Residency

A person can obtain conditional permanent resident status through marriage, or through being an entrepreneur or investor. A conditional permanent resident receives a green card that is valid for two years. After that time, the resident must file a petition during the 90 days before the card expires seeking to remain a permanent resident. The conditional card cannot be renewed, so after two years someone with a conditional permanent status must either have the conditions removed or lose their status as a permanent resident.

Once a green card is received giving an immigrant permanent resident status, that status will be maintained except for the following two scenarios:

• Application and completion of the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen
• Permanent resident status is lost or abandoned

Permanent resident status can be lost if a person moves out of the United States, is absent from the United States for a very long period of time, fails to file income taxes, or does something that would deem them eligible for deportation.

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) identifies who qualifies as a child for the purposes of immigration. This can allow some beneficiaries to retain classification as a child even if they have reached the age of 21, giving the person protection if they reach the age of 21 (or “age out”) before receiving resident status as a result of excessive processing times.

At the Law Offices of Ron A. Kamran, we handle simple to highly complex immigration matters including residency. Contact us any time, 24/7 and let us help you today.