How much time does USCIS take to respond after the response to a RFE has been submitted?
If the petition was filed under premium processing, the 15-day clock will restart when the response is received by USCIS. If the petition was filed under regular processing, it generally takes two to six months for USCIS to respond.
I have an H-1B Approval Notice that is valid until next year.I have been working with my present employer for two years, but have found a position with a different company. Can my H-1B approval be transferred to this new company?
It is possible to apply for an H-1 transfer with USCIS, provided the H-1 holder is maintaining legal status and fulfills all the requirements.
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
August 7, 2013
Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Department of State would begin processing visas for same-sex couples in the same manner that it considers applications for opposite-sex spouses. On Thursday, August 8 at 1 p.m. EDT, the Department will host a Google+ Hangout to discuss what these new guidelines mean for both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants.
Mr Khanna and his team is great and they work very hard for all clients. I really appreciate them. Lekhraj Ahuja
SCIS recently began transferring some casework within the service centers to balance workload processing capacity. The affected casework includes the following forms:
According to BIA a spouse or child accompanying or following to join a principal grandfathered alien cannot qualify as a derivative grandfathered alien for purposes of section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1255(i) (2006), by virtue of a spouse or child relationship that arose after April 30, 2001.
For more details click the link or attachment. Matter of Charlemagne Micabalo ESTRADA and Matter of Vanessa Joan ESTRADA
B Visa extensions
Q1. I lost my mother recently and we brought our father soon after that. I have an older brother and both of us stay here in USA. He has a medical condition - semi-paralytic. My father has a B-2 multiple entry visa; arrived here on 27th Jan 2013, I-94 expired on July 26th and visa extension applied on June 14th. How long can he stay here in US until the decision is made? Will his multiple Visa get rejected if his extension is denied?
Normally I don’t recommend applying for extensions of tourist or business visa unless you have a very good reason for it. What happens is technically of course you can stay here while the decision is pending, but no later than the duration you have asked for in the extension application. Let’s say you asked for extension till September. You can stay here till the decision is made, but no later than September. But what happens is when you go for multiple entry visa stamping consulates do not like people getting extensions. Their concern is that a tourist visa is supposed to be for brief visits. Why are you going there and staying for a year, year and a half on tourist visa?
Also what happens is if you have stayed here too long and then when you want to come back again at the airport (even if you have a visa or visa is not an issue) you can have a problem because CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) may not take too kindly to people who return back very quickly. They don’t want to see a situation where a person is living in USA and visiting their home country.
Q2. What is recommended, he leaves immediately or waits until his extension decision comes?
If you don’t want to apply for his Green Card and he wants to leave to go to India I am not sure what is good but if he leaves early it might be easy to come back and also get further visas. This is a difficult decision to make.
Tourist visa extensions for gay couples
(partner is on J-1)
Tourist visa for gay couples or partner in a gay relationship is acceptable and it can be extended. If you look at the Foreign Affairs Manual, which is the body of policies that governs consulate decisions, you could say there is an exception. Sometimes people might not qualify for J-2 because they are not married. It might be easy to get a tourist visa and to keep extending it. However, there is one issue here. Since DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was overruled, gay marriages are now recognized. So I don’t know if they are going to change this policy of issuing B visas. Basically they would say that now you can get married and get J-2, so why are you not doing that. So to answer your question as to whether you can come and keep extending it, I don’t know the answer to that question under the present situation. Under the old situation you could have easily gotten extensions. So you can try, but keep in mind the earlier discussion on extensions (above). Consulates may not like it and CBP may not either.
I can truly say Mr. Khanna is the best immigration lawyer. Our office has worked with Mr. Khanna and his team for years. They are always available to answer any questions and very helpful with the amount of information and assistance they provide. Thanks to Rajiv, Art, Anna and Judi we have a 100% approval rate so far.
In order to provide faster and more efficient service beginning August 16 USCIS will be changing call routing procedures at the National Customer Service Center (NCSC). This will be a great advantage for attorneys and BIA accredited representatives. Attorney's can quickly connect with the NCSC customer service representative and avoid long delays.Customer representatives will evaluate the nature of the call and transfer or accept service request for detailed review.
This chart shows the average amount of time it takes to receive a decision in a particular type of case after the case file is received by the AAO. Processing times are directly related to the volume of cases received.
AAO Processing Times as of August 12, 2013 |
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Current Average FOIA Request Processing Times
(All times in business days)
USCIS uses a three-track system to process FOIA requests for alien file material.
I am a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident in a same-sex marriage to a foreign national. Can I now sponsor my spouse for a family-based immigrant visa?
Yes, you can file the petition. You may file a Form I-130 (and any applicable accompanying application). Your eligibility to petition for your spouse, and your spouse’s admissibility as an immigrant at the immigration visa application or adjustment of status stage, will be determined according to applicable immigration law and will not be denied as a result of the same-sex nature of your marriage.
Honest advice. Knows his profession. Highly recommended.
I just got my H1B approved. Really thankful to Jagbir and Khanna. They have responded to my RFE. They are easy to reach always and their response was really quick. Would definitely work with them for future immigration issues.
Can you let me know when we can start filing H-1B cases again for this year?
If the beneficiary is not subject to the quota, you can file an H-1B for them at any time. If the beneficiary is subject to the quota, the new H-1B cannot be submitted to USCIS before April 1, 2014, with an effective date of October 1, 2014. We will start working on next year’s quota cases in January 2014.
How long will it take to get a receipt notice for my H-1B petition that was not filed with premium processing?
According to USCIS, "Usually, customers can expect to receive their receipt notice within 30 days of delivery confirmation. However, due to an unexpectedly high volume of I-129 petitions, it may be an additional two to four weeks before customers receive a receipt notice."
Can I send a scan of the forms? Can I use an electronic signature?
Forms need to be signed by hand in ink, and the original signed documents submitted to USCIS by mail or courier.
This week I went for my oath ceremony and I am now officially a US Citizen.
The process was very smooth overall.
My only beef is that for the interview I had to go to Holtsville and for the oath I had to go to Central Islip. I live in Queens and I don't drive so getting to those places was a major issue.
Here's my N400 timetable:
Queens/NY
5 years rule
So I just had my interview at federal plaza in NYC. Interview was at 11 got there around 1015. Took 15 mins for security got up stairs around 1030, and waited until 1105 till they called my name. The IO wasn't mean but neither was she friendly, I guess she just wanted to get it over with. When we got into the office she asked me to raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth. Then she asked for passport and green card. We went over the application and then she asked me to read "WHO CAN VOTE" and write "CITIZENS CAN VOTE"
She then asked me 7 questions because I got one wrong.
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2013)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 32989-32990] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2013-13065] [[Page 32989]]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE 22 CFR Part 42 [Public Notice 8345] RIN 1400-AC86 Visas: Documentation of Immigrants under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended AGENCY: Department of State. ACTION: Final rule.
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Please check the attachment to read USCIS Policy Memo.
USCIS is reopening the FY 2013 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program funding opportunity announcement (DHS-13-CIS-010-002). Applications may be filed through Grants.gov from June 3, 2013 through June 5, 2013 at 11:59:59 PM EDT. USCIS learned after the close of the original application period on May 22, 2013 that Grants.gov rejected a significant percentage of applications to this funding opportunity. Given those rejections, USCIS is reopening this opportunity for a brief period to allow potential applicants to resubmit an application.
Mr. Khanna had helped us by refering us to the CPA Mr. vijay Sharma. Thanks for the prompt help! Regards Ravi Devulapalli