Evanston Immigration Attorneys
Evanston Immigration Attorneys
Immigration lawyers help their clients with a wide range of issues relating to visiting and relocating to the United States. They may work with employment visas and asylum claims. But among the more emotionally significant cases, they help with family-based immigration claims.
What Is Family-Based Immigration?
Family-based immigration is the most commonly used basis for legal immigration to the United States. Under current US law, US citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) can sponsor certain family members for a visa that permits permanent residence – what most people call a green card.
Today’s family-based immigration comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which established that family relationships would be the primary way people immigrate to the United States. Today nearly two of every three legal immigrants to the US does so through family-based immigration. The primary criticism of this type of immigration is its potential to create a chain of migration as each new immigrant can sponsor more immigrants.
Who Is Eligible for a Family Visa?
Citizens and LPRs can only sponsor certain relatives for family visas: Citizens and LPRs may sponsorÂ
- Spouses of US citizens
- Unmarried children under 21 of US citizens
- Orphans adopted abroad
- Orphans to be adopted in the USE by a US citizen
- Parents of US citizens who are at least 21 years old
Family preference categories can also support a family visa. These include:
- Unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens, their spouses, and their children
- Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of LPRs
- Married sons and daughters of US citizens and their spouses and minor children
- Brothers and sisters of US citizens and their spouses and minor children, provided the US citizens are at least 21 years old
Note that US citizens and LPRs cannot sponsor any family members not listed here, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins, for immigration.
How Many Relatives Does an Immigrant Typically Sponsor?
Over the past few decades, each immigrant has sponsored an average of approximately 3.5 relatives, including their own spouse and children.Â
How Many Family Preference Visas Are Issued Each Year?
The government issues a maximum of 480,000 family preference visas each fiscal year. This limit was set in 1990 by Congress. Immediate relative visas have no limits, but the number issued gets subtracted from the 480,000.Â
Family-Based Immigration Backlog
Family-based applications have experienced a heavy backlog for decades, with some applications pending since 2001. As of last year, nearly 4 million people were stuck in this backlog. As one goes down the list of preferences, the backlog increases, with some married adult children (F-3) waits increasing by 900 percent. It can be worse for F-1s, some of whom have been waiting for a green card for over two decades.Â
Contact an Immigration Attorney Today
No immigration attorney can, of course, guarantee the speed or success of your family-based immigration application. However, the complexities of immigration law and regulation mean that using an attorney increases the likelihood of success and speed. If you face a family-based immigration issue, contact us to schedule an initial consultation and review your matter. See how we can assist you in handling your immigration matter.
Meet The Attorneys
What Our Clients Say
5-Star Rating | Based on 200+ Satisfied Customer Google Reviews
Kevin Raica literally saved my life. He helped me out of a dangerous situation that my previous attorney had put me in. After 17 years without status and 6.5 years of working with my previous attorney, I had experienced so many denials that I had completely lost hope. When I met Kevin, everything changed. He genuinely cared about my situation and gave me hope when I couldn’t see any for…
We sincerely thank the entire team for the professionalism, responsiveness, patience, and dedication shown throughout our case. From our very first visit, Justin reassured us that everything would be all right. Thank you, Khiabett, for your expertise, professionalism, and calm guidance before and during the interview, which greatly reduced our stress and gave us confidence. We also deeply appreciate Kamila's hard work, patience, and responsiveness throughout the process. For sorting…
I would like to sincerely thank Attorney Justin Burton and PL Kamila Lada for support with my adjustment of status case. I have been working with the firm for over a year now, and I have received nothing short of exceptional services and support throughout various cases for myself and family members. Highly recommend consulting and retaining this firm.
We have been in the dark with our case for over 2 decades, while working with other big firms who just kept me in the dark and sat on our case without making any effort to move it forward until I met the wonderful team at Kriezelman & Burton. AO and JP are truly God-sent angels who with their knowledge, collaboration, sense of direction and outside the box thinking, managed…
Highly recommend attorney Kevin Raica and attorney Agata Bigdanowicz. They were super helpful, responded on time, and won my case in record time. It took about a month and half in total for me to get my approval after filing!
Brittni Rivera and her team (Carina Lopez) are fantastic! They are responsive, efficient and beyond compassionate. Brittni Rivera and her team treated me with dignity and respect as they patiently answered all of my questions. They didn't move on without making sure I understood each step. Their work ethic was impressive. It felt like they were an extension of my personal team. I can't say enough to convey my gratitude…
I cannot find the words to express my gratitude to Brittni Rivera! She literally saved my family. We had been waiting seven years for what she accomplished in just three weeks. I was impressed by how accessible the office is—they always answer calls very quickly. A special thank you to paralegal Nataliia Melnyk. You are my heroes. Thank you.
Thank you all, I found this group to be a great service. Thank you all, blessings to you. especially Khiabett
We are incredibly grateful for the help and support we received from this office. From the very beginning, they understood the urgency of our situation and treated our case with real care, professionalism, and speed. They were extremely responsive, clear, and compassionate throughout the entire process. They moved quickly when timing was critical, kept us informed, and helped us navigate a very stressful immigration situation with confidence. Thanks to their…
Kevin Raica and his team handled my immigration application and i can other recommend them enough. They made a stressful process very easy. They are very knowledgeable in this area and helped us at every stage from beginning to end.
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