The deadline for eligible nationals of Haiti (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) to re-register for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is Monday, July 24, 2017. The limited 6-month extension of the TPS designation for Haiti runs from July 23, 2017, through Jan. 22, 2018.
Foreign visitors to the U.S.
My Project with My Client will end soon and my employer doesn't have any further projects and asking me to go back to my home country (India) by end of this month. My Visa is valid till Aug 2017 with extension filed. So I am considering to resign on last day of the assignment. ( no new employer found yet).<br>
1) as per new Rule would I be getting the grace period till my I 94 expires i.e till Aug 2017? Is this correct? ( 60 days grace period rule) Also during this Grace period Can I apply for a Change of Status to another non immigrant Visa - F1? (change to a different nonimmigrant classification.) if yes and F1 filed after termination of employment, will this not be considered as timely filed which can result in problems in the future?<br>
2) if F1 is filed Should I start my classes before I94 expiry date or can I Start in September or should I wait till F1 is approved ( after 90 days from date of filing F1)?
Audio FAQ: 60 days grace period for H-1B
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will resume premium processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions effective immediately. The H-1B visa has an annual cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year. Additionally, there is an annual “master’s cap” of 20,000 petitions filed for beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s degree or higher.
Premium processing will resume for petitions that may be exempt from the cap if the H-1B petitioner is:
* An institution of higher education;
* A nonprofit related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education; or
USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
If I change my employer, given the recent changes to I-140 rules for revocation/withdrawal, can my H1-B be extended again for 3 years, with me providing only the LIN number (which can be verified for an approved I-140 on the USCIS website) towards H1-B transfer to my new employer? Do I strictly need to provide the I-140 approval notice to extend/transfer my H1-B to a new employer?
Audio FAQ On: Is a copy of I-140 approval required to extend H-1 B?
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I wanted to understand how Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) works in the case of employment based green card (EB-2) of the parent. My priority date is of 2012 under EB2, I-140 approved. Can CSPA be used to calculate child age when my EB2 priority date becomes current? Wondering what options I have when priority date becomes current and child age is 21+
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Lawful permanent residents who file the online Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, without assistance from an attorney or accredited representative, can now file their form and upload evidence entirely on a mobile device. The redesign of the online Form I-90 also allows lawful permanent residents to navigate the site more easily, making the process of renewing or replacing Green Cards more convenient.
Will there be any issue with my I-485 approval? If it gets denied, will my unlawful presence/out of status be counted from the time my I-94 expired? What should be my next steps?
Audio FAQ: Protection of section 245 (K) for employment-based I-485
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to specify that every naturalization applicant must provide biometrics regardless of age, unless the applicant qualifies for a fingerprint waiver due to certain medical conditions.
1. I had my H-1B approved in Feb 2017. I moved to the US after H-1B petition is submitted. My employer filed for COS from H4 to H1 through premium processing in March 2017. Got RFE on COS petition for proffered position and employee and employer relationship. which they have replied to .. And now got a second RFE asking for a combination of following or similar types of evidence: Letter explaining how the Level 1 wage designation LCA that you have provided corresponds to the proffered position. Document to support that the level 1 wage designation on the LCA supports the proffered position.
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2. What are the other options if my COS petition is is denied?
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3. Am I eligible for transfer if I get an offer from the new company?
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4.Is my approved H-1B still valid and cap exempt, whatever is the outcome of COS petition decision?
Watch Video on this FAQ: Evidence or documents created after the filing of a petition
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I am currently on F1 in OPT status and working for Employer A, my Employer A filed for H1b this year. and I am currently waiting for my H1b approval Approval. Can my Employer start my green card process when I am in F1 status?
Watch Video on this FAQ: Can a green card be started on F-1 status?
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1. I have I-140 approved and its more than 6 months over. My priority date is March 2011 under EB2. At this situation, if my current employer lay me off from work, what immediate step I need to do, in order to legally stay in the USA. ( Do I need to contact my lawyer to change my H1B visa status and my family status to Tourist visa or Can I change my status online or what is the option?). <br>
2) With the new I-140 EAD regulations effective Jan 17th 2017 in place, am I eligible to apply for EAD using "Compelling circumstances EAD", if my company laid me off? As of July dates for filing for EB2 visa application is 01FEB09 , which is more than 2 years wait time for my dates to be current.
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I am a naturalized US citizen through marriage since August 2015. I have sponsored for my brother and mother. Being an immediate family member my mother got her green card within 7 months and for my brother, it's probably a waiting for 12 years. However, I have not sponsored for my father yet because he is currently handling the business and property in India. My father has tried 3 times for tourist visa in last 2 years but he got rejected by the US embassy in Delhi. We don't want to try again for the tourist visa now. I want to sponsor green card for him now but need advice on a couple of concerns. It can take my father up to 7 years to wrap up everything. What is required for my father to maintain his green card in terms of physical presence/physical travel How long can it maintained without being actually living in the USA more than 6 months? We cannot do an investment here for a new house in his name due to financial concerns. In other words, I have concerns like if my father is unable to maintain the green card status and unable to obtain a tourist visa, then will he be stuck in India forever?
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I have an approved I-797A with company B valid till 2018 May (attached i94 with same dates). My Visa with Company A valid till 23 Aug 2017 (old passport). I got a new passport in 2015 Dec, which I have applied after moved to company B. I traveled to India in June 2016 and comeback, CBP officer gave me I-94 till 23 Aug 2017 with new passport entry, because of new passport I-94 number changed. My question is I-94 (May 2018) is on my I-797 is still valid or it will valid only till 23 Aug 2017? If valid only till 23 Aug 2017, How to solve this issue with out going out of the country.
Video Transcript
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Discussion Topics, Thursday 27 July 2017:
FAQ: Does H-4 require a prior USCIS approval for visa stamping? ||I-485 applicant holding multiple jobs on EAD
Release Date
On Aug. 19, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency. This determination immediately affects two immigration-related student programs:
My parents who are green card holders applied for the i-131 travel document in Sept 2021. They finished their biometrics in Oct 2021 and left the USA on Nov,14th 2021.
There has not been an update to the case after the biometrics. Do they need to return to the US by Nov 14th, 2022? Or can they wait till the I-131 application is processed before returning to the US?
If they can come back before November I think that would be a good idea just to be safe.There is no guarantee that the reentry permit will be approved, although it is very rare for reentry permits to be denied at least for the first two years.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am currently on STEM Extension and my visa expires in July 2023. I also have a masters degree here in the states. I wanted to know what my options are..
If the suggestion is Day-1 CPT, I wanted to know how safe/legit it is! I have heard that going on Day-1 CPT can cause some issues when your H1 gets picked and may lead to RFE?
It is legal and so far it has been safe. You know that the rule for Day 1 CPT requires that when you join, you are associating with a graduate program otherwise you cannot get a Day 1 CPT. The Curricular Practical Training is an integral part of your degree. You cannot finish the degree without the practical training. The other thing is the employer signs the cooperative agreement with the university. The only additional suggestion I have is if you are going to do Curricular Practical Training make it as an adjunct to your profession.
For more information please check my blog.
https://immigration.com/blogs/curricular-practical-training-cpt
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
I have worked in the U.S. under L-1\H-1B from June-2015 to March-2020. I have been in India since the last 2 and half years (Not working for any US based company). Now I have got Job offer from a US company and the H-1B I-797 petition is approved. I have a previous employer's H-1B Visa stamp (which expired last month) in my current passport, and B1/B2 Visa stamp(got in 2013 and valid till Sep-2023) in my older passport. I also have approved I-140 (EB2) from my previous employer.
My Question is due to the high wait time for Visa appointments, in worst case, if I can not secure a visa appointment anywhere close to joining date, can I travel to the US with a valid B-1/B-2 Visa and approved I-797 and later change status to H-1B and join the job? If yes, would it impact the GC process in future?
I would strongly recommend against it. I think you would do a lot better trying to get an H-1B Visa stamping in a third country. People are going to places like Singapore, Hong Kong and Maldives. Look around India and you might be able to make an appointment.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
1. My I-485 was filed in August 2022. Priority Date: 2014. Lost a job. H-1B withdrawn and offer is canceled. Current H-1B remaining till January 2023. If I-485 is denied do I have to leave the country? Can I work for the remaining 5 months?
2. After retrogression, can I transfer H-1B?
1. You can finish your H-1B term.
2. I don't see why not.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am in the 1st year of my 2-year STEM OPT after completing Bachelors Degree. Can I do another set of OPT + 2 year STEM OPT if I complete my Masters Degree? Does the Masters also have to be in STEM field to utilize the post Masters OPT+2 year STEM OPT?
You can get a STEM OPT extension twice in one academic life cycle. Even if you did a STEM degree and never used stem opt extension you should be able to reuse it.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Thank you Rajiv and staff for helping me out with my GC process. Its been a long 12 year journey and i am glad that i was represented by one of the top immigration attorney offices. Every single application from H1, Labor, 140, 485, and then all the EAD's in between were handled so professionally.
A special thanks to Art, Heather, and Mathew for being so prompt in answering my questions.
I highly recommend everyone to use Law offices of Rajiv. S Khanna, for all the immigration matters.
Thanks,
Siva Kanumuri