Expertise
Immigration Law
GREEN CARDS AND VISAS FOR FIANCES, SPOUSES AND LIFE ACT FAMILIES
Erin assists fiancés, spouses and family members of citizens with strategies for immigrating, obtaining green cards, work authorization, and advance parole (permission to re-enter after traveling or working abroad).
Green Cards Through Marriage
Citizens and permanent residents can sponsor spouses as “immediate relatives.” For immediate relatives, there is no need to wait for a visa number to become available. As soon as the citizen spouse’s petition is approved, the non-United States citizen spouse can apply for work authorization and a Green Card for permanent residency.
K- Visas And Green Cards Through Marriage
If a non-United States citizen spouse is in the United States, he or she can apply for adjustment of status to obtain legal permanent residency and obtain a Green Card while in the United States. If a non-United States Citizen spouse is outside the United States, an immigration K-Visa must be applied for through a United States consulate abroad. Once the K-Visa is issued, the non-United States citizen spouse may enter the United States and then apply for adjustment of status to legal permanent resident and obtain a Green Card.
Children can also immigrate with the foreign spouse as long as they meet eligibility requirements.
LIFE Act Families
The Law Office of Erin R. Parks assists individuals negotiate the complexities of obtaining a Green Card through the LIFE Act which was enacted as a compromise between the goal of ending unauthorized migration and recognizing the interests of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents in being together with their families. The LIFE Act allows people who already have an approved petition (applied for by April 30, 2001) to adjust their status in the United States regardless of the following factors that might otherwise create bars to obtaining Green Cards:
- Unlawful entrance in the United States
- Working in the United States without authorization
- Failing to continuously maintain lawful status since entry
CITIZENSHIP / NATURALIZATION
If certain requirements are met, an individual may become a United States citizen after birth by applying for naturalization.
Naturalization is the process by which United States citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after fulfilling the requirements established by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Naturalization is possible for:
- Permanent residents for 3 years or more that meet all eligibility requirements
- United States citizen spouses who have been permanent residents for at least 5 years that meet all other eligibility requirements
- Qualifying service men and women in the United States armed forces that meet all other eligibility requirements
- Children of United States citizens, if the child was born outside the United States, is currently residing outside the United States, and meets all other eligibility requirements
Other paths to naturalization also exist. For example, you may already be a United States citizen if your biological or adoptive parent(s) became a United States citizen before you reached the age of 18.
Erin R. Parks educates her clients on the best path to United States citizenship and prepares the documentation to get them naturalized.
DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS (DACA)
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program was established by the Obama administration to allow certain undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation.
Erin believes that no human is “illegal” and has great compassion for the plight of immigrants. She is committed to assisting undocumented children (“Dreamers”) through DACA processing to alleviate the pressures of living in a world where documentation is very important to a successful future in the United States. Because the status of the DACA Program is in a state of flux, it is imperative that Dreamers get current, quality, legal advice from The Law Office of Erin R. Parks.
IMMIGRATION / EMPLOYMENT LAW CROSS-OVER
Erin R. Parks’ knowledge of both employment and immigration law makes her particularly qualified to advise immigrant employees in regard to the interplay of immigration status and California’s employment and labor laws. See California Employment Law