Pennsylvania family lawyers are increasingly called upon to deal with multinational families, and must be aware of important immigration issues that may impact their family law clients. For married couples, for example, your client’s separation from a U.S. citizen spouse does not necessarily doom an application for permanent residence—but the U.S. citizen spouse made a contract with the U.S. government to provide for the spouse’s financial support, even in the event of divorce. A second article will focus on issues facing couples seeking children from abroad, because “adopted child” does not mean the same thing in immigration law that it does under state law, and going overseas for a surrogate mother presents particular challenges in properly documenting the child’s citizenship. If you regularly handle family law matters, and do not understand some of the basics of family-based immigration, you may misadvise clients who are foreign nationals and miss opportunities on their behalf.
Issues for Couples
When one member of the couple is from overseas, the U.S. citizen spouse may file an immigrant petition to have his or her noncitizen spouse granted status as an “immediate relative.” Normally, if the marriage is less than two years old at the time the noncitizen spouse is granted immigrant status, the noncitizen is granted permanent residence on a conditional basis. Because of the conditional basis of status, the noncitizen must file a second petition two years after being granted immigrant (green card) status, in which he or she documents that the marriage was in good faith.
