Form I-90 is used to replace a  lost, stolen or damaged card, correct a mistake on the card,  or renew an expiring card.  The form can be filed electronically or by mail, depending on the circumstances of your case.   The website at www.uscis.gov contains information about electronic filing.

Many residents can file form I-90 on their own, without the assistance of an attorney.  However, if you are renewing your green card and have a previous arrest, you should seek the advice of an immigration lawyer prior to filing the application.  There may be consequences to any criminal arrest that could place a noncitizen, even a permanent resident, at risk for removal (deportation).  At the very least, you will be required to furnish certified dispositions from the court where the arrest(s) took place.

In addition, if you have spent lengthy periods of time outside the U.S. (over 6 months at a time), you should consult an immigration attorney about the effects of such absences and what it means to “abandon” your permanent residence.  You do not want to lose what has cost you so much time and money to obtain!

If there is an error in the information on your card, such as printing the wrong date of birth, you must get a new green card with the correct information.  USCIS is supposed to print the information that is provided on the initial application for the green card, so if you made a mistake on the initial form itself, you will have to pay the filing fee to correct the mistake.   If USCIS made the mistake, you do not have to pay the filing fee to get a replacement card.

NOTE ABOUT THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN FILING FEES:   USCIS is seeking to raise the filing fees for most applications.  Although there is no effective date yet for the increase, the proposed fee for filing form I-90 will be $365.  The current filing fee for this form is $290.    If you know that you are going to have to replace your green card in the next few months, it may be wise to file before the increase in fees takes effect.

Thankfully, in recognition of the special place that citizenship holds in the immigration system, USCIS has determined not to raise the fee for submitting a  naturalization application.  However, those who are already citizens, but not native born, who need proof of citizenship ( Certificate of Citizenship), must now pay $600 instead of $460,  an increase of 30%.

A complete list of the proposed increases can be found at www.uscis.gov. There is also a “Fact Sheet”  with “Questions and Answers” about the proposed increases.   Keep in mind that this is promulgated by USCIS, so the “facts” are really just justifications for the proposed increase in fees.

Immigration lawyers are outraged by this proposal, especially since the level of service since the substantial raise in fees of 2007 has not resulted in any better service from USCIS.  In many cases, the service at the national level (NOT  the local offices) has declined, while incompetence and the inability to correct mistakes made by USCIS have increased.

Until a final rule is published in the Federal Register, there is no effective date for the increases.  In the meantime, there is a 45-day “public comment” period for anyone to express concern over the increases.  Anyone wishing to comment on the proposed rule can submit a formal comment through www.regulations.gov.  The comment period runs for 45 days beginning June 11, 2010 and ending on July 26th, 2010.

The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treatyinvestors
will be $390.
This fee increase information may also be found on the Department of State, Travel.state.gov internet site, on the Fees for Visa Services webpage, and also on U.S. Embassy and Consulate websites abroad. Only the fees for
nonimmigrant visas will change on June 4.

If you or someone you know needs information about getting a green card, contact us at www.amesimmigrationlaw.com for honest answers to all of your immigration questions.

The tremendous influx of people who do not have status has created a tremendous burden on the southern border states:  California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.   Although they are not eligible for Medicaid or any type of public assistance, undocumented immigrants can send their children to school and they can be treated in hospital emergency rooms.   It is no wonder that states like Arizona are crying out for some help, albeit in the form of misguided and unconstitutional legislation that will itself ultimately bankrupt the state.  If you think that educating and treating undocumented immigrants is costly, just wait for the final bill on trying to deport 12 million people from the U.S.  To put it mildly, this is another huge waste of taxpayer dollars.

So, why do people ask “what is it about “illegal” that we don’t understand?”  If you ask them, they just want the “illegal” word to go away.   In other words, make the “illegals” legal.   And yes, most people do favor a path to make the undocumented “legal”  if we first secure our borders.

Here is where it gets tricky.   Many, if not most, of the proposed solutions to this broken system of ours require the “illegals” to go home first, and then apply to return to the U.S. legally.   However, as the law stands now, if a person who has been here illegally for over one year voluntarily leaves the U.S., they are barred from applying to come back for 10 YEARS unless they obtain special permission (a waiver) to come back sooner. Waivers are only granted in certain circumstances.  The bar is only three years if the period of unlawful presence is less than one year but more than 180 days.   To avoid these 3-year or 10-year bars, then, the immigrant must remain in the United States.

In order for someone to gain lawful status without having to leave the U.S., he or she must prove that they entered the U.S. legally in the first place.  There used to be a provision of the law that allowed an undocumented applicant to apply for permanent residence from within the U.S. if they paid a fine.   That law(commonly referred to as “245(i)” or the LIFE Act), expired on April 30, 2001. (Ironically, Congress was to vote on an extension of that law on the morning of September 11, 2001.)

Since June 1, 2001,  because leaving the United States would mean , in most cases, that a person would be barred from coming back for 10 years, most of the undocumented have chosen to stay here, keeping their families together, rather than being separated for 10 years to become “legal.”    Who among us would choose to leave our husbands, wives and children for ten years?

This is the plight of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., stuck in a state of limbo, living in the shadows, fearing that they will at any time be arrested and sent away from their families.  Comprehensive immigration reform is a complex matter involving numerous aspects of the immigration laws.  One part of the solution to fixing our broken immigration system must include the elimination of these 3 and 10-year bars.  If we are going to require that immigrants return home before they become “legal” this law must be repealed.  It is the reason that we have so many who have stayed, afraid to return home.

The “illegals”  don’t want to be “illegal”.  They live here, they work here, and yes, they do contribute financially (another topic for discussion).  They love the United States and the opportunities here, yet they still have strong ties to their home countries.  If we make it easier for them to go back and forth, we will all be better off.  Future inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, teachers and physicians are growing up right now in our midst.   If we do not make them “legal”  it will be everyone’s loss.