I was greatly pleased with the level of professionalism, courtesy and promptness of Rajiv Khanna and his staff with regard to the dealings of my green card case. Rajiv Khanna's advise was invaluable in my case and I was able to obtain my GC in 14 months through CP at chennai. His staff made the whole experience very easy, simple and painless. I would greatly recommend him and have done so to several of my friends. Please feel free to contact me if any questions. Regards Tg
Rajiv is certainly an expert on Immigration Laws and will give you your options, straight up. He has retained staff who are professional, helpful and supportive. Many, many thanks to Diane Lombardo, who was always available and also to Leila and Suman, who would return calls and e-mails in a timely manner. This is a Law Office which allows you to maintain sanity through the tedious and complex INS process, and one which I highly recommend.
I appreciate the work you all done for getting through the H1 and H4 intime. Thank you very much for Rajiv, Charu and Ursula
One of our community members had asked a questing regarding the processing dates of 485.
In a pending AOS (I-485), unless your PD is current, USCIS will not touch your application. Only when the PD becomes current, they start processing applications ROUGHLY in the order received.
For recent updates on PERM processing please click here.
http://www.immigration.com/processing-times-and-status-checks
One of our clients (I think I have worked with these folks for over a decade) had these questions:
Quote: A member of our family was issued a Green Card in November 1980. The green card did not have any renewal date (see enclosed). I assume Green Cards at that time did not have a renewal date. Does this need to be renewed?
Ans: Replace the green card. See:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-90instr.pdf
Now that I received my GC through employment, does my employer need to change my position to the one filed in the Labor Certification?
Yes, now that the GC is approved, your employer should "permanently" give you the job described (including the title, salary and job duties) in the Labor Certification. This change should take place within a "reasonable time" after the GC approval.
Keep in mind, "permanent" does not mean forever. This term describes a job that has no pre-decided termination date. We see no violation of the law, If the employer, due to economic or other circumstances, can no longer support the job after having offered it to you in good faith.
Some of our employees' Green cards
have been filed. There projects have ended. They are working on H-1 but possess EAD and have 140 approved and 485 pending more than 180 days.
Quote: (1) If we revoke their H-1, are we still required to pay full wages if our clients say they do not currently have a project for our employees?
Ans. You are not required to pay "bench salaries" for employees whose H-1 are revoked (remember you must inform CIS and offer employee a one-way ticket home). But we then have exposure to the questions, "do you still have a "permanent" job for them?" If the answer is no, then their GC processing can be interrupted unless they use AC21 portability.
1. Hi Rajiv I have a few questions about starting business in partnership.
I am currently on H-1B , my I-140 is cleared and priority date is not current. My wife is on H-4 visa and she is interested in starting her own business with some one who has I-485 pending and has EAD.
I will be the one who will be investing in this business but I won't be employed with that business.
- Is this legal ?
2. Can you be a passive investor on H-1?
1. She can NOT do this on H-4. Once you folks file 485 and get EAD, things will be different.
You can then be a passive investor (performing no work type activity for the company) even while on H-1. You can also be an active investor if you wish to move to EAD as long as you maintain your intention to work full time for the GC sponsoring employer. Your wife can work for the company, own it, be partners, etc. as long as she has the EAD.
For past 7 years I work for company ‘A’ on their H1B visa (EB3). I had a I-140 cleared in 1998 from my previous company ‘B’ under EB2. Company ‘B’ filed for my I-485 in 2004 and I finally got my green card.
Quote: 1) Do I need to inform company ‘B’ and be in their payroll with immediate effect?
2) If company ‘B’ cannot provide me a job in my location and offer the salary I demand, is it a valid reason for me not to join ‘B’?
3) How should I inform company ‘A’ about my green card and what is the best reason to justify my case to continue work with company ‘A’?
or Should I inform company ‘A’ only when I fill the I-9 form next year Jan 2010.
This Update provides helpful hints for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens on when to change your address with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and do it.
Changing an address with the various Federal immigration components can be confusing, and failure to properly make an address change can lead to denials and other adverse immigration consequences. The Ombudsman's Office encourages immigration benefits applicants and petitioners to promptly notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and/or the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) of any change in address. Mail forwarding is not always rapid or reliable.
A recruiting firm for accountants retained our services to file an H-1B petition for a recruiter. Typically, it is difficult to justify that the position of a recruiter qualifies as an H-1B level occupation. Our petition to USCIS argued, however, that even though recruiters do not generally qualify as a specialty level occupation, the present case is different because the beneficiary will be hired as an International Accounting/Finance Recruiter.
USCIS requires applicants and petitioners for certain immigration benefits to be fingerprinted for the purpose of conducting FBI criminal background checks. To better ensure both the quality and integrity of the process, USCIS processes fingerprint cards for immigration benefits only if an authorized fingerprint site prepares them. Authorized fingerprint sites include USCIS offices, Application Support Centers (ASCs), and U.S. consular offices and military installations abroad. In general, USCIS schedules people to be fingerprinted at an authorized fingerprint site after an application or petition is filed. USCIS charges a set fee per person (for most applicants) at the time of filing for this fingerprinting service. Please check the instructions on your Immigration application or petition form to find out if you must be fingerprinted.
The following three points apply for all immigration benefits applications (see exceptionsbelow) requiring an FD-258 fingerprint check filed with USCIS after March 29, 1998:
Applicants and petitioners residing abroad who are fingerprinted at a United States consular or military installation abroad do not need to be fingerprinted by USCIS and are exempt from the fingerprint fee. These applicants and petitioners must file their completed card at the time their application or petition is filed.
The following forms are subject to exceptions to the above requirements.
To find the Application Support Centers (ASCs) closest to you, see the "USCIS Service and Office Locator" page. You can also call our toll free number at 1-800-375-5283.
Related links
Safety & Security of U.S. Borders: Biometrics
Fingerprints & Other Biometrics
Identification Record Request/Criminal Background Check
Upgrade to 10-Fingerprint Collection
Biometrics -DHS
USCIS Ombudsman Case Assistance Online pilot program, a new initiative allowing paperless submission of assistance requests. The pilot program is currently available in Texas and DC, with plans to expand nationwide in fall 2011.
As the traditional harvest season approaches, USCIS reminds petitioners that certain fees may not be collected from H-2A and H-2B workers, according to 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(5)(xi)(A) and § 214.2(h)(6)(i)(B). We realize that delays in adjudicating these petitions may affect employers’ ability to place workers in time-sensitive jobs. To avoid delays, USCIS urges petitioners to submit sufficient information regarding their recruitment efforts and the nature of fees collected from H-2A and H-2B workers.
Release Date: August 2, 2011
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective Aug. 15, 2011, petitioners residing in countries without USCIS offices will be able to file a Petition for an Alien Relative (Form I-130), with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility. This will increase the efficiency of the relative petition filing process and give USCIS more flexibility in managing its workload. Previous regulations permitted these petitioners, who comprise about 5 percent of all I-130 petitioners, to file with USCIS or the U.S.
Q1. Where can I find the laws governing the Employment Based Second Preference (EB-2) Immigrant Visa Category?
A1. The statutory requirements may be found in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) at Section 203(b)(2). The regulatory requirements may be found in the Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR) at section 204.5(k).
My PD is EB3 - Dec 2007. I have 3+2 years of education from India which is equivalent to US Bachelors. I have 3 years of experience before joining the current empoyer. Now I have more than 10 years of experience(including the experience with the current employer). I would like to know if I can apply again in EB-2 with the same employer using the experience gained from current employer.
You can, if the job offered is more than 50% different than the job you were performing so far with the same employer.
I am an RN with a TN visa from Canada. My wife who is an American Indian born in Canada will soon be sponsoring me. Will the fact that I have a visa speed up the process?
It will not speed things up, but filing for Adjustment of Status (which is available only to folks who are already in USA), makes it possible to continue to stay in USA while the green card process is in the works.
Washington – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced that Global Entry members will now be issued a Global Entry version of the SENTRI card which allows expedited entry into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico using the NEXUS, SENTRI and Ready Lanes at land ports of entry.
USCIS flyer summarizing information for federal contractors and subcontractors about the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause. It also includes what contractors are affected by the FAR E-Verify clause and how to enrol in E-Verify.
I am working for a newspaper in the U.S. as a designer under the H1-B visa. I might be taking up a job as a reporter at the same newspaper in the same location for the same salary. The only thing that would change would be my job profile. What are the USCIS formalities involved in this particular situation? Would my employer have to file a whole new I-129? Would the entire petition process have to be undertaken again?
The employer will have to file for an H-1B amendment. It is like doing an H-1 all over again, but the fees can be a lot lesser.
After a bad experience with a prominent NY law firm dealing with immigration, I came to this site. I was initially skeptical because the firm was not based in the city I work and live in but the promptness of getting the paperwork done, the willingness to answer doubts whenever they arose and reassuring me about my status when I had to leave the country on a sudden emergency back in India- all of these point to an organization and its people who clearly are the benchmark I would use for any professional service rendered in the future. Great job! Thanks.