Immigrate to the USA: Top 5 Major Mistakes of Potential Americans

Collect all the necessary documents, fill out the form correctly and arrive at the office of the Citizenship and Migration Service at the appointed time. At first glance, going through the process of issuing a green card or citizenship is easy. On the official website, the entire procedure is described in detail, there is a section of tips and even a schedule of consultations. However, potential immigrants so often make mistakes that both lawyers and migration officers There is a top-list of actions that are best not to commit, unless, of course, you want to stay in the country.

Фото: Depositphotos

ForumDaily understood in detail whether it is possible to fill out all the documents yourself, in which cases it is necessary to contact a lawyer and how to recognize immigration fraudsters.

The case of former Muscovite Yulia Abelev was very simple: the girl came to the United States on a tourist visa, met her future American husband in New York, and after the wedding began the process of obtaining a green card. Yulia says that all their documents were in order, the marriage was real, and theoretically there was no need for them to contact a lawyer. “But my husband told me: Yulia, I’m afraid to make some mistakes, let’s go to a lawyer and they’ll do everything for us according to the rules,” the girl explains.

Mistake #1 - incorrectly completed documents

The lawyer was recommended by friends, and for $800 she agreed to help the couple. There was only a small nuance - just before her last departure from Moscow, Yulia received a new passport, where her name was written not Yulia, as before, but Iulia. The law firm suggested leaving the old version of the name when filling out the documents.

“They told me, why do you need to have such a strange name - let me write you down everywhere as Yulia? I asked if it was possible to do this, to which I received the answer that the migration service does not pay attention to such things at all,” says the girl.

Yulia Abelev is sure that the paperwork would have been better done without a lawyer. Photo: from the personal archive

Since then, Julia started having problems. At first they refused to take her fingerprints, as the names in the passport and the completed form were different. Then, when this question was settled, the difference in the spelling of the name caused bewilderment at the immigration officer already during the interview. “I was told at the interview that everything needs to be corrected, otherwise the green card will not be combined with my new passport.” As a result, Yulia still received the green card, during her registration she managed to pass on her rights, get a work permit and a social insurance number in the name of Yulia, because she was sure that she would be recorded in the green card as well same Therefore, the girl had to redo all the documents.

“My main advice to anyone with an easy job is to fill out the paperwork yourself. Because I paid $800 - and for what? Because they filled out a form for me, in which they made a grave mistake?” Yulia shares her bitter experience.

Error No.2: Intentional Concealment

Incorrectly filling in the required forms is the most common mistake of potential migrants, lawyer Ismail Shakhtakhtinsky believes. Most often, a person either does not understand what the Citizenship and Migration Service requires of him, or deliberately hides some data.

“People think, will the migration service know that I was once arrested? Or, for example, that he was absent from the country for some time, working without permission? So, rest assured, the migration service will find out everything, they have ways, so you cannot hide information,” the lawyer assures.

Ismail notes that most often it is people from the former countries of the Soviet Union who try to hide something from the American authorities. “The USSR, unfortunately, instilled in people this manner of behavior - not telling the authorities, hiding. For Russian-speaking migrants, the concept of how to write and how to actually eat are often different things. And we have to explain that this is not possible here - it’s a fact and that’s all.”

It is also important to remember that obtaining citizenship is already the finish line of immigration, which is preceded by many other processes - obtaining a green card or political asylum. It is important that the information is consistent at all these stages.

“It happens that when applying for political asylum, a person indicates that he was detained, arrested by the authorities from which he fled. And then the time comes to apply for citizenship, and when asked about his arrest or criminal record, he answers negatively, because he is afraid that he will be refused if he has a criminal record. And now there is a discrepancy. So you can lose political asylum and not get citizenship,” explains the lawyer.

And he immediately adds: people most likely will not share such negative experiences. Few people admit why the Citizenship and Migration Service refused him, but if they managed to deceive the system, they will trumpet it loudly. So one gets the impression that this is more than possible, and mistakes are repeated.

Error #3: Unqualified Help

Not only was Yulia’s name mixed up in the documents, but the case was not handled by the lawyer himself, but by his assistant. “The lawyer considered our case to be very simple, and gave all the documents to be filled out by an assistant, who, as it turned out later, did not even have a legal education,” says the girl. All the lawyer did was look at the documents before sending them. She didn’t notice the obvious mistake then either.

The site Citizenship and Migration Services in large letters it is written right in the center - “Wrong help can cause harm.” The following is a detailed description of those specialists who have the official right to assist in immigration matters.

The first are Accredited Representatives, who are not attorneys but can give advice on how to properly collect documents and fill out forms. Most often, these are representatives of non-profit, charitable or religious organizations who can only ask for a formal amount for their services. Be sure to find such an assistant on the list accredited representatives and make sure his name is missing among violators.

The second are the lawyers themselves, from whom you immediately need to ask for a license. Immigration assistance does not have to be issued in the same state where the client resides.

“Any lawyer, if he values ​​his name, will be much written online. It is also desirable that a lawyer be a member Migration Bar Association”, says Ismail Shakhtakhtinsky.

Neither students nor graduates of law universities can work with a client in person, only to assist this lawyer.

But Ismail assures, more often than not, a potential immigrant knows exactly to whom he refers and how much this assistance is legal.

“During 10 years of practice, I only once met a man who thought that he was a lawyer, but it turned out that he had no right to legal activity. In most cases, people know that they are not turning to a lawyer at all, and are simply trying to save money. ”

In this case, if law enforcement agencies are interested in the activities of a false lawyer, then all his cases will be reviewed, especially successful ones.

Also on the official site Citizenship and Migration Services They are earnestly asked not to contact notaries, since their function in the USA is the same as in Russia or Ukraine, namely, to act as a witness when signing documents.

Mistake # 4: refuse to help a lawyer when she really needs it.

Lana Monson is originally from Perm and flew to the States last year to attend a language school. Then, everything was like in a movie: I met a man, fell in love, and they got married. No problems were foreseen with the green card, so the couple decided to complete the documents themselves.

“Thousands of people filled it out on their own without the help of a lawyer, but in our case it didn’t work out very well,” says Lana.

For the first time, the documents were returned to them, because they had left several columns blank due to inattention. Then it turned out that the form was outdated. “We were told to do everything anew. We printed a new version from the site and filled it out again. ” Usually, after sending the documents, a notification comes in that they are taken into work, but a couple have not received this. In the Migration Service they were advised to duplicate everything again, but the story did not end there either.

After a long execution of the green card, Lana Monson is sure: citizenship will be done only with a lawyer. Photo: from the personal archive

In Russia, a girl was married and after a divorce she left her husband’s surname, but on the birth certificate her surname remained her maiden name. “I was still thinking, how can I prove that the birth certificate is mine? The migration officer asked to bring him a marriage certificate, which was impossible, since after the divorce it was simply destroyed. But the divorce certificate did not say anything about changing the last name,” explains the girl.

Lana had to look for a notary in Salt Lake City, where she lives, to issue a power of attorney for her mother and send her to Russia. There, my mother managed to get a certificate that the marriage was and the girl really changed the name. Only the other day Lana received this final binding document and now hopes that she will finally issue a green card. The girl is sure: if she turned to a lawyer, she would immediately be told what documents would need to be provided additionally, and this would save her both time and nerves.

“My advice: don’t fool yourself and go to a lawyer. This will cost $200-300, depending on the state, but you won’t make stupid mistakes,” says Lana Monson.

Error #5: ignore official site Citizenship and Migration Services

Photo: path2usa.com

There is indeed detailed information on any of the immigration processes. And the officers are urged to use only their official website, and no other. AT separate section You will be able to study the list of the most common types of migration fraud. For example, it says here that the Citizenship and Migration Service never asks to pay for its services by telephone, and the application forms are always free.

Also, officers are advised to be cautious and those who participate in the annual green card lottery. Its results are never sent to the participant by email. Check whether you won or not, you can only personally.

And last but not least: you cannot buy a work permit. This right automatically gives you a green card, political refugee status or a work visa.

Answers to any questions related to registration of migration status can be obtained both online and personal meetings with migration officers. They hold both consultations and entire seminars where they tell for free how to fill out all the documents correctly the first time and get the right to live and work in the USA as quickly as possible and, most importantly, legally.

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Economic migration: the pros and cons of moving to the US

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