It is advisable to request your immigration record in the United States for two important reasons:
First, to complete the necessary paperwork required for some proceedings. And second, to understand the cause of denial of a request and to study, from the obtained information, if there is any solution to the problem.
This record has both positives and negatives because all foreigners who have obtained a Visa or the Green Card possess an immigration record. Conversely, illegal immigrants do not have it.
The circumstances of each case makes the existence of an immigration record or its absence a good or a bad thing.
What types of immigration record can be filed for?
The immigration record may be filed for through the Internet or a written letter. In the majority of cases an ample and varied scope of information may be requested, such as:
- Any request sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), such as: family petition, change of Visa, Visa extension, affirmative asylum, work permit, among others.
- Denial of a Non-Migrant Visa, such as the Tourist, Student, Exchange Student or Work Visa.
- Arrest on the border or near it, as well as any immigration detention.
- Being banned from entering the country at any American Customs.
- Deportation and/or deportation order or any matter before immigration courts, such as: defensive asylum application, suspension of deportation, etc.
How do you file for an immigration record?
The petition and the place where it shall be sent will depend on the federal agency from which the information is being requested. It is also possible to send several requests to different agencies.
USCIS Immigration Records
The USCIS is in charge of several and very different petitions, such as approvals of I-130 in Green Card applications for family members, affirmative asylum, work permits, change or extension of Non-Migrant Visas, application for naturalization, among many others.
If the record requested is of the abovementioned nature, then form G-639 may be filled in.