Greg McLawsen

5 fun ways to ruin a marriage-based visa case

There is a lot of guidance on the Internet – some good, lots bad – about how to apply for and acquire a marriage-based green card. But rather than repeat what’s been said before, let’s talk about what you can…

A brief overview of U.S. immigration law

The following material comes from a draft chapter of a book I am preparing for the American Bar Association. Immigration Law for the Family Practitioner will help family law attorneys understand how immigration law may impact their cases and clients…

I got an invoice from the National Visa Center (NVC), what do I do next?

December 11, 2015
Greg McLawsen
Consular processing, How-To Guides, Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration, National Visa Center
109 Comments

The National Visa Center (NVC) is where immigration cases can start to get really, really complicated. This post walks you through how to take care of paying your visa fee once you receive an invoice from the NVC. We assume…

Am I eligible to file the N-400?

The most important step of the naturalization process is determining whether you are eligible to apply in the first place. It is critical to recognize that the risk is not simply that your N-400 could be denied, and the filing…

How do I check USCIS processing times?

December 5, 2015
Greg McLawsen
Citizenship, Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration

How long will it take for USCIS to decide a case? There is no simple way to find the answer to this. That is, you can't just go to a USCIS webpage that will give you a definitive answer for…

How do I check my USCIS case status?

December 4, 2015
Greg McLawsen
Citizenship, Immigration system, Marriage-Based Immigration
3 Comments

You've filed your immigration case... but nothing has happened. Is there a problem? Did the case fall through the cracks? It is easy (and free) to check the status of your USCIS case online. First, navigate to the official USCIS…

I came to the U.S. on ESTA/VWP – can I adjust status?

Under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) nationals of certain "low risk" countries are allowed to travel to the U.S. without a visa. These individuals register with the online Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before traveling to the U.S. Most…

Redfin is cheaper and better than a real estate agent. Will you be the Redfin of legal?

A version of this article appeared in the NW Lawyer magazine of the Washington State Bar Association. This February my wife and I decided to sell our house, give away many of our possessions, move in with my mother, and…

Understanding marriage-related immigration

November 16, 2015
Greg McLawsen
Consular processing, Marriage-Based Immigration
2 Comments

There are five basic ways in which marriage may facilitate a foreign national’s immigration to the United States. The first three are strategies available to a U.S. petitioner who wishes to gain legal status for his spouse or fiancé(e). The…

Social Justice Hackathon – congratulations participants!

Over the weekend our firm was proud to co-sponsor the first ever Social Justice Hackathon at Seattle University School of Law. This event brought together law-trained professionals, designers and programmers to collaborate. Teams competed over the weekend to create projects…

What goes into an I-864 Affidavit of Support lawsuit complaint?
I’ve been representing clients in lawsuits to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support for about a decade at this point. Over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to the template that we use for federal lawsuit complaints. (A complaint is the initial case document that sets forth the plaintiff’s legal claim…
What is a joint sponsor’s liability under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
A joint sponsor (also called co-sponsor) has the same liability under an Affidavit of Support as the primary sponsor. By signing the USCIS Form I-864, the joint sponsor agrees to “joint and several” liability on the contract. The sponsored immigrant can sue the joint sponsor for financial support in state or federal court. A joint…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support in a divorce case?
Yes – in most states the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support can be enforced in a divorce case. A family law court has the authority to enforce the I-864 either (1) as a breach of contract claim or (2) through spousal maintenance (also called alimony). But as discussed below, divorce court is not necessarily…
USCIS Form I-864 enforcement in divorce court – another cautionary tale (Marriage of Bychina)
It is a theme that I have written about many times on this blog and elsewhere. Yes, the Affidavit of Support can theoretically be enforced in family law proceedings. But in practice, beneficiaries frequently encounter problems in that forum. Here is another example. Marriage of Bychina was a family law case in Illinois. See No.…
How do you calculate damages under the I-864, Affidavit of Support
In an important ruling for one of our I-864 enforcement clients, a Court ruled today that damages under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are determined based on taxable income. In Flores v. Flores, the Western District of Washington ruled that the term “income” is governed by the definition contained at 8 C.F.R. §…
How do you settle a claim under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
As I explain elsewhere on this blog, almost all claims under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support result in settlement. To get an idea of how long that process takes, read this post. Having settled many of these claims, here is an overview of how we generally approach settlement. What goes into an Affidavit…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support with a preliminary injunction?
Non-citizens needing to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are usually in serious need of help. To have a claim under the Affidavit, their income needs to be below 125 percent of the poverty line. That’s about $1,400 per month for a household of one. But a lawsuit can take months or even…
What affirmative defenses are available to Form I-864 sponsors? None.
The Eleventh Circuit has held that the common law defenses of unclean hands, anticipatory breach, and equitable estoppel are unavailable to a sponsor who has signed a USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Blevich v. Thomas, 17 F.4th 1048 (11th Cir. 2021). Belevich joins a growing line of cases that stand for the proposition that…
The federal right to immigration “alimony” under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support
A version of this article first appeared in the Side Bar journal for the Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association (Spring 2021). If you are like most federal litigators – this author included – you would never enter divorce court unless your name was on the case caption. The vitriol, the sabotage, the meanness.…
How long does the I-864 support last?
A sponsor's obligation under the Form I-864 lasts indefinitely. It terminates only upon one of five Terminating Events, including when the green card holder has 40 quarters of work or becomes a U.S. citizen. It *does not* terminate automatically after ten years, even though lawyers mistakenly