Q. My daughter has Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. I am a U.S. citizen. Can I help her get a green card?
B.B., New York
A. Yes, but you are going to need help from an immigration law expert. The rules are a bit complicated. Here’s a brief overview.
DACA is a program that provides temporary legal status for undocumented youth. It is not presently available to new applicants.
Because your daughter was undocumented — a condition for getting DACA — she will likely need to return home for her immigrant visa interview. She can interview here, the process called adjustment of status, only if she is currently under 21 and meets other conditions.
If she must return home for her immigrant visa interview, she may need a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services waiver of the “unlawful presence” bar to permanent residence. To get the waiver, she must prove that a U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent or spouse will suffer extreme hardship if she can’t get her immigrant visa.
USCIS has been generous in granting these waivers, so I’m optimistic that with good legal help she’ll get her green card.
Q. My husband refuses to file for my green card. What are my options? We have been married for almost three years. He keeps making excuses about why he won’t file for me. I think it is because he doesn’t want me to work. That’s a problem because I always have been economically independent. We have other problems as well and I don’t know if my marriage is going to last.
Leslie
A. You can apply for your green card without your husband’s help only if you can prove that you are a victim of spousal abuse. Under the Violence Against Women Act, a law designed to protect immigrant spouses, that abuse can be mental or physical. You might need to get a mental health professional to find that your husband’s refusal to petition for you, and perhaps other abuse, is causing you mental distress.
Generally, to get a family-based green card, a qualifying relative must…
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