The GOP has announced the following principles for immigration reform. Most observers including this writer are encouraged by the willingness of GOP to address the immigration reform issues. These represent a broad overview and perhaps a point of departure from where detailed bills can be crafted in a manner acceptable to all stakeholders. My comments are enclosed in HTML quotes.
This is an explanations of the above news story and that it has no direct effect on DREAMers.
Discussing allegations of fraud and consequences when a short term visa holder tries to convert to green card or another long term visa from within the US.
Has USCIS clarified the distinction between unauthorized employment, failure to maintain status, and unlawful presence.
USCIS has provided the following clarification:
Planning to change my employer. Priority Date: Sept 2014 (EB2). H1: on my 5th Year (Filed for an extension it is currently in process). My plan is to change my employer once my extension is approved but I have the following questions. I am 100% sure my employer is going to withdraw my I-140. How is my H1 transfer going to work?
First of all the moment, your I-140 is approved no matter which category EB-1 or EB-2, the Priority Date is yours to keep that means if you got your green card filed in let's say 2017 and you left this employer after the I-140 approval, they revoked your I-140 and you started another green card in 2020 your Priority Date will be still 2017 because your I-140 was approved. So the moment the I-140 was approved the Priority Date becomes your property and it can be carried across categories, across employers, and across geographical areas. So if you go from a PERM filing in New York to an employer in California and your previous filing was EB-3 next filing is EB2 or even EB-1 you can carry the date of the work petition as long as the I-140 was approved. The moment the I-140 is approved, the Priority Date is yours.
There are limited exceptions unless the I-140 is revoked for fraud, etc., by the USCIS. Even if the employer revokes the I-140 you will keep your Priority Date. In addition to that, if the I-140 gets approved and stays approved for 180 days you will not only carry your Priority Date you will carry your right to extend your H-1 through any employer indefinitely. You will get a second benefit after 180 days and if the lawyer revokes the I-140 you will still get the benefit of both Priority Date and the right to extend your H-1 through any employer. The government has also said if you have an H-4 EAD for your spouse, your I-40 stayed approved for 180 days your wife's or your husband's H-4 EAD is safe even if the old employer revokes the I-140 later on as long as the I-140 stayed approved for 180 days. So if you left but the I-140 stayed approved for 180 days H-4 EAD is safe. That, in a nutshell, is the general law. More
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My interaction with Rajiv dates back to March 1999. I was in a very difficult situation, had to change employer in the first one month of my entry into US. I was not on the payroll, as a result I did not have paystubs. Rajiv helped with a 60 day rule, filed my H1 B petition within first 60 days of my entry in US, at an unbelievable pace. The best part, Rajiv’s unique insight and understanding of the law and applying to specific immigration situation., I am a US citizen and living the American dream as a first generation American of Indian origin. Last seven years I have been running a company. When I look back in time, the best thing I did was to seek the right professional help. For any immigration needs the only name that comes to my mind is the law offices of Rajiv, S Khanna. Ganesh Venkatraman