1. How Long Will It Take for PERM?
Our company plan to start PERM process in NY. How many days it will takes at least?
Mr. Lee answers:
If the PERM application encounters no problems and taking into account the amount of time to obtain a prevailing wage and the required recruitment, it would normally take approximately 8-9 months to process the labor certification. That is assuming that all parties cooperate as quickly as possible with requests for documentation and action.
2. Would I have Problem on Naturalization If I Never Filed Taxes Jointly With My Spouse?
I want to do my citizenship but we never filed our taxes together always separate and head of household. Would I have problems? If I do, would they charge us with back taxes for all the years we were married and not filing together?
Mr. Lee answers:
Although I am not familiar with IRS rules, my information is that registering as head of household means that the applicant is either single, divorced, or lived apart six months or more in a calendar year. If you fit none of these categories, you might certainly owe the government some money. I do note that immigration examiners are not IRS employees and do not collect back taxes on behalf of IRS. A naturalization examiner’s general mission is the grant or denial of naturalization applications.
3. Is There Anything I Can Apply For to Enter the U.S. Legally After Being Deported?
I was a permanent resident since 1/2009. I got involved in a relationship to who is now my wife in 2012. We had a lot of fights and arguments and one day we made the mistake of putting our hands on each other and I grabbed her by the neck and she called the police her mom bailed me out the next day. In December 2013, I pled guilty on the terms of deferred adjudication on probation for 4 years (I’m not sure if I said that right). My court appointed lawyer(who didn’t even bother to show up sent instead a substitute) told me that I would not get deported unless I broke any Conditions(which I never did) and that as soon as I completed it, it wouldn’t affect me at all. In 4/2015 ICE officers lied to me into talking to them and when they presented themselves to my house arrested me for an immigration warrant I had without knowing. In 7/2015 I was deported. My wife my daughter and I are living in Mexico currently but we would like for me to go back home legally.
Mr. Lee answers:
It is difficult for me to give advice in your case as it is not clear whether you were deported for the incident on which you pled guilty in December 2013 or whether there was some other occasion for which the immigration warrant was issued. You also did not disclose in your fact pattern any occurrences in an immigration court which leads me to suspect that you had a previous order. I believe that the best thing that you could do now would be to have an immigration lawyer look over your entire immigration and criminal history. If you do not have a complete copy of your files, you should have him or her secure a copy under the Freedom of Information Act for immigration and with the criminal court for your crime. Only in this way would the lawyer have an accurate idea of what he or she is facing.
