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Working With An Immigration Attorney Is Essential When Filing Family Petitions

25 April 2015 by Charlotte Perez

Each year, there are many U.S. citizens who get married abroad and initiate a family petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as soon as they get back home to make sure that they will be quickly reunited with their spouse. However, most of them choose to file on their own and end up experiencing the frustration that is associated with the process. If you intend to sponsor your spouse for immigration purposes, then you need to work with an immigration attorney such as Tesoroni & Leroy. Here are a few reasons why.

The USCIS may request additional documents

While filing a family petition for your spouse seems straightforward, it in fact isn't, since the federal agency may request other documents in addition to the ones that are typically submitted. Examples of common documents needed for the immigration petition include but aren't limited to:

• Form I-130, which is the petition for an Alien relative
• A copy of your birth certificate showing your name
• The marriage certificate

Instances of additional documents that you might have to submit include:

• Affidavit of support
• Proof that the marital union is legitimate

Requests for additional documents have been increasing over the past couple of years as the USCIS is trying to cut the growing number of sham marriages. This is because the federal government came to realize that many aliens and U.S. citizens get married solely to take advantage of immigration benefits.

The affidavit of support is a document that shows that you can support your spouse financially, from the moment they arrive to the states to when they start earning money.

Submitting the appropriate documents proving that your marriage is bona fide, or legitimate, is essential for a faster review of your family petition. And unless you're receiving legal assistance, you will hardly be able to know exactly what the USCIS officer reviewing your case is expecting.

Your immigration attorney might help you overcome barriers you didn't even know about

There are different nations that maintain testy diplomatic relationships with the U.S., such as Iran. Because of this diplomatic context, you might encounter all the trouble in the world to bring your Iranian spouse to the U.S., even if you can submit all the documents requested. In this type of situation, the immigration attorney will help you come up with a different strategy to ensure that you get reunited with your spouse as soon as possible. For example, the lawyer can help your spouse secure a tourist visa for the U.S., from where the family petition will then be launched.

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