Immigration Information for Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their Families
USCIS offers immigration services and resources specifically for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families who are stationed in the United States and abroad.
USCIS offers immigration services and resources specifically for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families who are stationed in the United States and abroad.
As ofJuly 10, 2009, approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.
a). I am an associate professor at XXX State University. Beginning August, 2009 (in two weeks time), I am planning on going for a one-year unpaid professional leave of absence. During the leave I will be in India. However I would technically still be employed by my University. Meanwhile, I have an approved I-140 (EB-2) - I-485 pending.
b). What happens if I get my green card while I am on leave (I am going to India)? Can I still receive it legally? If I can legally accept the green card, can I change my address on the USCIS web site and give my relative's address? We currently live in California and our case is is handled by Nebraska Center. Given this scenario, should we give the address of our relatives in California, or is it O.K. to give the address of our relative who lives in New Jersey?
c). At the time I filled the I-485 for myself and my wife, my wife was pregnant and could not get one of the immunizations (I think it was MMR). Now I am afraid that when we are out of the country we might get a medical RFE for my wife. Is it possible for us to get the immunizations done by a USCIS authorized doctor, and send the report to the USCIS in anticipation of the RFE? If yes, then which form should be fill/take to the doctor?
a). The first issue would be whether or not you still have a "permanent job" that would qualify you for a green card. In situations of long vacation, questions could be raised whether or not the green card job is indeed permanent; if so, who will do it in your absence; what is the reason for your leave; are you terminating your relationship with your employer, etc. If you have good answers to all these questions, you are fine.
We have been retained by several consulting companies to try to respond to their RFE's all of which require a letter from the end-client. Many times, despite best efforts, such letters are not available. So, as a test case, we filed an Request For Evidence is a a request from a government agency to provide further information on an issue before the government.
USCIS announced that the Department of Homeland Security will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Somalia from its current expiration date of Sept. 17, 2009 through March 17, 2011.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective today, it will resume Premium Processing Service for nonimmigrant religious worker petitions filed by certain R-1 petitioners. Only those petitioners who have successfully passed an on-site inspection are eligible to file under Premium Processing Service.
Administrative Appeals Office is an office within USCIS that decides appeals from denials of various petitions by USCIS such as H-1, L-1, I-140 etc.
As ofJuly 24, 2009, approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.
Travelers wanting to participate in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trusted traveler program in the San Luis area will soon have the opportunity to participate in the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection program.
CBP will open a local enrollment center in the fall of 2009, followed by dedicated commuter lanes at the San Luis port of entry in late 2009. Travelers interested in participating in the program are encouraged to apply early for the new program by visiting the SENTRI Web site.
I Just got license today... that too without birth certificate...
It happened like this...
I was trying for license in different DMVs... last week went to a DMV near to my house.. there they dont have facility for written test, vision test etc..
But they processed my application. The lady at the counter was nice enough and didnt mind my name problem in VISA.. she took photo and and signature.. then said, as i dont have a usa license, i've to take written test.. for that i need to go another DMV. And she issued a letter saying that..
Rules are strictly followed here. Only thing we need to wait for a long time.. This is what I did to correct my name everywhere
1. April 2005 - FNU - Passport, Visa
2. July 2005 - because of this SSN got delayed for 4 months and received with FNU
3. July 2005 - DMV refused to give license, because they cannot give license with FNU.
4. July 2005 - Enquired local newspapers in Philly - They told that I need to get court order number
I got my first TN in 07/96 and was content working with that until the Pigeon River point of entry decided that the TN for health care worker was good only for 6 months with the second one at no charge. Back then, dual intent was either ignored or didn't exist for TNs so I started the immigration process. I was in Kansas, so my labor cert took 2 years because there was only one person in Topeka working on them. If I lived in New Jersey, it would have been approved in a month. Once it was approved, I filed the I-140 and after that was approved, the I-485. There was no H1B involved.
I've been in the US for 13 of the last 14 years and over the years I've obtained 6 different TN's and I've been on an H1b for a total of 8 years. I was voluntarily out of the country for 1 year about 5 years ago, which reset my H1b clock.
The last status I had was a TN and that was after I was married to a USC (we were still deciding what country we'd live in) and finally I filed for my GC. My EAD was approved 2 weeks prior to my TN expiring and now I am just waiting for my GC Interview in 4 weeks.
So, we had our interview in Tampa. We waited for about an hour and begin to get worried when people arriving after us started to get called in. Eventually after waiting for an hour we were called. the officer was nice and courteous. He asked for our ID's then a few questions about how and when we came about living on this planet. Then he
The interview took place @ 11:45 a.m. but we had been there for over an hour. There were at least another 50 couples waiting and as some couples left new couples would arrive, so the room had about 100 people waiting at all times.
The questions I had - I am very grateful.
Now to the story about my interview experience today: My appointment was at 1:30PM but we arrived there at 1:05PM and we were called in like 5minutes later. The officer was very nice and he started off by making small talk about how deep my voice was when I answered him. This was as we walked down the hallway towards his office.
Hey guys just wanted to share my experience with everyone.I arrived 45 minutes early,didn't get called in until 30 minutes after my scheduled time.Anyway the officer was very polite,which put my wife and myself at ease,we were not nervous,just extremely anxious and ready to get it over with.First thing that was asked for was our id's(dl's) and my wife's proof of citizenship,next we swore to tell the truth.After that we were asked together where do we live,how many people live with us,how long have we lived there.Next came the infamous No questions and of course I answered no to all.A
Guys,
We got approved at the LA DO office this morning and wanted share our experience.
Our appt was scheduled for 9:35 am and we got in the waiting room at 9am. Submitted the appt letter to a lady and waited for our names to be called. I would say 8 out of 10 pple had their lawyers with them. I used my lawyer to file the paperwork but saw no point bringing him for the interview paying $650 extra. However, we consulted with the lawyer last week to prep for the interview.
I had my interview in downtown L.A and my experience was extremely pleasant. There was a parking structure right in front of the federal building that charged 13.20 for all day parking. My interview was on November 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm and I left 2 hours earlier than usual. Good thing because there was a very long line into the federal building itself .It took me 30 minutes before I got to security point. So it was until 2:00 pm when I was able to get into the building.
Hello All,
Following are my Dates:
Application Mailed: Dec 18, 2007
Priority Date: Dec 27, 2007
Finger Printing: Feb 01, 2008
Interview: Oct 23, 2008
Oath: Nov 07, 2008
Total Time Around: 10 to 11 months.
My Interview was scheduled at 8.50 am today and my wife's was at 9.15 am. Reached the location at around 8.35 am. Submitted the forms and were asked to wait for the name to be called.
Folks, Here is our experience. My wife and I passed our Naturalization interview and got our oath letter same day for Nov 19 th 2008.
Chicago DO office is on 101 Congress Parkway. There is cheap parking on intersection of Clark and Polk St. $14 for all day. Can come and go out any time. We got there at 12:40 for a 1:15 interview. Parked our car. Went through security. We had our kids with us.
I received H1b Petition Approval. Anna, Fran and Rajiv are very professional, responsive, and friendly. The whole petition process was smooth and easy for my employer and me. Anna, Fran and Rajiv contacted us ahead of time to prompt us for details for the case. So there was no rush, we always had adequate time and were confident in the service. They guided us through the process, we perfectly professional, responsive, and punctual. This is a great service. Great work! I am very thankful and recommend Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna.