Criminal conduct may affect a noncitizen’s eligibility for U.S. immigration benefits or ability to stay with his family members in the U.S. The categorical approach is the main legal framework used to evaluate whether a crime committed by noncitizens renders them removable or ineligible for immigration benefits. Under this approach, the elements of the crime for which noncitizens are charged and convicted are compared with those of the generic definition of the criminal ground provided by the immigration statute to determine if the crime is an inadmissible or deportable offense.  

Employment-based immigrant visas allow noncitizens to immigrate to the United States for permanent residence. These visas are divided into five preference categories: the first three categories are reserved for skilled or unskilled workers, talented professionals or scientists, and executives of multinational companies, and the fourth and fifth categories for certain religious workers and other special immigrants. In this article, we will be focusing on the first three preference categories.

Keeping close family members together in the U.S. is an important goal of U.S. immigration law. The pathway most commonly taken to reach this goal is through marriage immigration. More people immigrate to the U.S. each year for lawful permanent residence based on marriages to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents than under any other category. Unlike other contexts where marriage serves as the basis for federal benefits, the marriage involving a noncitizen for immigration purposes requires more than just meeting the legal requirements under the marriage laws. To qualify for U.S. immigration, a married couple must also demonstrate that their marriage is factually bona fide.