BECOME A U.S. CITIZEN
For your immigration matters in Southern California, the attorneys at Jafari Law APC can be contacted to assist you. Jafari Law APC professional team focuses on providing individualized attention to each and every client that we represent. Immigration law is filled with complex aspects that need to be carefully addressed in order to ensure that such legal matters are correctly handled and we are here to help you with that.
A competent immigration lawyer from Jafari Law APC can help guide you through the complex U.S. immigration system, and assist you in your immigration needs by ensuring that your rights are protected to the fullest extent under the law.
If you are dealing with issues involving visas, please do not hesitate to contact Jafari Law APC. If you are an employee seeking to work in the U.S., we are able to help you regarding the issues you will be facing.
OBTAINING YOUR GREEN CARD
There are several ways for a non citizen to obtain a green card or become a permanent resident: through family, work, making significant investments, or qualifying under one of the special immigrant classifications. Contact Jafari Law APC to obtain further information as to your options for obtaining a green card.
BECOME A U.S. CITIZEN
For your immigration matters in Southern California, the attorneys at Jafari Law APC can be contacted to assist you. Jafari Law APC professional team focuses on providing individualized attention to each and every client that we represent. Immigration law is filled with complex aspects that need to be carefully addressed in order to ensure that such legal matters are correctly handled and we are here to help you with that.
A competent immigration lawyer from Jafari Law APC can help guide you through the complex U.S. immigration system, and assist you in your immigration needs by ensuring that your rights are protected to the fullest extent under the law.
If you are dealing with issues involving visas, please do not hesitate to contact Jafari Law APC. If you are an employee seeking to work in the U.S., we are able to help you regarding the issues you will be facing.
OBTAINING YOUR GREEN CARD
There are several ways for a non citizen to obtain a green card or become a permanent resident: through family, work, making significant investments, or qualifying under one of the special immigrant classifications. Contact Jafari Law APC to obtain further information as to your options for obtaining a green card.
FAMILY BASED IMMIGRATION
Our staff at Jafari Law APC will help you develop a strategy and plan to bring your family members to the U.S. If you are a U.S. Citizen, you are able to petition for family members, including spouses, parents, children and siblings, to become permanent residents and start on the path to citizenship.
There are numerous visa types for family members of US citizens and our firm is here to advise you about the category that fits your situation. There are two groups of family based immigrant visa categories, including immediate relatives and family preference categories, which are provided under the provisions of United States immigration law.
IMMIGRANTS RELATED TO U.S. CITIZENS
These visa types are based on a close family relationship with a United States citizen described as an Immediate Relative. These visas are available for:
- Spouse of a U.S. Citizen
- Unmarried Child Under 21 Years of Age of a U.S. Citizen
- Parent of a U.S. Citizen who is at least 21 years old
FAMILY PREFERENCE IMMIGRANT VISAS
These visa types are for specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident. They include the following:
- Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their minor children, if any.
- Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (age 21 and over) of Lawful Permanent Residents.
- Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children.
- Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and minor children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age.
These Visas are subject to a numerical limit available each year. Please contact Jafari Law APC for further information.
FIANCÉ(E) VISAS (K-1 VISA)
K-1 visas were created to allow for individuals whose fiancé does not reside in the United States. The K-1 visa allows the alien fiancé to come to the US for a 90-day period generally. This allows the alien fiancé time to get married with his/her US citizen fiancé and begin their lives together.
EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS BASED IMMIGRATION
The U.S. government allows for 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas to qualified applicants under the provisions of U.S. immigration law. Jafari Law APC is here to help foreign nationals interested in entering the United States in order to work and pursue permanent status, by assisting the individuals with understanding what documentation to provide, what deadlines are involved and how to prepare the necessary paperwork.
Employment based immigrant visas are divided into the following five preference categories:
- Employment First Preference (EB1): Persons with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Multinational Managers or Executives.
- Employment Second Preference (EB2): Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business.
- Employment Third Preference (EB3): Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)
- Employment Fourth Preference (EB4): Certain Special Immigrants
- Employment Fifth Preference (EB5): Immigrant Investors
EMPLOYMENT-BASED NON-IMMIGRANT VISAS
Jafari Law APC is here to assist businesses, professionals and individuals with extraordinary abilities who want to enter the United States in order to pursue economic and job-related opportunities under a number of employment-based, nonimmigrant visas. Our firm will represent businesses and individuals in preparing the necessary paperwork, documentation and other information when applying for a nonimmigrant work visa.
- E-1 Visa: A foreign national who is interested in conducting a substantial amount of trade with the US can enter the country under the E1 visa. At least half of the trade conducted must be with the E1 holder’s home country.
- E-2 Visa: Allows a foreign national who invests substantial personal funds in a business to enter the US. The business must be operating or very close to operating. In order to determine if an investment is “substantial,” the State Department or Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services will apply a proportionality test to the investment planned.
- H-1B Visa: Professionals with special skills and knowledge can enter the US under the terms of the H-1B visa. Their work must require the application of their special knowledge or skills and they must possess the foreign equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, their employers must demonstrate that they are able to pay at least the prevailing wage for the position.
- L-1 Visa: L-1 visas are available to executives, managers and specialized knowledge employees transferring to their employer’s U.S. affiliate, parent or subsidiary. Individual must have been employed by the same employer abroad continuously for 1 year within the three preceding years.
- O-1 Visa: The O-1 visa is available for persons with extraordinary ability or achievement in the sciences, arts, education, business, athletics, or extraordinary recognized achievements in the motion picture and television fields, demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim, to work in their field of expertise.
- P Class Visas: These categories cover entertainers, artists, and athletes who need to enter the country on a short-term basis in order to participate in competitions, special events, or performances. Individuals or teams can apply for a P-class visa. In cases where someone wants to bring family members along, the P4 allows holders of the P1, P2, or P3 to bring spouses and children along for however long the original visa holder is in the country
- TN Status Under the North American Free Trade Agreement: A special category has been set up for nationals of Canada and Mexico under the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), who seek to be employed in the U.S. in certain categories designated under the treaty. Since the TN visa is intended for professionals, applicants must provide proof of applicable degrees, licenses or work experience.
U.S. CITIZENSHIP
At Jafari Law APC, our attorneys are here to advise permanent residents interested in United States citizenship about the naturalization process and help the applicants overcome any obstacles that might come up along the way.
Our staff will assist you with filling out your forms, including gathering all the necessary information and advising you of how to prepare for your interview with immigration officials.
For basic eligibility to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, you must first spend at least five years as a legal permanent resident of the United States, during which time you can prove you did not take any trips abroad for more than six months, and were present in the United States for not less than half of the entire period.
The basic requirements you must meet to apply for citizenship are as follows:
- Be a lawful permanent U.S. resident;
- Be 18 years of age or older;
- Be a permanent resident for not less than five years;
- Have resided for not less than three months in the state where the petition was filed;
- Be physically present in the United States for at least one half of the five years, with no absences longer than six months;
- Have resided continuously within the United States from the date the petition was filed to the time of admission to citizenship;
- Have been a person of good moral character for the five years of residence;
- Have an elementary level of reading and writing English. (Exceptions to this rule exist for persons over fifty, in the U.S. for 20 years or more as a permanent resident; and for persons over 55, in the U.S. for 15 years as a permanent resident);
- Have a basic knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. government and history. (This requirement can be waived for people over 65 and have been permanent resident for 20 years.)
