Q. I was granted asylum on Jan. 9. When can I apply to become a U.S. citizen? Must I apply for a green card first or will I get it automatically?
Anisia, by email
A. To become a U.S. citizen, you must become a permanent resident. You will need to apply for permanent residence to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services using form I-485. You may file form I-485 one year after you were granted asylum. As an asylee green card applicant, USCIS should backdate your green card one year. So, you will qualify to naturalize four years after you become a permanent resident, or two years if you are married to and living with a U.S. citizen during those years. You can submit your naturalization application three months before the two or four years from when you became a permanent resident.
Q. I became a permanent resident after my mother petitioned for me last March. Two of my daughters came here with me. I had to leave one daughter back home. She is 10. How can I bring her to the United States? How long will it take?
Edgar Sison, Orlando, Fla.
A. Your daughter can get her immigrant visa as if she came here with you. The process can take up to a year, but it will be much faster if you are willing to travel abroad to a U.S. consulate.
Your daughters all qualify for immigrant visas as your “derivative beneficiaries.” Derivative beneficiaries are the unmarried children (and sometimes the spouse) of a primary green card beneficiary (that’s you) who immigrates under one of the family or employment-based immigration categories. Despite your leaving her behind, your daughter continues to qualify to immigrate as a derivative beneficiary. She can “follow-to-join” you in the United States. That means that she can immigrate as if she got her immigrant visa when you did. That’s much faster than if you petitioned for her as the child of a permanent resident. Get an immigration law expert to explain your options, including the fastest way to get her here.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, Seventh Floor, 4 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
