Discussion Topics, Thursday, 21 February 2019:
FAQ: H-1B Employer deducting money from salary || Getting a second job after green card approval || Filing employment based green card while living outside USA ||
Other: Converting pending cases to H-1B premium processing/H-4 EAD || I-485 EAD Advance Parole|| Filing N-470 || Getting H-1B extensions based on of I-140 approval of spouse || Three days out of status between H-1B approvals || H-1B remedy for non payment of wages due to government shutdown || Going from cap exempt H-1B to cap H-1B || Traveling on H-1B visa of previous employer||Filing employment based green card while living outside USA.
Number 27
Volume X
Washington, D.C
Effective immediately, USCIS will begin accepting copies of negative consultation letters directly from labor unions relating to a current or future P nonimmigrant visa petition. A consultation letter from a U.S. labor organization is generally required for petitions in the P visa classification, which covers athletes, artists, entertainers and their essential support personnel.
uidance Clarifies Agency Requirements for Petition
USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018. If you received a transfer notice for a pending H-1B petition, and you are requesting premium processing service, you must submit the premium processing request to the service center now handling the petition.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019. Feb. 19, 2019, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2019. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Feb.
PERM Processing Times (as of 1/31/2019)
I had an approved i140 from employer A for over a year. And my wife has her H4 and EAD approved recently (employer A).
In between, I switched to a new employer B and they have filed her H4 and EAD together with my H1b application. Currently her H4 & EAD is pending from employer B, but my H1b from employer B is approved. my i140 with employer B is not started yet but previous employer i140 was approved for more than 180 days. In this scneario, can the H4EAD approved with my previous employer A's i140 can still be used/valid?
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
My parents are getting ready to file their N400 naturalization application online soon. Here is their situation :
They got their Green Card ( I sponsored them) in April 2013. They have made four trips to India , two of which were less than 32 days. However one trip in 2013-2014 was for 204 days but this trip is outside of the 5year look-back period now. They took another trip in in August 2014 ,returning in March 2015 for a total of 193 days outside. They had to stay back longer due an unexpected health issue when my mom had to undergo surgery. They have paid filed their tax returns as a resident for every year since getting their GC even-though they do not owe any taxes - they do have some passive income in India. They do live with me and while they have bank account there are not many transactions in it. Also they have medical coverage through ACA where they get premium assistance. Would 5 years of tax returns along with medical documents that show my Mom's diagnosis and surgery followed by physiotherapy be sufficient to overcome the presumption of abandonment of residence in US because they stayed about 13 days more than 180 during their trip in 2014-2015 ?
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
The USCIS Contact Center is currently experiencing higher than normal wait times for callers to speak to a representative. While the center is working to resolve this, the center encourages you to use the online tools.
Our client received a decision denying his request for naturalization based on allegations that he failed to continuously maintain lawful immigration status since initial entry.
Changes will increase transaction security and reduce processing errors
WASHINGTON—On Feb. 25, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expanded the fee payment system used in field offices to 16 additional offices:
USCIS denied our client’s Form I-485, alleging that the applicant failed to demonstrate eligibility for adjustment of status because a final disposition regarding a criminal charge under India’s Dowry Laws was not provided.
We recently filed an application for an EAD based on compelling circumstances for a client with a serious, debilitating medical concern. The applicant was on an H-1B status.
Recently, there was an ICE raid on students enrolled in University of Farmington, Michigan. I was temporarily enrolled for a year and half there (Feb 2017 - Nov 2018). I left USA on my own volition in May of 2018. The univ eventually terminated my SEVIS for non-payment in Nov 2018. I'm looking to apply for a tourist visa to USA. What potential issues might arise?
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Release Date
Effective Dec. 12, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to allow USCIS to automatically extend the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (commonly called Green Cards) for lawful permanent residents who have applied for naturalization.
Question: My sister has been on F-1 status, currently on OPT and I want to file for her EB5 visa. I will fund her 75% of my money with cash that I earned from W2 and may get an equity loan if needed (total 800K). She wants to open an IT consulting company in Rural Area while on OPT. I have the following questions.
1. Is an IT consulting company a valid investment in terms of USCIS because one attorney mentioned it is not?
2. Does the count of hiring U.S. residents begin after the company is founded or after an I-526 application is filed?
3. How long will it take to get a conditional green card? How about non-conditional?
4. Is it a good idea to file now while on OPT-EAD or wait until she gets H-1B? She has another 2.5 years remaining on OPT.
5. Is it okay to use AP/EAD after she gets it while OPT-EAD? Can she still apply for H-1B after I-1485 is filed?
1. Not only should there be an investment that investment should be needed to set up that business.
2. When you file your first set of forms (Form I-526) at that time you provide a business plan and you tell the government that once the I-526 is approved within two years or soon thereafter you will be able to create ten American jobs. You have about four years to create American jobs.
3. You can actually look those times up.
4.This is also complicated because if she gets her H-1B she's allowed to work only for the H1B employer. This should be planned in detail with a lawyer. At least theoretically this is feasible
5. She can still apply for an H-1B after I-485 is filed. It is theoretically possible, at least at the USCIS level but at the consulate level it is a different story.
My priority date is April'14 in EB2. My current employer filed an AOS (I-485, I-765 & I-131) using a prior employer I-140 petition. My EAD (I-765)/AP (I-131) was approved a few weeks ago. My current employer didn't submit I-485J while submitting I-485 application. My current employer PERM was submitted a few months ago.
Questions:
1) Is it safe to use the EAD/AP (or) would you recommend staying in H1B until I-485 is approved?
2) Will this filing be considered to be fraud/misrepresentation (or) Would you recommend withdrawing my I-485 application?
Release Date
Federal Register Notice Published Today Announces Nationwide Trial
I would highly recommend the services of Rajiv Khanna for any immigration issues. They were successfully able to process my green card even though I had stopped working for the sponsoring company for about a year.