Immigrant Tips

Do's

1. Keep all your immigration documents. They prove your identity and often can be replaced only after considerable delay. Passports, visas and your I-94 Record of Inspection are vital evidence of your immigration status and should be safeguarded at all times. Keep all other immigration filings that show where you are in the process. It will save you time and money.

2. Stay in status. If you entered the USA legally stay in status. Working without authorization or overstaying even one day can mean you may never get a visa to enter the USA again. If you are a student, be sure to comply with SEVIS, a computerized system monitoring student activity and minimum course loads.

3. Notify the Government if your address changes. The law requires all aliens to notify the Government within 10 days of a change of address. A simple, mail-in form, the "AR-11" is all you need. Doing this is very important in the post 9/11 era for all aliens seeking to maintain status.

4. If you are fleeing persecution at home, remember:

If possible, make a final decision to seek asylum only after you have been inspected and admitted. Otherwise you will be held in a detention center for months while your claim is heard. If you've been admitted, leave the port of entry and consult an immigration attorney about filing an asylum claim.

Don't seek asylum too late. If you have already been admitted and delay filing for asylum for more than one year, your claim will be barred, unless you have a very good reason for the delay.

If you use false documents to get to America, claim asylum to the first immigration officers you meet. Tell them the documents are false! Attempted fraudulent entry is a federal crime that can result in a lifetime bar on re-entry. Also bring at least one good home-country photo-ID so you can prove you are who you say you are.

5. Apply for Citizenship if you are eligible. If you have a clean record in the USA, you have every reason to apply for naturalized citizenship when eligible. Citizens can't be deported; legal residents can! Being a citizen will also make it much easier and faster to sponsor other family members for permanent residency in the USA.

Dont's

1. Don't Be an "EWI". Someone who "sneaks across the border" without be¬ing inspected at a port of entry is called an "EWI" because he or she "enters without inspection." EWIs are treated as if they were still at the border seeking admission, and have extremely limited legal rights. Except for asylum, in almost all cases an EWI cannot cure his or her status problem by marrying an American, or in any other way.

2. Don't Delay. One of the easiest ways to lose immigration rights and opportunities is to fail to apply for an immigration benefit on time. Among other things:

If you are a citizen or green card holder, apply for your child to come to America long before he or she reaches 21. If you are a green card holder because you married a U.S. citizen, your foreign born children under 18 can apply to immigrate immediately as your spouse's stepchildren.

If you are not a green card holder, the time you may remain in the USA is determined not by the expiration date of your U.S. visa, but by the date stamped on your Form 1-94 Record of Inspection. Do not stay beyond that date, or you will go "out of status." Be aware that you can apply to remain in the USA past the I-94 date in many cases, and don't delay in applying if you need to.

3. Don't Forget the Three and Ten Year Bars. If you are "out of status" or an EWI, there are serious immigration penalties if you leave the USA. Absent a hardship waiver, an alien who is "unlawfully present" for 180 days is "inadmissible" and cannot return for three years. Similarly, an alien who is "unlawfully present" for a year or more can't return for ten years. Being out of status even one day may prevent you from getting a visa to return in future.

4. Don't Use False ID! If you are an "illegal alien," getting a false Social Security Card or number, or a false driver's license may make your life seem easier now, but possession or use of such documents can make it difficult or impossible for you to become a green card holder later on. For taxes, get an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the IRS. For transportation, take the bus or train, but avoid unnecessary public travel.

5. Don't Consult People Unqualified to Give Immigration Advice. Immigration law is far more than filling out forms! Consult a lawyer who is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).