New York New York Immigration Lawyers Breznick & Cavallo
Attorneys Martin Breznick and John Cavallo specialize in all aspects of the Immigration Process in New York, including but not limited to:
- Visas
- Political Asylum
- Religious Asylum
- Deportation
- H1B
- Green Cards
Martin F. Breznick
Member
Email: brezcavlaw@aol.com
Practice Areas: Immigration; Visas; Asylum; Deportation.
Admitted: 1977, New York and U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts; 1980, New Jersey and U.S. District of New Jersey
Law School: Western New England School of Law, J.D., 1976
College: State University of New York, Stony Brook, B.A., 1973
Member: A.I.L.A.
Born: Bronx, New York, March 21, 1952
John Cavallo
Member
Email: brezcavlaw@aol.com
Practice Areas: Immigration; Visas; Asylum; Deportation.
Admitted: 1982, New York and U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Law School: Temple Law School, J.D., 1980
College: Columbia University, B.A., 1977
Member: A.I.L.A.; New York County Lawyers Association.
Languages: Italian, Spanish.
Born: Italy, August 27, 1955
Naturalization & Selective Service Registration
Question: I came to this country as a lawful permanent resident when I was 24 years old. Five years later I filed for citizenship. At my interview, the Immigration Officer asked me if I ever registered for the Selective Service. I was not sure what he was asking me. I know I did not register with anyone. My citizenship was denied because of that. Can I ever become a citizen?
Answer: Yes you may still be eligible to become a United States Citizen. Any male who is a US citizen or who was a lawful permanent resident between the ages of 18-27 must register with the Selective Service Administration. You are ineligible to become a United States Citizen if you did not register for the selective service as a lawful permanent resident. Now that you are 29 years old, it is too late for you to register. There is an exception to the above rule: if you did not know you had to register. In order for you to obtain your citizenship, you must prove that you did not know you had to register and that the Selective Service never notified you of your requirement to register. You may need a lawyer to help you.
Citizenship Requirements and Selective Service Registration
Question: I want to become a United States citizen. I have been here since I was 20 and I am now 32. I filed once for naturalization but was turned down because I did not register for selective service before I turned 26 years old. Will I ever be eligible to become a United States citizen?
Answer: In order to become a United States citizen, among other things, you must meet the good moral character requirements for the five (5) years preceding the application. Failing to knowingly and willfully register for selective service between 18 and 26 years old allows the Immigration Service to conclude that you lack the good moral character. However, since you are over 31, your failure to register for selective service can no longer be used against you because it is now outside the five (5) year statutory period. That can no longer be a basis to deny your application for naturalization.
Criminal Conviction and Immigration Consequences
Question: In 1981, I was convicted of felony possession of marijuana. I have a green card. I want to travel to Trinidad for my grandmother’s funeral, but I am afraid that they won’t let me back in. Can I travel?
Answer: Unfortunately, your 1981 conviction for possession of marijuana makes you deportable under the immigration laws of the United States. If you were to travel outside the United States, it is more than likely that when you return you will be placed into removal (deportation) proceedings. You may even be detained until you can see an immigration judge, which could take 10 days or maybe even 2 weeks. By traveling outside the United States, you are in essence alerting the Immigration Service that you have a conviction. Fortunately, you are eligible for relief from removal. If placed into removal proceedings, you may file for Section 212(c) waiver. With this waiver, you will have to show that your positive equities far outweigh any negative equities. Positive equities include but are not limited to duration of status in this country, your familial ties in the US, your history of employment. Negative equities are your criminal convictions and any immigration violations. Once the evidence is presented before the Immigration Judge, he or he/she will make a determination on whether your positive equities outweigh your negative equities.
Can I get a visitor's visa while waiting for my immigrant visa?
Question: My husband lives as a green card holder in the US and I live in Jamaica. He filed for my green card in August 2000. He comes to Jamaica from time to time to see me, but I want to go to the United States and live with him. My friend told me that since I am intending to live in the United States, chances are that I would not be able to get a visitor’s visa. Is there any way I can enter the United States legally?
Answer: Your friend is correct that you would probably not be able to get a visitor’s visa. In order to do so, you would need to show your intent to only visit the United States, and not live here permanently. Because you have a legal permanent resident husband, and because he has already filed for you, I doubt that you would get a visitor’s visa issued to you as you have already shown your intent to live in the United States and not simply visit and return home. What I don’t understand is why you don’t have your green card already. Your date on the visa waiting list under the F2-A category is current. According to the May 2005 visa bulletin, legal permanent residents who filed for their spouses in 2002 are now eligible for their green cards. If your husband followed the correct procedure with the National Visa Center, and if, in fact, your visa petition is approved with an August 2000 priority date, then you should have already received a visa appointment to pick up your immigrant visa at the US Embassy. As you have been eligible for your permanent residence for some time, forget about a visitor’s visa and contact your husband or your government representative to find out what caused the delay in your green card application.
Filing for parents
Question: I am a citizen. I'm 20 and I want to file for my mom. Can I do that now? And can I include the rest of the family as her dependents so that they too can come here?
Answer: You can only file for your mother or father once you reach the age of 21. Since you are now 20 years old, it should not be much longer before you can file for your mom. Once you do file for your mother, she will be considered an immediate relative. That means that she would be immediately eligible for her permanent residence and would not have to wait on a waiting list for her green card. Because she does not have to wait for her green card, the law does not allow her children to accompany her as a derivative beneficiary for their green cards as well. Therefore, when you file for your mother, only your mother, and not her children, can obtain a green card. Once your mother gets her green card, she can turn around and file for her children.
Husband and mother are US Citizens. Who’s petition is faster?
Question: I am married to a US citizen and have two children, ages 13 and 15, in Trinidad. My mother is also a US citizen. Is it better for my husband to file for my green card and my children’s green cards? Or, is it faster to have my mother petition for me, rather than my husband?
Answer: It is faster for your husband to file for you and the children, rather than your mother. Because you are married, if your mother were to file for you, you would be considered an “F-3 married daughter of a US Citizen.” The F-3 category currently has a estimated wait for a green card of over 10 years. By that time your children may age out of the visa petition as they would be over 21 years of age at the time of visa availability. Even if they did not “age out,” under the Child Status Protection Act (which is not discussed in this answer), it would be close to 10 years before you would be reunited with them. If your husband files for you and also files separate step-child petitions for each of your children (he needs to file three separate visa petitions), then your children could get visa appointments in Trinidad in approximately 5- 9 months, and you could adjust your status here in about 12-18 months. In short, it is much faster if your husband, instead of your mother, files for you.
Marrying a US Citizen and filing for children under 21
Question: I immigrated to the United States 10 years ago. My husband, who is a United States Citizen, had filed for me to obtain my green card. I’ve had my green card for 6 years. I am still happily married to my husband. My problem is this: before I left my country 10 years ago, my mother agreed to watch my children who were at the time, 10 years old and 2 years old. Well, my children are now 20 years old and 12 years old respectively. I visit them every year. I want them to come live with me. For the past three years I have been trying to get my citizenship so I can file for them. I had my citizenship interview 2 years ago. The officer said I passed and I would be sworn in shortly. Ever since, all I have received is three notices to re-do my fingerprints. I keep re-doing my fingerprints but I have not been called for a swearing in date. Mr. Bernstein, I cry every night waiting to become a US citizen so I can get my kids here. What should I do?
Answer: Instead of waiting to become a United States Citizen, let your husband file for your children immediately as a United States Citizen step-father. Under the immigration laws, your husband is considered a step-parent if he married you before the children turned 18. Because your children are still under 21, they are considered “immediate relatives” under the immigration laws, which mean there is no wait, other than the time it takes for the visa petition to be approved, for your children to obtain visa appointments. Furthermore, in this particular instance, as long as your husband files for the children before they are 21, they can not “age out” – meaning that once they turn 21 they will still be considered under 21 for immigration purposes. This is important because once a child turns 21, there is usually a long wait for a green card.
