Becoming a U.S. citizen is a very important step. Once you become a U.S. citizen, you pledge allegiance to the U.S. In return, you are afforded the same rights and protections as someone who was born in the U.S. A Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) may apply for U.S. citizenship three (3) years or five (5) years after becoming an LPR, depending on the underlying basis of his/her green card.

The validity date on your I-797 approval notice is the date that USCIS has granted you to allow you status in the U.S. under that particular visa category. The I-94 card also has an expiration date. This is the most important date, as it is the final date you can remain in the U.S. without being out of status. In most instances, the I-797 date and the I-94 date should match (although in many instances, the I-94 date adds 10 extra days to the I-797 date to allow the individual 10 days to leave the U.S.). However, if an individual’s passport expires before the I-797 ending date, a CBP officer can cut the I-94 date to match the passport expiration. Therefore, it is always important to compare the dates on your I-797 and on your I-94. If there is a discrepancy, please contact your immigration advisor for advice. The validity date of the visa is the last date an individual may enter the U.S. using that visa. It does not give the individual any authorized stay in the U.S. Only an I-94 can do that. For example, many B-1/B-2 visitor visas are issued for multiple entries in a 10 year period. However, the I-94 issued at the U.S. point of entry will designate the date that the individual must leave the U.S., which will be no longer than 6 months after entry. It is very possible and common for a foreign national to have an unexpired visa but have overstayed his/her visa because s/he did not depart the U.S. by the end date of his/her I-94 because s/he believed the visa date ruled.

A nonimmigrant visa is for someone coming to the United States for a particular purpose and for a finite time period. Some examples are: B-1 (visitor coming to the U.S. for a business purpose, such as for meetings or conferences); B-2 (visitor coming to the U.S. for personal reasons, such as to visit family or Disney World); E-1/E-2 (investor visa coming for temporary employment in the U.S.); E-3 (specialty occupation worker from Australia coming to fill a specialty occupation temporarily); H-1B (specialty occupation worker coming to fill a specialty occupation temporarily); L-1 (intercompany transferee coming to work at a U.S. affiliated company temporarily); and O-1 (person with extraordinary ability coming to work in the U.S. temporarily). An immigrant visa is what is commonly referred to as a green card. The beneficiary of an immigrant visa becomes a Legal Permanent Resident of the U.S.

Beata received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. She went on to receive her Master of Science Degree in Taxation from DePaul University in Chicago. Finally, Beata received her Juris Doctorate Degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She was on the Loyola University Law Review during her time there.

As described above, a visa is usually considered nonimmigrant (temporary) intent or immigrant (green card) intent. When you enter the U.S., you must have the intent that is tied to that visa. For example, if you enter the U.S. as a B-1 visitor, you must intend to attend to your business matter and leave the U.S. If, for example, you enter the U.S. as a B-2 visitor and then you promptly get married to a U.S. citizen and file for a green card, that is visa fraud. You held yourself out to CBP as having nonimmigrant intent when in actuality you possessed immigrant intent because you planned to get married and file for a green card. A dual-intent visa, however, allows you to have both nonimmigrant and immigrant intent. Someone, for example, on an H-1B visa is allowed to enter the U.S. on an H-1B visa (nonimmigrant intent) even though a green card (immigrant intent) is in process for that individual. The dual-intent visas are: H-1B and H-4 dependents; L-1A, L-1B, and L-2 dependents; K visas; and V visas. The O-1 and O-3 dependents are not statutorily considered dual-intent visas, but they are often treated as such.

No. They are 2 separate things. When a foreign national applies for a green card, once granted, s/he has the unrestricted right to work and travel in the U.S. The LPR will have certain rights, but s/he will not possess the same rights as a U.S. citizen. After 3 or 5 years, an LPR may file an application to become a U.S. citizen. Once the application is approved and the individual is sworn in, then that individual possesses all of the rights and protections afforded to a U.S.-born individual.

That depends. If you are currently in the U.S. and your I-797 has a new I-94 card at the bottom, you only need the visa in your passport if you plan to travel, as the visa is a travel document used to enter the U.S. The I-94 at the bottom of your original approval notice is your proof of your authorized stay in the U.S. If you plan to travel overseas, however, you will need to make an appointment at a U.S. consulate overseas to obtain the new visa in your passport so that you may reenter the U.S.

A priority date is a date important solely in the green card process. In a family-based application, the priority date is the date that the underlying I-130 application is filed. In a PERM-based employment-based petition, the priority date is the date the ETA-9089 PERM was filed. In a non-PERM based employment-based petition, the priority date is the date the underlying I-140 petition is filed.

An actual visa is issued by a U.S. consulate abroad and placed in the passport of a foreign national after an interview. The visa is issued for the visa type requested (such as B-1 or H-1B) and allows a foreign national to travel to the U.S. It does not, however, guarantee the foreign national entry into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the final discretion on whether to allow entry into the U.S.

Family-based immigration is the subset of immigration law that deals with visas issued for personal and familial relationships. These visas include the K-1 fiancé visa, and green cards issued to family members of U.S. permanent residents/citizens and spouses of a U.S. citizen. Employment-based immigration is the subset of immigration law that deals with visas issued to fill employment-needs in the U.S. In most cases, a U.S. employer will petition for a foreign-born employee.

The priority date is used by the Visa Bulletin to specify when a green card application may be filed. The Visa Bulletin is broken out into several categories within the family-based categories (such as F1 Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens; F2A Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents; F2B Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents; F3 Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens; and F4 Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens. There are also several categories within the employment-based visas: EB-1: Priority Workers; EB-2: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability; EB-3: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers; EB-4: Certain Special Immigrants; and EB-5: Employment Creation (Investors). If a foreign national’s priority date is “current,” meaning his/her priority date is on or before the date published in the Visa Bulletin for that month, for that visa category, and for his/her country of origin, the foreign national may apply for a green card.

She is licensed to practice Federally and before the State Bars of Illinois and the District of Columbia. She is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and The Advocates Society, which is an association of Polish-American Attorneys.

Beata is fluent in English and Polish.

When a foreign national enters the U.S., the CBP officer will electronically issue him/her an I-94 admission number. The individual must then retrieve the record online and verify the information for accuracy. This record is extremely important as it is used to demonstrate a foreign national’s authorized stay in the U.S. and for many visas, is evidence of the right to employment.

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There are certain visa categories where application for the visa is made at a consulate overseas. For these visa types, the consular officer interviews the foreign national, makes the decision on whether or not to grant the visa type to the individual, and then issues the actual visa in the foreign national’s passport. Some examples of these visas are the B-1, B-2, E-1, E-2, E-3, and H-1B1 visas. For other visa types, application must be made to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) even if the foreign national is outside of the U.S. USCIS will adjudicate the petition. If approved, an I-797 approval notice will be issued, granting the visa for a certain validity period. These visas include the H-1B, L-1, and O-1 visas

Not until you receive your Advance Parole document. The general rule is that you cannot travel outside of the U.S. while your green card application is pending. If you do, your application will be deemed as abandoned. The dual-intent visas (H-1B, L-1, K, and V) allow you to travel outside of the U.S. without USCIS deeming you have abandoned your green card, but these visas are special.