|
 |
Immigration: Green Cards, Travel, and Employment Issues
Obtaining a Green Card
People who wish to live permanently and legally in the U.S. must either be citizens or must ask the U.S. government for permission to live here. When the government gives permission to a noncitizen to live permanently and legally in the U.S., it issues an Alien Registration Receipt Card, also called a green card. The green card is proof that the noncitizen has legal permission to live in the U.S.
The government allows people to apply for a green card through the following ways:
In addition, under certain circumstances the government allows noncitizens to live in the U.S. temporarily while the noncitizen is a student in the U.S., a temporary visitor, or planning to marry a U.S. citizen.
Keeping Your Green Card
Considerations when you travel outside the U.S.
The INS may consider why you have traveled outside the U.S. If you leave the U.S. you may have to prove to the INS when you return that you did not abandon your permanent residence. If you spend a significant amount of time abroad (generally, six months or more) it is likely that an INS officer will question you to determine your true permanent residence when you re-enter the U.S. If an INS officer doubts whether the U.S. is still your permanent residence, he or she may take away your green card when your re-enter the U.S. If an INS officer takes your green card, you have the right to a hearing before an immigration judge.
If you plan to be abroad for a long time, it is important to continue to file federal income tax returns as a U.S. resident. That will help prove that you consider the U.S. your permanent home and may help you keep your green card.
The INS also will consider the following to decide whether you are still a U.S. permanent resident:
Returning residents need to have an entry document to show the INS that they have permission to live in the U.S. If you have not been out of the U.S. for more than a year at a time, your green card serves as your entry document.
If you know before you leave that you are going to be absent from the U.S. for more than one, but less than two years at a time, you may apply to the INS for a reentry permit. You can use the reentry permit to enter the U.S. after an absence of up to two years. As of the time of this writing, applying for a reentry permit involves filing immigration Form I-131 with the INS Nebraska Service Center, P.O. Box 87131, Lincoln, Neb. 68501-7131, or call (402) 437-5218.
If you are a permanent resident and remain out of the U.S. for more than two years, you must apply for and obtain a special immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad in order to re-enter the U.S.
If you are a permanent resident, absences from the U.S. can affect your eligibility for U.S. citizenship.
If you move, you must notify the INS of your new address by filing Form AR-11 within 10 days. Form AR-11 is available at INS offices.
Replacing Your Green Card and other Immigration Documents
If you are a permanent resident and choose not to apply for U.S. citizenship, you must apply to the INS for a new green card before the end of 10 years. To apply for a new green card, you must file Form I-90 with the INS. It may be several months before you receive your new card. While you are waiting for your new card, you may ask the INS (by presenting the official receipt for your application for a new card) to put a temporary stamp of your permanent resident status in your passport.
Form I-94 is the little white card given to nonimmigrants when they arrive at the U.S. border. It is usually stapled to a person's passport. If your Form I-94 is lost, stolen or mutilated, you may apply for a replacement by filing Form I-102 with the INS.
The Employment Authorization Document is the picture identification card issued by the INS to certain eligible noncitizens and others including applicants for political asylum, which shows their ability to accept employment. The EAD is issued after the filing of Form I-765 with the INS. You may apply for a replacement of your EAD by filing a new Form I-765 with the INS.
Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination
Employers only may hire people who can legally work in the U.S. All employers must ask their new employees to prove their identity and that they are authorized to work in the U.S. When you are hired, your employer will complete an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form. On the back of the I-9 form, you will find a list of documents to prove your identity and eligibility. You may choose which documents you want to show your employer. It is unlawful for your employer to ask you to show certain documents or more documents than are necessary to establish your identity and employment eligibility. This is called document abuse.
Federal Law protects some noncitizens who have legal work papers against citizenship and national origin discrimination. Citizenship discrimination is when an employer treats you differently because of your citizenship or immigration status, such as, when an employer has a citizens only or a green card only hiring rule for immigrants who are otherwise authorized to work. An employer engages in national origin discrimination when you are treated differently because of your nationality or ancestry, such as, because you look or sound foreign.
Your employer may require you to speak English when it is necessary to perform your job or when the employer has a valid business reason to require you to speak English. If your employer has such a rule, it must notify you of the rule, under what circumstances speaking only in English is required, and of the consequences for breaking the rule. In most instances, an employer may not require its employees to speak only English during lunch or break times.
If you believe that an employer engaged in document abuse or discriminated against you on the basis of your immigration status or national origin, you may contact the Office of the Special Counsel, a federal agency in Washington, D.C., at (800) 255-7688. You must file with the OSC within 180 days from the discriminatory act. (Note: claims of discrimination on the basis of national origin also can be brought to the MCAD or the EEOC.)
Immigration consequences of criminal convictions
This is a very complicated area of immigration law, but there are a few things to know.
You should not talk to the Immigration and Naturalization Service about how you came to the U.S. or whether you have legal papers without first talking to a lawyer.
You should not plead guilty to a criminal charge without first speaking with someone who knows about immigration law and what could happen to your legal status if you plead guilty. A lawyer who handles criminal cases may not know this area of the law since it is very complicated and it changes all the time. You may need the advice of an immigration lawyer.
If you plead guilty to a criminal charge in Massachusetts and now are facing deportation, you need to make sure your rights were protected. For example, if the criminal court judge did not tell you when you pleaded guilty that the conviction could lead to deportation, you can get the conviction automatically dismissed and have a new trial. However, you are responsible for requesting a new trial within a reasonable time so that records of the first trial are not lost or thrown away. If you fail to request a new trial soon enough, you may lose your right to do so. This would happen in criminal court, not immigration court. You would need a criminal attorney to help you with this.
If you are a lawful permanent resident, you may be able to naturalize and become a U.S. citizen. Once you have naturalized, the INS cannot deport you unless the INS first revokes naturalization for obtaining it illegally, such as through fraud. If you have criminal convictions, however, you should talk to a lawyer before filing for naturalization.
Many crimes that are punished lightly in criminal court can still lead to permanent deportation including the following:
Masslawhelp is a public service of the Massachusetts Bar Association.Posted on Apr 27, 2000 |
|
