San Antonio Immigration Law Blog

The midterm elections are just around the corner. The Get Out the Vote efforts in your community may have you excited to participate in the democratic process. But if you’re a permanent resident, it’s important to understand that you are not allowed to vote.

While a few states have local elections in which permanent residents may vote, most elections—including the midterm election on November 6—require you to be a U.S. citizen to participate. Even if you’re a green card holder who’s currently in the process of applying for citizenship, you’re not allowed to vote until your citizenship is confirmed.

Like other Texas residents, you may have assumed that, because your child was born to you, a U.S. citizen, he or she automatically receives the same citizenship. That would probably be the case if your child was born here in the United States but may not be if the birth took place in another country.

Even if you return to the U.S. with your child, it may be prudent not to make the assumption that he or she is an American citizen. Instead, you may need to take certain steps to secure your child's citizenship prior to the age of 18. Thereafter, everyone could be in for an unpleasant surprise if the law considers your child not to be a native of this country.

You and the love of your life have decided to get married. You’ve established a solid, supportive relationship, and you’re ready to take the next step together. There’s just one hiccup in your plan: your fiancée lives in the Philippines.

Now you need to sort through the paperwork and bureaucracy to bring her to the U.S. The prospect may seem overwhelmingly complex. One fundamental question you may be wondering is whether it makes more sense to apply for a fiancé visa—and get married in the U.S.—or apply for a spouse visa—and get married in the Philippines before she moves.

You’ve been looking for love your whole life, and it’s finally happened. The real deal. The man of your dreams is in your life at last, and it’s an earth-shattering type of love you’ve never experienced before. When he asked you to marry him, to couldn’t wait to say yes. You want nothing more than to be together forever.

There’s just one problem: he lives 5,000 miles away in England. You want to bring him to the U.S. to get married and start your lives together. However, due to some stupid mistakes he made when he was younger, that’s proving to be difficult. A couple of drunken pub fights landed him assault charges in his early twenties. Although he’s since matured and paid his debt to society, U.S. immigration authorities have barred him from entering the U.S. If moving to England isn’t in the cards for you, what options do you have?