A great job. I got my re-classification in 10 days with premium processing. The guys were really professional and helpful. Special thanks to team members for their patience in dealing with my many calls, I reccomend Rajiv Khanna with high honors.
We would like to thank Mr.Rajiv S Khanna, Richa Narang and Suman Bhasin for their help in getting the green card for us after changing the employer during I485 stage. The response from the team was quick and excellent for our queries. Our green card got approved after being transferred to the local offices. Green card for my wife and myself got approved from two different local INS. We wish Mr.Rajiv S Khanna and his team a success in all future endeavors.
There is just one word for Attny Khanna's team- the "Best". Since my case was National Interest Waiver, a lot depended on how the case is presented since this entailed having to waive the labor certification process. My sincere thanks to Diane Lombardo for arranging the petition nicely. Even when I got the RFE, they did not rest. Attorney Khanna himself talked with me, discussed the issue. He was ably supported by other team members and they came up with a great response because of which my petition was approved within seven days.I was able to waive the tedious labor certification process and the entire filing process to I-485 took just 5 months. Even now, Attny Khanna, Diane Lombardo and Leila Lehman are advising me, based on my unique conditions, if I should go for consular processing or file I-485. Best of all, you can expect replies to your email within 30 min and each of your phone call is received or they will call you back in a day.For me, retaining them to represent me was the single best thing that I have ever done. Thank you Attorney Khanna and his wonderful team.
We were very impressed with the professionalism and knowledge of the staff. Rena and Charu were extremely helpful in processing our applications. I would highly recommend their services to someone that is looking to quickly and comprehsivley complete the Visa process. John Pettit Adaptik Corporation
It gives me great pleasure to share my experience with Mr.Khanna and his courteous staff pertaining to my H1B and Green card processing. A majority of the immigration community thinks of Immigration lawyers as notorious for not returning the calls, not communicating with their clients regarding the progress of the case and not filing the petitions properly, Mr.Khanna and his staff completely eliminates this notion.At Mr.Khanna's office the emphasis is more on the Customer Service. You think I am exaggerating, but I have spoken and corresponded with lot of his staff members regarding my Green Card and H1B petitions and their attitude, their professionalism, their respect towards the clients is so conspicuously similar that you almost think that you are talking to the same person. Mr.Khanna and his staff have successfully filed my H1B and Green Card and at every step they have contacted me via E-mail and by phone.It is very comforting to get to know the progress of your case at every step contrary to having been left out in the dark, which lot of other firms do. My 7th year H1B extension has been approved and I am at the I-140 stage in my GC. The bottom line is if you are not with Mr.Khanna THEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING. Albeit all the staff members are courteous and very professional, I would like to specifically thank Ms.Shivane Sharma, Ms.Ursual Jara-Elouaddane, Ms.Sirisha Durgam, Ms.Rena Waddel, Ms.Charu Bhagat, Ms.Suman Bhasin Keep up the good work Mr.Khanna and thank you for serving the immigration community.
I am extremely pleased with the service I received from Rajiv Khanna and his associates. Just like everyone else, I have gone through my own set of complications in my GC process such as company merger, marraige after I-140, CP or I485 dilemma, forms getting lost in mail, RIR advertising etc.. I am sure if I had used any other attorney, I would've gone insane by now. But thanks to Rajiv Khanna and his associates I received my GC within 1.5 years. I strongly recommend him. Special thanks to Leila, Charu, Suman, Shivane and Richa.
Finally day has come. Our passport has been stamped at Cleveland OH on 03/20/2003. This was real long and painful journey but Mr. Rajiv Khanna and his team made it REAL SIMPLE and PLEASANT. The whole GC process started in October 2000 when I called Mr Khanna. I talked with Richa Narang as she started paper work for LABOUR certification. She gave me very valuable tip on how to put my resume online and how to post advertisement in local news paper. Once my Labour was filed I talked with Puja and ask her to start my I140 paper work. I had real trouble in getting financial statement from my company. Puja and Mr Khanna helped me big time by convincing my company. Puja did great job and my paper work was ready before my Labour was done and she filed my I140 same day I got my Labour. That resulted in saving of atleast 1 month. Puja was so good in communication and responding my emails and phone calls I asked her to prepare my I485 documents. She gave me Diane Lombardo's phone number. I talked with Diane and she prepared my I485 documents. Diane is best person you can ever get for I485. She has always replied my emails within 2-3 hours even on weekends. Service she provided was so EXCELLENT that one can only dream of getting these kind of service from any attorney's office. Documentation all these team provided was so good there was no scope of any RFE. I have seen my friends still suffering from mistakes from their attorneys in preparing documents. They started process before me and they are still waiting. I talked with Leila so many times for my status check, finger printing, RFE response. She was always fast in comunicating back. Always happy to respond and most imp available on phone when you call. Another very important person from start to finish, Suman Bhasin. I have talked to her so many times during entire process. Always very polite and highly respectable. She gave me solution to every problem I had. Finally when my case was approved call from Homa on what should I do till I get my Citizenship. Lastly Mr. Khanna for all the help. He always gave me solution to every question, gave me best possible advice on chossing right path for entire process like R/R VS NON R/R. Consular processing VS I485 filing. Every piece of advice and service he gave was best any attorney can give. I don't even have words to thank all of you. You all helped like one big family members. Your team is best in the world for immigration matters. Your team provides warm fussy feeling to all those Indians who come so far after leaving their country and family. May GOD bless you and your TEAM with the BEST of the WISHES so that a LOT many souls like us, can see their DREAMS come TRUE. I am eagerly looking forward to working with you in the future. I will highly recommand Mr. Rajiv Khanna and his team to all of you. Thanks SAMIR SHAH
I am quite satisfied with the quality of legal services I received from this law firm and would recommend this firm to anyone seeking legal services for immigration related matters.
The team members of Law offices of Rajiv S.Khanna have done a very good job in getting my green card processing (in a very short span). They are very prompt and professional. I would highly recommend them for any kind of GC processings.
Release Date
Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary.
We recommend that the H-1B lottery registration process should be planned and initiated now to ensure that it is ready to be submitted once the registrations open from noon Eastern on March 7, 2025 through noon Eastern on March
Number 99
Volume X
Washington, D.C
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS FOR PREFERENCE IMMIGRANT VISAS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during March for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.
SUBSCRIBE to Immigration.com YouTube Channel for further updates.
mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
SUBSCRIBE to Immigration.com YouTube Channel for further updates.
mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
FAQs:
1. Laid off on EAD from EB1A, can I start an UNRELATED teaching business?
2. Can I travel on Advance Parole?
3. Can I delay using an H-1B visa to utilize the STEM extension period?
4. H-1B specialty occupation for MS in UX Design (STEM)
SUBSCRIBE to Immigration.com YouTube Channel for further updates.
mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
SUBSCRIBE to Immigration.com YouTube Channel for further updates.
mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
SUBSCRIBE to Immigration.com YouTube Channel for further updates.
mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
FAQs:
1. Can I volunteer with a Non-Profit while on any temporary visa (for example, F-1 OPT)?
2. Options after layoff on approved EB-1 - Compelling circumstances EAD and GC EAD conversion
3. NIW I-485 rejected: Refiling options and priority date usage?
We primarily have questions on relocation to India and possibilities.
My wife and I want to retain our Green Cards and eventually get US citizenship. We are just 3 years away from getting our US citizenship.
However, we want to relocate to India for our aging parents. We want to be able to relocate to India now for a few years (5 years), but we also don’t want to miss out on the citizenship opportunity when we are this close to getting our US citizenship. Is this even possible without the hassle of staying 6 months in the US and 6 months in India, and would there be any tax implications if one of us continues to work for the same employer in the US remotely from India?
We are aware that we can take 2 years' permission by filing Form I-131 and staying outside the US for 2 years. However, we need more than 2 years to stay outside the US. Also, the citizenship clock resets if we take this option. Is there a way to avoid this?
If you plan to relocate to India with a green card before obtaining U.S. citizenship, it can significantly complicate the naturalization process. To apply for U.S. citizenship, you must meet physical presence requirements: at least 2.5 years in the U.S. over the last five years and no single absence of a year or more. If you stay outside the U.S. for over six months but less than a year, you may need to provide an explanation.
A re-entry permit (Form I-131) allows you to stay outside the U.S. for up to two years without losing your green card, but it does not help with citizenship requirements. Form N-470 can protect your eligibility in limited cases, such as working for a U.S. company’s foreign branch, but it does not guarantee naturalization.
If you stay abroad for more than a year, you will likely need to restart your five-year residency requirement (or four years and one day if a re-entry permit was used). While re-entry permits can be renewed in certain cases, they do not protect your citizenship timeline.
Best advice: Obtain U.S. citizenship first and then relocate, as naturalized citizens can live abroad indefinitely without affecting their status. Please consult your lawyer regarding this.
I applied for a change of status from an H1B to an H4 visa via I-539 in May 2024 as I got laid off, with my last working date being 3/19/2024.
The document was received by USCIS on 5/10/2024 and confirmed by I-797C, Notice of Action dt 5/20/2024.
On 12/26/2024, my case was approved. I received I-797A Notice of Action with Approval on 1/7/2025. The approval date shows the validity of H4 from 12/23/2024 to 03/13/2027.
On my I-539 I had asked for the change of status to be effective from 05/15/2024 as my 60-day period would run out on 5/19/2024.
However, the H4 approval shows the start date as 12/23/2024. So, my question is, what status was I in during the period 5/19/2024 and 12/23/2024, and will I face any problems if I go for visa stamping? Do I need to write to USCIS and ask for a date to be changed to 5/15/2024 to avoid issues in the future?
If you applied for a change of status (COS) while still in valid status—such as H-1B plus the 60-day grace period—you are not considered out of status while your application is pending. In this case, since you applied for H-4 within the grace period, the period between May (filing date) and December (approval date) is classified as an authorized period of stay, meaning it does not count as unlawful presence.
Even though the approval date is later, you are not subject to the three-year bar because you remained legally in the U.S. while the petition was pending. There are no negative implications for your status.
I am in my first year of OPT and eligible for a STEM extension. If selected in the H1B lottery on the first attempt, can I delay activating my H1B to fully utilize my STEM OPT? Would this be advisable, and what are the potential benefits or risks?
If you have time left on your STEM OPT but have won the H-1B lottery, you can technically opt for H-1B consular processing and continue using your STEM OPT. However, since 2023, this approach has become riskier.
The safer option is to proceed with an H-1B change of status. If you delay the H-1B activation and later face job loss, transferring the H-1B could be more complicated. While consular processing is still possible, it carries uncertainties. If it were my case, I would choose the change of status for a more secure transition.
I have an EAD from an approved EB1A petition (priority date: Apr 2022). I recently got laid off and am thinking of starting a business ( related to K-12 education.) MY EAD is based on an advanced degree in Operations research with publications and related work experience in data science. Is there a risk to justify 'teaching' or running a tutoring business based on this EAD? If so, can you keep looking for related jobs and teach on the side without incorporating this as a business in the interim? On an unrelated note, in your opinion, what is the risk of traveling out of the country in this situation? (I have an advance parole in hand as well.)
If you have an EB-1A-based EAD and a pending I-485, starting an unrelated business (such as teaching) is risky. Your EB-1A petition asserts that you intend to work in your field of extraordinary ability. Shifting to an unrelated field could raise questions about your original intent and impact your green card application.
Additionally, traveling on Advance Parole in this situation may pose some risks. It’s advisable to either have a job offer or a clear plan to work in your field (such as consulting with clients) before traveling. Proceed with caution.
As per the new 2024 H1B Rules, can an H1B holder start a company with 100% ownership (possibly working on out-of-office hours/weekends) while holding a full-time job at another company?
Yes, an H-1B holder can start a company while maintaining a full-time job, but there are key conditions:
While legally possible, the process is complex and must be carefully structured to meet all H-1B regulations.
Thanks to the splendid work done by Rajiv and his firm, I obtained my green card with relative ease and in a short period of time. Special thanks go to team members who did an excellent job of patiently and promptly answering many queries. I would gladly recommend their law firm to all and will consider them as the first choice for all future services.