NY Family Immigration Attorneys
Our team of New York family immigration attorneys is dedicated to providing the highest level of legal representation to all of our clients. We offer a wide range of legal services that address the unique needs of each client and their family.
At Markhoff & Mittman, P.C., we understand the emotional turmoil of leaving a loved one behind to pursue the dream of a better life in America. We also know how stressful it is to have to navigate the complex legal system in order to become a U.S. citizen.
We have successfully represented many individuals who are seeking permanent residency in the United States. We have also represented thousands of individuals who are in the process of becoming naturalized citizens. We have experience representing clients in deportation proceedings, family-based petitions, employment-based petitions, and other immigration matters. Our law office can even provide information to those seeking asylum within the state of New York. Call our immigration practice today to learn more, we offer free consultations.
Family-Based Immigration Assistance
Our clients receive the personal attention and dedication to their case that is only available from a law firm that specializes in immigration law. We provide you with the representation and guidance you need during every stage of the immigration process.
Immigration Cases:
- Family-Based Immigration
- Adjustment of Status
- Naturalization
- Visas and Work Permits
- Citizenship
- Permanent Residency
- Temporary Visas
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- Employment-Based Immigration
- Green Cards
- Marriage and Divorce
- Spouses and Partners
- Child and Parental Sponsorship
- U.S. Citizenship
- Family Immigration
We are ready to help you with all your family immigration needs. If you need a lawyer, contact Markhoff & Mittman, P.C. in New York today.
What Are the Requirements for Family Immigration?
The United States government offers numerous forms of immigration to undocumented immigrants from abroad. This includes the family-based immigration system and the employment-based system. However, there are certain requirements that must be met before a person can qualify for any form of immigration.
The family-based immigration system allows for the immigration of a spouse and children who are under the age of 21 years old. In order for this to be granted, a couple must file for permanent residency within two years of their marriage. In addition, a family must file for a spousal petition while their permanent residence application is pending.
Family-based immigration is not available to individuals who are over the age of 21 years old. Additionally, the permanent residence application must be filed within a year of the immigrant’s arrival in the United States.
The employment-based system is designed to allow immigrants to enter the United States in order to secure a job. It is available to those who are 21 years of age or older and who are employed in a skilled occupation. There is also a provision for foreign students and people in the United States on a temporary basis.
An immigration lawyer can help a family prepare for the immigration process and help navigate the many laws that govern it.
What Are Family-Based Visas?
Family-based visas (FBV) are permanent residency in the United States for close family members. FBVs are granted to immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and also include certain other relatives. This includes spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.
At Markhoff & Mittman, P.C. New York, our skilled New York immigration attorneys help clients from all over the world obtain family-based visas. These visas allow a foreign national to sponsor his or her immediate family to immigrate to the United States.
Different Types of Family-Based Visas
- Immigration benefits for a spouse or child of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
- Special immigrant visas for qualifying orphans, siblings, and adult children.
- Employment-based visas for a spouse, parent, or child of a U.S. worker.
- Employment-based visas for a foreign national who has a job offer and is sponsored by an employer who is willing to hire the applicant.
- Diversity Visa Program (Green Card Lottery).
We help clients apply for family-based visas at our New York law firm, so they can get the legal assistance and guidance they need to complete the immigration process.
Our immigration attorneys at Markhoff & Mittman, P.C. can provide you with the answers you need about immigration laws and processes and help you navigate through the complicated and ever-changing system.
Contact us for a free consultation about family-based visas.
Green Card Legal Assistance
At Markhoff & Mittman, P.C. New York, our law firm helps individuals and families with their green cards and other immigration matters. We offer a wide range of immigration services, including green card applications, employment-based visa petitions, family-based petitions, and permanent resident and citizenship applications.
What Are Family-Based Green Cards?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently created a new program called “family-based green card,” which allows foreign nationals and their immediate family members to apply for a green card if they are sponsored by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. This is an exciting change because it removes a lot of the red tape that was previously required in family-based immigration.
Green cards through the family-based process are available to those who meet certain requirements. These include being a U.S. citizen, having immediate family members who are U.S. citizens, and having a qualifying relative. It is important to note that you may be eligible for this type of green card if you have a spouse, minor children, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, or first cousins.
Green cards through the employment-based process are available to individuals who are qualified for a job and have a job offer. This type of green card is known as labor certification. It is important to note that you may not qualify for an employment-based green card if you have a criminal record.
At Markhoff & Mittman, P.C., we understand the stress that comes with the process of applying for green cards. We help you navigate the complicated immigration laws and procedures that are involved.=
What Are Immediate Relative Green Cards?
Only American citizens who want to bring their immediate families to the country are eligible for the immediate relative family-based green card category. Since there is no annual government cap on the number of immediate relative green cards awarded, this category is the fastest family-sponsored green card pathway to permanent residency in the United States. For the immediate relative family-based immigration category, there is no additional waiting period beyond the usual USCIS processing times that every petition must go through.
However, the following relatives of American citizens are the only ones eligible for the immediate relative family-based green card category:
Green Card Petitions Through Marriage
Immediate relatives include spouses of US citizens. Our family-based immigration attorneys have in-depth knowledge of the marriage-based green card procedure, from assembling the required paperwork to representing couples during their interview for a green card.
Family-Based Green Card Petitions
American citizens are eligible to apply for their unmarried children under the age of 21 under the immediate relative family-based immigration category. Children of US residents under the age of 21 are not subject to lengthy waiting periods as an immediate relative because of visa category backlogs. Through the green card procedure, our family immigration lawyers have assisted in reuniting several parents with their children, in addition to helping adoptive children and stepparents.
Green Card Petitions Between Children And Parents
U.S. citizens may use the immediate relative category to sponsor their parents for a family-based green card. Our legal team has assisted parents of US citizens, including adoptive parents and stepparents, in securing green cards.
Green Card Petitions Under Section 245(I)
Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows a qualifying immigrant who has been physically present in the U.S. continuously for seven years to apply for permanent residence. Those beneficiaries of qualifying petitions or applications for labor certificates must have been filed before April 30, 2001.
Family Preference Green Cards
“Family preference” is a different kind of family-based visa that only considers the close relatives of legal permanent residents (LPR) and citizens of the United States. Depending on the type, these are restricted annually and are divided according to the kind of relationship. Among them are the following:
- F1 – First Preference Green Cards: Unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21. Limited to 23,400 per year.
- F2 – Second Preference Green Cards: Spouses, minor children, unmarried children under the age of 21. Limited to 114,200 per year.
- F3 – Third Preference Green Cards: Married sons and daughters over the age of 21. Limited to 23,400 per year.
- F4 – Fourth Preference Green Cards: Siblings and their spouses and minor children. Limited to 65,000 per year.
What Are Family-Based Visas?
Families can be dispersed across the world for a variety of reasons. The primary reason for parents residing in a different country than that of their children is frequently residency and citizenship. The desire to be reunited with the rest of one’s family is typically the top concern for family members when they are divided up. An immigration attorney in New York can help make this process quicker and easier.
Obtaining permanent residency in the United States through a family member is known as family-based immigration. One family member is referred to as a sponsor when they submit an immigration petition. Both the sponsor and the beneficiary are subject to a number of laws after they are granted entry into the country. There are requirements to obtaining these family-based visas, including age and relationship, that must be satisfied before a lawful permanent resident can become a sponsor.
Fiance Visa
The K-1 fiance visa is not a green card but is frequently the ideal initial step in a couple’s family-based immigration journey to the United States. You can get guidance from our family-based immigration lawyers on whether the K-1 fiance visa is the right option for you and your foreign-born fiance.
US citizens are able to sponsor their fiancé for a K-1 fiance visa, allowing the fiancé to enter the country and marry the sponsor. Our immigration team has helped many couples take this step.
Our team can help those married for the 2-year conditional green card period file a petition to remove the conditions. The step prevents immigrants from gaining a green card due to a fraudulent marriage. We have experience preparing the petition and gathering all relevant supporting evidence, so you are prepared for your interview.
Visa for Children of K-1 Fiance
Our family-based immigration team has aided numerous children of K-1 visa applicants to get green cards through the K-2 visa process.
Once you and your fiance are married, the K-2 family visa procedure enables your fiance’s children to come to the US and receive a green card. The K-2 family visa procedure preserves the integrity of the nuclear family by keeping young children with their parents. It is essential that the child applying for a K-2 visa be under 21 years old and not be married during the entire immigration process.
Benefits For The Family Of Members In The Armed Forces
The same immigration procedures that apply to everyone else must generally be followed by military spouses and other eligible family members. However, there are several advantages for family members of U.S. military personnel that let them change their status swiftly and without leaving the country. This is a nice benefit for spouses and children of military members to obtain naturalization or other benefits. Let our experienced immigration lawyers help you identify the benefits you may qualify for.
Asylum Legal Assistance
In order to qualify for asylum status, an individual must prove that they have been persecuted due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
There are two types of persecution under the law:
- Past persecution means that the applicant was subjected to harm or suffering in the past.
- Future fear refers to the possibility of harm or suffering in the future.
Refugee Status
Once an applicant establishes eligibility for asylum, the Attorney General decides whether the applicant qualifies as a refugee. To do so, the Attorney General considers the following factors:
- Whether the applicant has demonstrated past persecution;
- Whether the applicant has a well-founded fear that they will suffer future persecution;
- Whether the applicant could safely relocate within the applicant’s own country; and
- Whether the applicant could reasonably escape persecution by relocating to another part of the applicant’s own country.
Torture Convention Against Torture (CAT)
Under CAT, the applicant must show a clear probability that they would be tortured if returned to their country. They must show that it is more likely than not that they would experience severe pain or suffering if returned to their country.
How Can Family Immigration Attorneys Help You?
At Markhoff & Mittman, P.C. New York, our family immigration lawyers can help you obtain a visa, lawful permanent residency, and a green card. We represent people who are seeking to immigrate to the United States or have been deported from the United States.
We are committed to helping clients throughout the entire immigration process and providing the best possible legal advice to families considering immigration to the U.S. We understand the stresses associated with immigrating to the U.S. and the challenges of being separated from family members.
You can trust our family immigration legal team to help you navigate the immigration process and obtain all the benefits of living and working in the United States. Contact us today.
