Lawful permanent resident status can be very difficult to obtain from USCIS. Due to prior problems with immigration fraud - especially in the spouse-based category - USCIS requires a vigorous examination of both the U.S. citizen sponsor and the immigrant beneficiary. Significant documentation and evidence of a shared life is essential for your application to be approved. At the St. Louis field office of USCIS, there are approximately five officers who conduct the examinations and, as with any office, certain aspects of the application are very important to some officers, while other officers focus on other pieces of the application. En Español.
Submitting a thorough application with comprehensive evidence is essential and will make the interview process run much more smoothly. Because while you are certainly at the interview to truthfully answer all questions posed to you, streamlining the interview is always to the applicant's benefit. Working with an experienced immigration lawyer can be very beneficial in this regard.
So what happens when the interview is over? Typically, the officer says something like, "well, I'm going to look everything over and you should be hearing from us soon." For concurrent filers, this waiting period can include a period where your I-485 approved but I-130 pending status shows on your online account — don't be alarmed, as USCIS typically resolves both in the same batch. We usually receive an approval notice within 4-6 weeks. If you and your spouse have been married for less than 2 years, the officer usually has you sign a form that recognizes that you have been made aware that you will need to file another form prior to the two year anniversary of lawful permanent resident status to have the conditions on your green card released.
Give St. Louis immigration & deportation attorney Jim Hacking a call or visit our contact page if you would like our assistance in making your green card application as strong as possible.
