Reminder for Temporary Protected Status Applicants and Re-registrants - USCIS
Applicants must submit biometrics if the applicant is applying or re-registering for Tempo
Applicants must submit biometrics if the applicant is applying or re-registering for Tempo
I am currently waiting for my final visa interview since my priority date became current just last July. The target date of the interview may be between December to May (6-9 months from priority became current, right?) As of the moment, my civil status is single but I'm planning to get married soon but the schedule might be only after my final visa interview. Will I still be able to include my husband in the petition? If so, what should be done and what will be the range of months for the processing time?
It is difficult for me to plan your course, but the law is relatively simple. If you get married BEFORE green card approval, your spouse is entitled to "follow to join." That process tends to be quicker than if you get married after you get the green card approval.
USCIS recently began transferring some casework from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center to balance workloads. The affected casework includes:
My H1B petition got approved through my existing employer and became effective 10/01/14 (I was on F1 OPT before). Where am I eligible to go to for doing first time H1B stamping, other than my home country (Russia) – can it be done in Canada, Mexico, or other countries? I have Masters from an American university, and over a year of working experience in the US. Also I’ve heard that starting June Canada has suspended doing first time H1B stamping, can you please provide any clarification, and also could you please advise what all options are available to me?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp4B1_qhvtM&feature=player_detailpage&l…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ujMQ79pgzX8#t=1665
PERM Processing Times (as of 11/07/2014)
Processing Queue |
Priority Dates |
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Month |
Year |
|
Analyst Review |
June |
Processing Queue |
Request Date |
Status* |
H-1B H-2B |
September - 2014 October - 2014 |
Current Current |
Currently my I-140 is approved and now for the I-485 I need to present date of birth certificate. Problem is that DOB on certificate is correct and on all other documents including school, college, and passport and in all US records it is in correct. It started with wrong DOB in 10th certificate which was used in college, passport and finally all US documents. Now I went through all the channels and found the ways to change in passport and in all US documents. Question is what legal problems I should be prepared for and how it impacts my US records once it is changed. I am in US for last 7 years. I need to take decision on this as if it is worth doing it or just go back to India and may be forget about GC for this time. Really appreciate you taking out time for this kind of questions.
Really appreciate you taking out time for this kind of questions.
FAQ: Discrepancies In Date Of Birth Information
FAQ Transcript
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The United States will begin issuing visas in accordance with a new reciprocal arrangement on November 12, 2014. Chinese applicants who qualify for a B-category nonimmigrant visa (NIV) may now be issued multiple-entry visas for up to 10 years for business and tourist travel. Qualified Chinese students and exchange visitors and their dependents who qualify for F, M, or J-category visas are now eligible for multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years or the length of their program. U.S.
Effective immediately, the reciprocity schedule for Chinese nationals is revised for the B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, M-1, and M-2 nonimmigrant visa (NIV) categories. All other visa validities for nationals of China will remain unchanged.
For the Reciprocity Schedule please click here.
The National Visa Center (NVC) will cease collecting original civil documents in support of immigrant visa (IV) applications as of November 12, 2014.
My wife came to US on H-4 initially and applied for H-1B. She has got RFE asking for more project details. She got one job offer meanwhile and her employer replied for RFE also filed separate Amendment petition with new job offer details. We have got approval for H-1B without I-94 details. Shall we expect I-94 once the Amendment process is approved?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp4B1_qhvtM#t=2384
FAQ Transcript
This FAQ is on “filing amendment for pending H-1B petitions”.
I am an Indian studying in New Zealand. I have finished my first semester. During my 3 month semester break, from New Zealand I would like to apply for a B-2 visa(visit for pleasure) to the US to attend my best friends wedding as I am her bridesmaid. My query about the funds that I need to show <br>
1. How much do I have to show <br>
2. How old should the funds be
For visitors visa, there is no requirement of possessing funds. The consulates can require, if they so choose, that you demonstrate your ability to support yourself during the visit, but there is no hard and fast rule on this. Your most likely hurdle will be the need to prove that you will come back and not stay in the US illegally.
AAO Processing Times as of November 1, 2014 |
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Form Number |
Case Type |
Time |
Currently I am on H-1B and my wife in H-4, my company had recently filed for Green Card. It has been 6 months since the petition has been filed. My wife has about 5 years of work experience back in India. She is interested to work here now. What are the possibilities of her getting a job here in US. As my GC is in progress, can she start looking for a job once my I-140 is approved?
Until the pending H-4 EAD regulations are promulgated, the only obvious option for her is to obtain her H-1 through employment.
Dear Rajiv,
I finally got my approval emails today. My green card story started way back in September 2002, when I sent an email along with my CV to Rajiv one late evening. To my surprise the very next morning I got an email from his office indicating that Rajiv would like to talk about the case and we were on the phone within the next 30 minutes. Rajiv was very polite and courteous and suggested that my application will be best suited for the EB1-EA category. Within couple of hours I received an email with paperwork to sign a retainer and details about the documents I will need to file the application. I must say that the list was extremely long, but again this kind of a detail is what makes approval a breeze. My application was filed within two weeks after I had submitted all the documentation. Rajiv has excellent staff even for handling EB1-EA cases and one of his staff members wrote a 12 page cover letter which basically summarized the whole case in a point-wise manner. Couple of my friends have applied in this category using services from other attorneys and invariably I hear and see that they have to write their own cover letter in first person. In my case, the cover letter was by the Rajiv’s office and six major criteria’s were met by quoting reference letters and supporting documents. Needless to say that the I-140 approval came without any RFE. In 2003-2004, VSC was extremely slow in approving EB1-EA cases but as soon as my receipt date was reached, Rajiv’s office made several calls to VSC to check the status of my case and finally place an AILA request about the status of my application. My approval for I-140 came in Feb 2005, within three weeks of his request. An RFE was generated for my I-485 and here too, the response was nothing but prompt. I received the copy of my RFE via email and the response was submitted the day papers were received at Rajiv’s office. I finally got my approval within three weeks of the receipt of RFE by VSC.
Though this journey has been lengthy and painful, Rajiv and his staff has been with me every step of its way. I can guarantee that this practice is the BEST in the country.
Along with my GC application, Rajiv recently helped and advised two people, who work for me, about technicalities of H1B without charging any fee. This shows that Rajiv is an excellent human being. I whole heartedly recommend his practice for any immigration related services.
Keep up the good work
Great people, Great Results.
Subha,Prerna,Helen and Mathew are simply superb,very prompt
and courteous. I would recommend anyone.
We would like to thank The Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, specially Savita for helping us get through our green card journey. They were very helpful, courteous, prompt and knowledgeable about the whole process.
The whole experience was very smooth, we just had to provide the required documents and information. It is very important to have a highly qualified and professional Law Office on your side for such a critical process.
I would highly recommend them to everyone for all immigration related matters.
Thank you so much to Rajiv, Savita, Leila, and everyone else who handled our cases.
Receipt Date: March 5, 2004
I-140 approved: January 16, 2005
I-485 approved: March 15, 2005
Thanks to the excellent work by Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's team, especially the exceptional work by my case manager Diane Lombardo, my GC application was such a smooth sailing, it took only 1 year and 10 days for USCIS to approve the application!
I deeply appreciate the excellent professional work and the quick & concise responses by my very experienced case manager Diane Lombardo. Diane always answered my questions the same day, sometimes within minutes! She was so quick and professional in preparing my application documents, I always find myself being the one whom was too slow in response - such as providing supporting documents or returning a signed application form to her. Working in science, I found many of my colleagues were also applying for a GC. None of my colleagues’ other attorneys ever came close to providing the excellent and quick professional help the way Rajiv’s team does everyday! I highly recommend Rajiv’s law firm to anyone whom is looking for excellent professional help in immigration matters!
An additional information on why I chose Attorney Khanna: 6 years ago, I was fresh out of graduate school and half-heartedly contacted several law firms about applying for a GC. Not only did Rajiv himself call me just 2 hours after I contacted his law firm (I called before I went to lunch), he also gave me an honest answer after a quick evaluation over the phone - that I did not have much of a case back then! The quick response and no-nonsense answer are the reasons that, after establishing my career, I chose Attorney Khanna's law firm to process my GC application. And the outcome tells me that I had made the right choice!
Iam a Indian National Married to A US PR holder She has cleared her N400 Interview .I have been last year Denied Admission (deported) from Airport after me being initially on Student (F-1) Visa & then on H1B (61/2 years previously) with Citations : 212(a) (7)(A) (i)(I) & 235(b) (1) .
The questions I have for you are :
Q) Do I have any 3 yr, 5 Yr or 10 yr ban on my entrance to USA ?
Q) Do I need any waiver like I-212 or anything else for my future entry to USA ?
My I-130 had been approved and I believe I can upgrade my I-130 by my Spouse sending her Naturalization Certificate & her passport copy to NVC(Kentucky)
Q) Do you think I might have difficulties while facing this changed IR-1 Category Visa Interview and any other problems at the Port of Entry ?
Q) What timeframe does NVC take to notify the Consulate & Can it be Hyderabad, India ? & Overall how much time will it take for me to get the Visa or the Conditional Green Card
In 2008 while I was working in gas station I was caught selling alcohol to minor. I was in student visa at that time and was getting paid in cash. This was unauthorized work. I was not arrested but went to the court and the final verdict of case came to attempt to sell alcohol to minor which falls into misdemeanor C. Right now I am in H-1B and I have filed my green card through my employment. My Labor and I-140 is approved and waiting for my PD date to be current to apply I-485. So what are my chances to get I-485 approved having that case in my past? I have got mixed answers from the attorneys I have contacted so far. Some said I should be fine and some said if USCIS ask about my work authorization at that time then my petition will be denied due to violating my F-1 status. Please let me know what you think. Will USCIS go further to ask that since you are selling alcohol on F-1, then you must have violated immigration law by being employed without work authorization?
If you have criminal conviction, lot of times you can have criminal convictions for minor problems for example you got into altercation with somebody or some kind of public nuisance conviction, in this case selling alcohol to minor did not check the ID. So the question is how does that impact my immigration status?
First of all, there are 2 categories of crimes misdemeanors and felonies. Felonies are anything which are punishable don't have to receive that punishment but punishable by more than a year. They are more serious crime and other is misdemeanor is year or less than a year.
So we look at the crime is misdemeanor or it is a felony, then we look whether there is moral turpitude or not. Moral turpitude is the term for dishonesty, reckless, disregard or safety of other people or attack on other people. So these are typically they call them offenses of moral turpitude. So if there is moral turpitude and there is felony chances are, you got the problem. But if there is only one misdemeanor even if it’s turpitude crime it is exempted by something called Petty offense exception. Petty offense exception says if you have only one misdemeanor and the sentence actually imposed upon you was less than 6 months, whether you actually served it or not. Even if it’s a suspended sentence it is considered to be sentence than we leave you alone, give you H-1, F-1 or Green card so petty offense exception. So once again we look at the crime if it is a crime of moral turpitude or not, if it’s not chances are you are going to be OK. If it’s a Felony of moral turpitude you have a problem. If it is only one crime misdemeanor you don't have problem, very generic overview.
Normally when I look into these cases, first thing I do is try to see if we get away from conviction. So if we get the case settled with the government, plea bargain entered without the conviction.
What is conviction under Immigration law?
A conviction under immigration law is where you admit having committed the offense. If you have to admit the offense then it is conviction, no matter what kind of deal we make. First of all we try to get away from conviction, if there is no conviction there is no crime. If we can do that then we are safe. If we are not able to do so we bargain for misdemeanor. That’s the way typically we handle these cases. . Make sure it is misdemeanor under the state law. You say that it is misdemeanor C. I don't know what that means. State law has to be checked. But it looks that you are going to be OK.
I'm glad I choose right immigration lawyer. I recalled all the difficult times in the past 12 years and how Mr. Rajiv and his team stood by my side. Their knowledge and expertise helped me and was clearly demonstrated in the responses to some of the difficult and unique queries.
Great Service, Pls., keep up the good work.
- Louis