One of the most common ways for people to get a green card is through a family member. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can help certain family members immigrate to the United States. This is a two-step process. First, the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files a family visa petition. Second, the foreign national relative files an application to become a permanent resident. Each step involves different legal and factual issues.
As a national expert on these issues, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides ongoing trainings on the family-based immigration process, answers case-specific questions from practitioners, authors a comprehensive manual, Families & Immigration: A Practical Guide, and advocates locally and federally in support of immigrant families.
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During the Trump administration, the public charge ground of inadmissibility received much attention. The Trump administration implemented new rules on public charge that increased scrutiny of applicants for green cards. The Trump-era rules are no longer in effect.
The ILRC submitted these recommended priorities to USCIS for improvements to the USCIS Policy Manual.
This practice advisory contains numerous practical examples to assist in understanding how to recapture and retain priority dates in the family immigration context.
This practice advisory discusses the changes to eligibility for derivative T nonimmigrant status for after-acquired spouses in the wake of the ruling in Medina Tovar v. Zuchowski.
This Chart summarizes the criminal record bars to many forms of relief, to provide a quick way to check whether your client is potentially eligible for relief.
The ILRC submitted comments to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) on October 14, 2021. DOS had solicited public input on recommendations for changes needed at the agency in a federal register notice on September 16, 2021.
The Central American Minors program allows qualifying children in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to enter the United States and live here lawfully if they have a parent or legal guardian in the United States with certain kinds of immigration status.
On August 18, USCIS provided information on the new bona fide determination process for U visa petitioners and their family members on a webinar hosted by ASISTA and ILRC. These notes include information shared during this event, including additional analysis.
Mortality from COVID-19 meant that many immigrant families grieved over lost family members, and simultaneously were faced with the loss of an immigration benefit that may have depended on the deceased relative.
The Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (LRIF) created a limited-term program allowing many Liberians living in the United States to apply for permanent residence. Initially, LRIF’s application period opened on December 20, 2019 and was set to expire on December 20, 2020.
In June 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Sanchez v.