USCIS Naturalizes Former Refugees to Commemorate World Refugee Day
State Department official, best-selling author recognized as ‘Outstanding Americans by Choice’
State Department official, best-selling author recognized as ‘Outstanding Americans by Choice’
I had my interview at 1:30 at Fairfax VA. Had printed my family picture at 12:50 on the way to interview it was heavy rain and reached there nick of time. We were called by an African American lady after 5 minutes after giving our oath she asked our ID and then got sign the waiver as our attorney was not with us. she asked question from my I-485 and she was very polite and calm everything was going smooth then she turn to my husband and ask about my date of birth which he forgot for few second and the then told her.
We had our interview yesterday and got appproved. I filed in Mar'12 (5Y - 85d) and my wife filed in Apr'12 (5Y - 60d) and we both had the interview yesterday. They went over all the N400 questions again and civic questions. The IO was looking at my file for 10-15 minutes without any major questions.
I had successful interview at Park Lake Drive, Atlanta, GA. I arrived 15 minutes earlier. The security at gate asked me to show Driver's ID. After that, he asked me to screen the bag through X-Ray Machine. Because I was carrying lot of documents, I put them into my laptop bag (without laptop). He also, asked me to empty pockets, take the Wrist Watch out, Belt and Shoes. This is very similar to airport security. After going though metal detector, I was asked to go to the Reception on First Floor (Walk-in Level) on left hand side.
Most Green Cards are obtained through employment, investment, a family member’s petition, the Diversity Visa program, and a refugee/political asylum application. However, there are other ways to get a Green Card. These Green Cards are limited to individuals meeting particular qualifications and/or applying during certain time frames.
Individuals in the following categories can apply for Green Cards:
Hey guys,
I just got back from my naturalization interview downtown Los Angeles and wanted to share my experience:
I arrived 10 mins before my appointment and was called about an hour later;
A male officer greeted me and took me to his room, did not even close the door.
Asked me to raise my hand and swear to tell the truth, state my age, name and address. Then he asked me to see my driver’s license and green card.
The guidance for issuing B-1 visas in lieu of H is currently under review bur remains in effect until further notice. In order to avoid delays at the port of entry, consular officers are to annotate the B-1 visa with “B in lieu of H, 9 FAM 41.31 N11.”
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
June 26, 2012
Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne C. Richard will travel from June 26-29, 2012, to Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to meet with resettled refugees, local and state government officials, resettlement agencies and other community members involved in the resettlement of refugees.
According to DOL updates as of 6/11/2012, they are working on PERM application filed in the following months:
Analyst Reviews: April 2012
Audits: December 2011
Reconsideration Requests to the CO: June 2011
US Department of State, which is responsible for monitoring and controlling the priority date movement, has made the following comments regarding the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 (October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013):
EB-2 China and India
Legislation to Eliminate Annual Per-Country H-1B Limits Passes One Hurdle
The U.S. State Department is launching a pilot program to pre-screen E-1/E-2 visa applicants at consular posts in Canada. Kentucky Consular Center officials will contact the E-1/E-2 applicant's U.S. employer to verify information about the application, including the legitimacy of the company and the investment. This prescreening aims to assist consular officers to focus on the individual applicant's qualifications. The State Department hopes to implement the pilot around the world at consular posts that process E visa applications.
The U.S. Department of Labor has released PERM statistics for the first eight months of the fiscal year that began last October. Of the 43,100 applications it processed, 27,600 (64%) were certified, 83% were for H-1B and H-1B1 visas, 44% were for IT-related fields, and 55% were for applicants from India. The minimum education requirement was an advanced degree for 51% of those certified, and a bachelor degree for 39%. The Department certified more applications in the last two months than in either of the prior three-month periods.
Israeli investors will soon be able to apply for the E-2 visa, which allows holders to live and work in the U.S. for an extended period of time while overseeing a major investment in the United States. Legislation to allow Israelis to apply for these visas was approved in Congress in May 31 and signed by the President this month. The legislation requires that similarly situated United States nationals must be eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel. Therefore, visa applications will be accepted once Israel confirms that it will issue similar visas to U.S. citizens.
Very happy & satisfied with the service provided by Law office of Rajiv Khanna. Rajiv Khanna is very knowledgeable & well experienced with immigration.
USCIS reminds all approved EB-5 regional centers with a designation letter dated on or before Sept.
PERM Processing Times (as of 12/02/2014)
Processing Queue |
Discussing change in job titles/duties during green card process, PERM EB-2 with foreign degrees, Obama’s executive immigration action, FOIA request if we don’t have I-140 copies, J-1 physician in waiver job applying for AOS/1-485, Error by USCIS giving time beyond 6 years on H-1, Work for old employer when new H-1 transfer approved, etc.
----------------------------------------
SUBSCRIBE to Immigration.com YouTube Channel for further updates.
I have I-140 approved with title business systems analyst. Promoted to director in the same job profile , H-1B amended to reflect the title but no new PERM filed as was explained by my lawyer that it is OK to have some career progression and more than 50% of job duties are same as old job. Now we are going to go through another re-org and probably I may not have the same title but senior business systems analyst . What are the steps<br>
1. Do we need to file new perm or wait for the new law and apply H-1B reflecting the new title<br>
2. Apply for EAD on the basis of existing I-140 approved as business systems analyst.<br>
Please advice..
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
I am a physician completing my J-1 waiver ( on H-1B now in US, waiver will finish by June 2015). My wife became a U.S. citizen few months ago and she has filed I-130 for me. If I-130 is approved, do I have to wait till June 2015 to apply for adjustment of status or can I apply sooner ? If I have to wait till June to apply for I-485, will I be able to get EAD right away or will I need to be on H-1 for a while I-485 is accepted ?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YV-qIlAEpI#t=1320
FAQ Transcript
Error in last H-1B extension- now I-140 approved and I have been working on H-1B since 2005. In between, I changed to -F1 and also spent time outside USA. Cumulatively, I would have completed six years of working on H-1B by March 30 2015, after excluding stays in USA on non-H-1B status and stays out of USA.I changed my job in Feb 2014 and have been working with this employer since then. At the time of change, the current employer filed for a H-1B petition and requested an extension for three years – from Jan-2014 until Jan 2017, even though, if I added up all the time of work on H-1B visa in USA, I would have completed six years by March 30 2015.
My I-140 has been approved this month. Now I do not know whether my employer should file for an extension of H-1B (assuming that without the I-140 approval, I was allowed to work until I completed six years of H-1B in USA) or not file for H-1B extension, because, the last extension is valid until Jan 2017.
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YV-qIlAEpI#t=1831
FAQ Transcript
What happens is sometimes, USCIS by mistake gives you more time than you are entitled soon for your H-1. Let's say your 6 years is getting over in one year and they give you 2 or 3 years by mistake.
Can you use that time?
Amazing team to work with. They are always ready for help and very quick in responding any questions. Very detail orientated and knowledgeable people to work with.