Questions about Green Card Laws and Regulations

Obtaining a green card sometimes can be challenging if you are not sure how to get a green card. Permanent residence green card renewals can seem a tricky. Read below the top green card questions that have been answered by the Immigration Lawyers on JustAnswer.

If someone is a US Citizen by naturalization, and had to surrender their green card at the airport because they stayed too long in the UK, can they get their green card reinstated?

They cannot usually get their old green card reinstated. They would normally have to file I-130 and I-485 all over again to get a new green card through someone else that may be related to them. However, in most cases, they can stay in the US during the process. If they need to travel in the time it will take to be approved for another green card, they would need to also file a form I-131 advance parole while the I485 is pending. If questions about reinstating green cards have got your puzzled you can turn to the Immigration Lawyers on JustAnswer to get your questions answered.

If a citizen from Mexico is married to an American citizen and wants to get a divorce but has a 10 year resident card as an American citizen, will they lose their green card?

They should not lose that status since it is not a conditional card like the two year card is. The only way they could lose it through divorce would be if immigration had strong evidence to suggest that the marriage was only for obtaining the green card. This can be almost impossible if there is a child involved.

If someone was married for two months and got divorced after obtaining a K1 visa, is one spouse liable if the other spouse on the K1 visa remains in the USA?

There is no liability to the spouse at all; however the spouse on the K1 visa is deportable from the US. They would need to win asylum or similar protection, or prove that the spouse has abused them in order to get a waiver to stay in the USA.

What is the best way to get a visa or green card?

There are 5 ways to come to the U.S. to live permanently. They are through family, employment, asylum, investment, or through the visa lottery.

Green Card through Family: It must be immediate family such as U.S. Citizen Spouse or U.S. Citizen Children over 21 years old, in order to be able to come immediately. U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident parents or U.S. Citizen Siblings, or Lawful Permanent Resident spouses can also help you, but the wait for that is about 4 to 12 years or so.

Green Card Through Employment: You would have to generally prove that you would not be taking a job away from a U.S. worker and the less experience and education you have the harder that is to do.

Green Card Through Asylum: You must prove that you will be persecuted, tortured or killed if you stay in your country and that this will happen to you because of your nationality, race, religion, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, not because you would run the same risk as anyone else in your country to fall victim to a crime or bad economic conditions.

Green Card Through Investment: You would generally need to make an investment of $1,000,000.00 for a residency, or if you want a temporary visa, probably at least $100,000 or $200,000 investment to start.

Green Card Through Lottery: It could be very difficult to win one of the 50,000 visas available per year through lottery. Residents of Mexico do not qualify for the lottery.

While living in California on a green card that is about to expire, if I have unpaid taxes but working with the IRS for repayment, will my green card renewal be denied?

Typically this is not an issue when renewing someone’s green card. However, criminal convictions would hinder green card status. If someone's unpaid taxes ends up being a tax fraud case, then that could be a criminal charge. As a rule, the immigration usually does not check into someone’s tax paying status unless there have been criminal charges.

If you’re having questions about your green card application or green card status, Immigration Lawyers on JustAnswer can help answer your questions and ease your mind.