medical exam, I think you need to submit a new, sealed exam. However, if you cannot get that done now, you can do it later – USCIS will request it from you at some point in the process. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason. I actually called USCIS today and they told me that I need to reprint all of the forms again and send it as they already scanned these documents in their system. Each form has some type of a serial code and an initial on the bottom of it.
Hi Jason,
I have a pending asylum case and I got married to a US citizen. I am applying for the permanent residence through her. Both her parents are US citizen but she was born in another country. So has a “Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the USA” is that considered a Certificate of Citizenship? Meaning, should we answer “Yes” to question 38, Part 2, in I-130 “Have you obtained a Certificate of Naturalization or a Certificate of Citizenship?”?
Thank you.
I think if she was born a US citizen, she would not have a Naturalization Certificate. To be safe, if you say no to that question, circle it and write “see cover letter.” The cover letter, you can explain that she was born abroad and has a birth document reflecting that fact. And of course, attach a copy of the document. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason. Can I write the explanation in the last page where we provide additional information or should I do the cover letter?
Yes, you can do that. I just use a cover letter so my clients think I am doing extra work! Just circle your answer and write “See supplement page” or maybe give them the page number. Take care, Jason
Thank you Jason. I actually called USCIS today and they told me that I need to reprint all of the forms again and send it as they already scanned these documents in their system. Each form has some type of a serial code and an initial on the bottom of it.
Strange. We have re-sent forms that were previously rejected and we never had a problem. But if that is what they told you, I guess it is best to do what they say. Take care, Jason