Immigration Problems? If you have a question you’d like to email us, drop us a line at ipcboston@yahoo.com

Attorney Generals office to act on cases of nonpayment of wages

A number of calls recently came from individuals who were not paid wages for work performed. We’ve made the necessary referrals for legal counsel. The Attorney General’s office will also prosecute individuals who are exploiting immigrants or who are violating state employment laws.

Diversity Visa application assistance

We remind immigrants that the DV lottery application period is open through Dec 1, 2008. We are assisting immigrants on the DV application at our offices. Call for more information.

Adjustment of status cases

Immigrants filing for adjustment of status should include certified records of any arrests they may have had here in the US or overseas with their application package. Be sure to have your papers reviewed by an immigration attorney prior to submitting them to USCIS. Another caller this week had lost his i-94 card, the green colored card attached to ones passport on entry, and we advised him of the process of filing for a replacement.

Proof of inspection

Proof of inspection is part of the evidence you have to submit when applying for legal residency after marriage to a US citizen. A lost or stolen I-94 card may be replaced by filing an application with the USCIS using form I-102. It is filed to the US CIS service center with jurisdiction over the state in which you reside. Residents of Massachusetts file to the Service Center in Vermont.

US Citizenship

Legal residents are reminded that they may file for US citizenship after residing here as an LPR for five years, or three years if an LPR through marriage to a US citizen if still married to the US citizen.

The USCIS have almost eliminated the backlog on US citizenship cases. The process is now taking six to eight months from the time of application. About a month after you file the N400 Application for Naturalization, you are called in for biometrics. The citizenship history and English test is administered at the interview. If your interview goes well, and you are approved, you may be sworn in as a US citizen within weeks.

Free Legal Clinics

Our next clinic will be on the first Tuesday evening of November 4^th at Bad Abbots beginning at 6:30 in the evening. Attorney Chris Lavery will be providing free one to one consultations at this clinic. At this clinic we can concentrate on issues which frequently arise while applying for the DV lottery.