Tiffney Johnson

J.D.

Tiffney Johnson served as a consular officer with the U.S. Department of State for 15 years.  Her postings include Honduras, Australia, Cuba, Juarez, Mexico, New York, and Washington D.C. After a domestic tour in the Visa Office Legal Directorate in Washington, D.C., her first assignment abroad was to Juarez, Mexico, where she also served as the Deputy Fraud Prevention Chief. In Havana, Cuba, she served as the Immigrant Visa Chief and implemented the Cuban Family Reunification Program. In Sydney, Australia, she served as Deputy Consular Section Chief, started the first fraud prevention unit and interviewed applicants from almost every country. She also served as Deputy Consular General in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In her last tour, Tiffney was the Assistant Director of the New York Passport Agency; the largest passport agency in the U.S., where up to 400 emergency same-day passports are processed. In her career, she interviewed over 150,000 immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants, completed the Advanced Consular Course, and trained over 60 junior Foreign Service officers.  

Tiffney has significant experience in the field of consular "crimmigration" (visa eligibility consequences of criminal convictions), complex citizenship issues, and visa and passport policy. She also focuses her practice on O visas for performing artists and procuring national interest waivers for self-employed professionals applying for immigrant visas. 

Tiffney graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and has a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a fluent Spanish speaker and currently works as an immigration attorney and freelance legal writer in Tucson, Arizona. Find her at tiffneyjohnsonlaw.com.

Articles By Tiffney Johnson

Automatic U.S. Citizenship for Children by Birth to or Adoption byCitizen Parents (Acquisition)
A child can, under certain circumstances, acquire U.S. citizenship automatically through birth to U.S. citizen parents, no matter where the birth took place.
Can I File an N-600 for My Children to Get Certificates of Citizenship?
You can file an N-600 on behalf of your minor children if they have acquired or derived U.S. citizenship through you.
Filing for an I-192 Waiver: "Forgiveness" of U.S. Inadmissibility
For visa applicants who've been deemed "inadmissible", a waiver can allow them entry into the U.S.
Entering the U.S. on an Immigrant Visa and Passing CBP Inspection
What to expect when you arrive in the U.S. on an immigrant visa to claim your lawful permanent resident status.
Documents Needed to File for an EB-3 Employment Visa
A handy checklist of the documents an employer needs to gather to submit along with the I-140 petition for a third-preference worker.
Getting a Hardship Waiver After Deportation or Unlawful U.S. Presence
If you or a member of your family have been deported (removed) from the United States or spent time in the U.S. without lawful permission to be there, obtaining the legal right to return will not be easy. The law has placed various barriers in your way. Although some of these can be overcome with a request for a waiver, others cannot.
Applying for a U.S. Visa: Which Consulate Should You Apply From?
Most U.S. visa applicants can get their visa from any U.S. consulate or embassy, but there are a few problems one might face.
Green Card Application Process After Winning the DV Lottery
The first big question is, where should you file your green card application? At a USCIS office in the United States or at a U.S. consulate outside of the United States?
Act Quickly on Diversity Visa Lottery Win, or Lose the Chance for a U.S. Green Card
How to deal with the possibility that, even though you win the lottery, that year’s green card allotment will be used up before your own interview is scheduled, and you will not receive a green card.
Passport Fraud: Overview of Criminal and Immigration Laws
Overview of the laws governing passport fraud, why and how it's committed, and what the consequences may be.