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Does the Constitution apply to you if you are not a citizen?
That immigration is a complex matter is no secret. Whether you are trying to bring your fiancé to America, work in the United States or get your Green Card, the application process can seem demanding. Appeals may seem to take forever. And denials can often put hope to the test.
Regardless of your adjustment of status, you may not understand what rights you have. According to a professor from Yale Law School, Cristina Rodriguez, the U.S. Constitution applies to undocumented immigrants. Rather than “citizen,” the Constitution often refers to “person” or “people.” Therefore, Rodriguez says the rights apply to you, regardless of citizenship.
How rights might apply to you
Just because these Constitutional rights might apply to you does not mean you can necessarily predict how they will be effected. It may be good to consider what the following rights could look like in your case:
Green cards for parents not limited to birth parents
Under federal law, U.S. citizens are allowed to petition for green cards for certain relatives. This includes parents. Typically, U.S. citizens that are over 21 are eligible to pursue a green card for parents who are from another country.
Does this only extend to birth parents? No, it does not. Citizens generally are allowed to petition for adoptive parents and step-parents to be granted permanent resident status.
As a note, there are some added required supporting documents for petitions for non-biological parents.
For cases involving adoptive parents, this includes:
- A copy of the adoption certificate (which generally needs to show the adoption occurred prior to the citizen turning 16)
- A statement on when and where the citizen lived with the adoptive parent
For cases involving step-parents, this includes:
Rejection rate of fiancé visas holds oddly steady
The rate of rejection of almost every kind of immigration visa has jumped in the first nine months of 2018, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The denial rate for most immigration applications jumped from 8.3 percent in 2016 to 11.3 percent in 2018. The denial rate from H-2A agricultural workers and H-1B high-skilled workers went from 16.8 percent in 2016 to 22.6 percent in 2018. The denial rate for green cards went from 5.9 percent in 2016 to 7.9 percent in 2018.
Most of these categories saw either a measured increase between 2016 and 2018 or a large bump in the last year. One of the odd blips during the increase in visa denials is that the K-1 visa – the fiancé visa – jumped from 13.6 percent in 2016 to 21.8 percent in 2017, then actually dropped 0.8 percent between 2017 and 2018.
From our offices in Dallas and Plano, Texas, we serve clients throughout the surrounding areas including Fort Worth, Irving, Arlington, Farmers Branch, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Addison, Richardson, Allen, Murphy, Wylie, McKinney, Dallas County, Collin County, Denton County, and all of Northeastern Texas.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
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