Two routes, depending on where you are.
The same green card is reached two different ways, and which one applies to you depends mainly on whether you are inside the United States right now.
1Adjustment of status
The whole case is handled inside the country. You stay where you are, and the interview happens locally.
- No departure from the United States required
- Work permit available while it is pending
- Interview at a local USCIS office
- Travel permission can be requested
2Consular processing
The petition is approved here and the interview happens at the embassy in your home country.
- Interview at the consulate abroad
- Medical examination by an approved doctor
- Waivers available for certain grounds
- Entry once the visa is issued
What naturalisation actually changes.
A green card can be lost. Citizenship cannot be taken away for the reasons a green card can, and that is the real difference.
You can vote, and you cannot be removed
Permanent residents can be placed in removal proceedings. Citizens cannot.
You can petition for relatives faster
Citizens petition for more categories of relative, and with shorter waits.
No more renewals or re-entry worries
No expiring card, no questions about time spent abroad.
Your children may benefit automatically
Minor children with green cards often become citizens when a parent naturalises.
One quoted price. Filing fees listed separately.
Immigration work is predictable, so we quote it flat. Government filing fees are set by USCIS and we show them separately so you can see exactly what goes where.
Eligibility review
In Spanish or English
Family petitions
Preparation, filing and interview attendance
Naturalisation
Including test and interview preparation
These situations move faster than you can.
Immigration court and detention both run on schedules that do not wait, and a missed step is often not recoverable.
Someone has been detained
The first 48 hours decide where they are held and how quickly bond can be requested. Call before anything is signed.
A hearing date has been set
Missing an immigration hearing can produce a removal order entered in your absence, without the case ever being heard.
A denial or notice has arrived
Most notices carry a deadline measured in days. Bring it to us before the date on the letter passes.
The attorney you meet is the attorney who handles your case.
Paulo Serrano has handled more than 2,000 family petitions and removal cases, and the whole office works in Spanish and English.
Straight answers.
It depends on the category and the current backlog. We check published processing times for your specific case and tell you honestly.
In many adjustment cases a work permit can be requested alongside the main application. We file them together where that applies.
It has to be reviewed before anything is filed. Some convictions are waivable, and some make filing inadvisable.
Sí. Toda la oficina trabaja en español e inglés, y puede traer a su familia a la consulta.
Find out in one call whether you qualify — and what you get to keep.
No cost. No obligation. No judgment.
(800) 555-0142