IMMIGRATION RESOURCES

Immigration-related Governmental Agencies

• United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
  • USCIS Processing Times (Find the most up-to-date estimate for the processing times of USCIS forms)
  • Check your case status (you will need your USCIS receipt number for the form you filed)
  • Update your mailing address
  • Ask about missing mail
  • Inquire about a case outside the normal processing time
  • Correct a typographical error
  • Request appointment accommodations
  • When to expect your green card (after entering the U.S. from abroad)
  • How to Make an Expedite Request
  • Affirmative asylum interview scheduling
  • Processing information for the Form I-765
  • Historical Average Processing Times
• Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
  • Seattle Immigration Court
  • Tacoma Immigration Court
  • Immigration Court Practice Manual
• U.S. Department of State
  • Visa Bulletin
  • Ask NVC
  • U.S. Visa News
• Other
  • Documents needed to obtain a Washington State Driver License

Non-Governmental, Nonprofit Immigration Organizations

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network

Articles by Gillin Law Group

The following are articles we have written to assist with various aspects of immigration, ranging from how to select an immigration lawyer, to how to apply for green cards and naturalization, to what to do if your asylum case is denied.

Articles on Selecting an Immigration Lawyer

• Can’t afford an immigration lawyer?
• What does an immigration lawyer do?
• How much does it cost to hire an immigration lawyer in the U.S.?
• What makes a good immigration lawyer?
• Do I need a lawyer to immigrate to the U.S.?
• Who are the best immigration lawyers?
• Why hire an immigration lawyer?

Articles about U.S. Citizenship & Naturalization

• How can I be a U.S. citizen?
• What can I do if my naturalization case is delayed?
• My child was born abroad and I am a U.S. citizen
• False Claim to U.S. Citizenship

Articles about Lawful Permanent Residency

• How can I file for Adjustment of Status?
• How can I get an immigrant visa to the U.S.?
• What can I do if my green card case is delayed?
• How can I get a green card through my job?
• How can I get a green card through family?

Articles about Crimes and Immigration

• Can I immigrate if I smoked marijuana?

Articles about Asylum

• How do I apply for asylum?
• What if I have no evidence for my asylum case?
• What do I do if my asylum case is denied?

Articles on Immigration Case Management

• How do I check USCIS processing times?
• How can I expedite my immigration or naturalization case?

Immigration Glossary

The following terms are commonly used in U.S. immigration law. We post them here to aid in basic understanding of terminology.

A

• Adjudicator’s Field Manual (“AFM”)

• Adjustment of Status
• Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”)
• Admission
• Adoption
• Advance Parole
• Advisory Opinion (in the J visa context)
• Affidavit of Support
• Age Out
• Agent
• Alien
• Alien Number
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”). The American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) is the national association of attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law.  AILA Member attorneys represent U.S. families seeking permanent residence for close family members, as well as U.S. businesses seeking talent from the global marketplace.  AILA Members also represent foreign students, entertainers, athletes, and asylum seekers, often on a pro bono basis.  Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that provides continuing legal education, information, professional services, and expertise through its 38 chapters and over 50 national committees.
• AR-11. Form AR-11 is the form used to change your address with the Department of Homeland Security’s USCIS.
• Arrival-Departure Record
• Asylum / Asylee

B

• B visas
• Beneficiary
• Biometrics
• Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”)
• Bona fide marriage
• Bond

C

• Cancellation of Removal
• Cancelled without prejudice
• Cap gap
• Certificate of Citizenship
• Certificate of Naturalization
• Change of Status
• Child (as defined by the INA)
• Child Citizenship Act
• Child Status Protection Act
• Citizenship
• Civil Surgeon
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Conditional residency
• Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)
• Consular officer
• Consular Processing
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• Consulate
• Convention against Torture
• Country of Chargeability
• Current/non-current priority date
• Cut-off-date

D

• Deferred Action
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)
• Deferred Enforced Departure
• Derivative
• Diversity Visa Lottery
• Domicile
• DS-160
• Duration of Status

E

• E-2 visas & status
• EB-5 Investment immigration
• Electronic System for Travel Authorization
• Employment Authorization Document (EAD)
• Employment-based immigration
• E-Verify
• Expedited Removal
• Extension of stay

F

• F-1 visa / F-1 status
• False Claim to U.S. Citizenship
• Family-based immigration
• Federal law
• Federal Poverty Guidelines / Federal Poverty Level
  The Federal Poverty Guidelines may be found on Form I-864P.
• Fiancé(e)
  A person who plans to marry another person.  The foreign fiance(e) of an American citizen may enter the U.S. on a K-1 visa to marry the American citizen.
• Follow to join
• Foreign Affairs Manual
• Freedom of Information Act

G

• G-28
  Form G-28 is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security form that allows attorneys and accredited representatives to enter their appearance on behalf of another for purposes of legal representation.
• Good Moral Character
• Grounds of Inadmissibility

H

• H-1B visas & status
• Household income
• Humanitarian Parole

I

• Immigrant visa
• Immigration and Nationality Act
• Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Immigration Court
• Immigration detainer
• Immigration to the United States

J

• Joint sponsor

K

• K-1 / K-2 visas
  The K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry his/her U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.
• K-3 / K-4 visas
  The K-3 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen spouse of a U.S. citizen. This visa category is intended to shorten the physical separation between the foreign-citizen and U.S. citizen spouses by having the option to obtain a nonimmigrant K-3 visa overseas and enter the United States to await approval of the immigrant visa petition. Under U.S. immigration law, a foreign citizen who marries a U.S. citizen outside the U.S. must apply for the K-3 visa in the country where the marriage took place.Eligible children of K-3 visa applicants receive K-4 visas.
• Kentucky Consular Center

L

• L visas
• Labor Certification
• Labor Condition Application
• Lawful permanent residency

M

• M-1 visa
• Marriage fraud
• Misrepresentation
• Motions to Reopen and Reconsider

N

• National Interest Waiver
• National Visa Center
• Naturalization
• Nonimmigrant visa
• Northwest Detention Center
• Notice to Appear

O

• O visas
• Oath of allegiance
• Occupational Information Network
• Optional Practical Training
• Out of status
• Overstay

P

• P visas
• Panel Physician
• Passport
• Person of Extraordinary Ability
• Petitioner
• Physical presence
• Polygamy
• Port of entry
• Preference category
• Prevailing wage
• Principal applicant
• Priority date
• Privacy Act
• Program Electronic Review Management
• Prosecutorial discretion
• Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
• Public charge

R

• Reentry permit
• Refugee
• Removal of conditions (based on marriage)
• Removal proceedings
• Request for evidence
• Retrogression
  Retrogression refers to when, in the preference category system, the priority date of a certain visa category moves forward in time. Sometimes a case that is current one month will not be current the next month.  This occurs when the annual numerical limit has been reached.  When the new fiscal year begins, the Visa Office gets a new supply of visa numbers and usually brings back the cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.
• Returning resident

S

• Same-sex marriage
• Social security number
• Special Immigrant
• Sponsor
• Stepchild
• Swearing-in ceremony

T

• Targeted Employment Area
• Tax Return Transcript
• Temporary Protected Status
• Timely retraction
• TN visa
• Troubled business

U

• U visa
• Undocumented immigrant
• United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
• United States Customs and Border Protection
• United States Department of Homeland Security
• United States Department of Labor
• United States Department of State
• United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Unlawful presence

V

• Violence Against Women Act
• Visa
• Visa Bulletin
• Visa Waiver Program
• Voluntary Departure

W

• Waiver of Inadmissibility
• Withholding of Removal