Fundamentals of Family-Based U.S. Immigration Law

Immigration law often intersects with other areas of law including divorce, adoption, tax and estate and criminal defense.  In this program, attorney Lindsay A. Curcio will provide an overview of family-based immigration. The program will include an explanation of permanent residence and conditional residence, how to read the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin and how these concepts contribute to the timeline for petitioning for and processing a case, as well as issue-spotting in family-based immigration from initial consultation with attorney through preparation for applicant’s final interview at U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Consulate.

Ms. Curcio also covers the petition and application process for relatives including the K-1 fiance(e) status, financial considerations for the affidavit of support (required of those petitioning for relatives), responsibilities of petitioners and co-sponsors (if needed), qualifying based on earnings or assets, and domicile issues for petitioners living overseas at the time of application. She will also share important information about ages of children in the context of applying for immigration benefits and go over waiver applications for foreign national relatives with unlawful presence and other grounds of inadmissibility including criminal offenses or misrepresentation. 

1. Understand the distinction between permanent residence and conditional residence

2. Identify issues attorneys encounters in family-based immigration matters

3. Explore the petition and application process for relatives