We filed a petition premium processing for a self-petitioning researcher. The petitioner had over 15 years of research experience in the nanotechnology field. He had an extraordinary research career which included 52 scholarly scientific articles with over 1,020 citations of his work. His publications were featured in numerous high impact international journals. In addition to his noteworthy research publications, the petitioner was a highly sought after reviewer for a multitude of prestigious, international scientific journals. He was also selected to an editorial board.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently began transferring some extension of stay casework from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center to balance workloads. The affected casework includes the following form:
All immigrant visa applicants now must complete the DS-260 online immigrant visa application at https://ceac.state.gov/ceac and login tohttp://www.ustraveldocs.com/in to schedule an appointment at Visa Application Center(VAC) for biometric fingerprint and photograph
Rajiv was very generous in providing the right guidance in resolving my H-1B salary issues. Prior to contacting Rajiv, another immigration attorney tried to represent me on a fee basis to help reclaim my salary. Rajiv offered his free consultation over the phone. He asked to me to do it by myself with the Depart of Labor. This happended six months ago. I just got some time this afternoon to go to the SF office of the DOL. The DOL will commence an investigation, which I believe should help me get my unpaid salary. Thank you, Rajiv!
Does the USCIS make a distinction as to whether a specialist physician works in a Medically Underserved Area vs Health Professional Shortage Area versus Physician Scarcity Area? My job falls in MUA, HPSA but not PSA , is this a problem for a specialist?
NIW requires "You must serve either in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), Mental Health Professional Area (MHPSA – for psychiatrists only), a Medically Underserved Area (MUA), or a Veterans Affairs facility, or for specialists in a Physician Scarcity Area (PSA)."
Is there a direct way for me to get a green card or apply for EB-3 without my employer's support? My employer is unwilling to support me for any working visa and I am already out of the status due to this.
Three options: Extraordinary Ability Aliens, National Interest Waiver and Investment (EB-5).
Dear Readers,
My experience went really well perhaps due to changes in the immigration procedures meant to make some applications process faster so that one can go on with life while waiting to gain finally permanent residence status?
I applied for a permanent residence through marriage to a US citizen while in F-1 status. Please note that I applied after our two year anniversary so the conditional permanent resident status would not apply. Here is the time line for my application process:
I am originally from Maryland and I met my husband when I was attending college in Houston, TX. After I completed college, I moved back up to Maryland to spend time with my family and I also got a very good opportunity to work, in Washington D.C. My husband and I decided to get Married in February 2002, and I decided to move back to Houston so we could start our lives together. By the time I could wrap things up in Maryland and finally move to Houston it was August 2002.
Hello,
Had an interview at chennai consulate and here are the details
F1(CPT) to (First Time)H1B
Interview date 20 th nov - 8:45 to 9:00 am
Dear Rajiv, Suman, Diane and Leila:
I wish to thank all of you for your excellent co-operation and help at all stages of our GC application.
On 7/20 we saw the online notice about the APPROVAL of our I-485 petition. We/you had filed an RFE on 7/16. Me and my family are very happy that the decision process was so quick, and all this would not have been possible without your valuable guidance.
At this stage I have two requests: 1) Most likely the approval notice will be received by your good office and we would like to have a copy of the same. Could you please email us upon receipt of the Approval, so we could forward you a fax number? 2) What is the next step after receipt of the I-485 Approval notice?
Once again many thanks to you and your excellent team for all the help all the way.
With best regards,
The KUPs.
Thanks all you wonderful people for the good job you are doing. Special thanks to Leila, Diane and Shivane for their help and support I got during my GC processing . You all have been great and thanks for being patient and quick in responding to my queries
I got my I-485 approval on July 20, 2004, ending a long nerve wrecking wait of almost 4 years. I would like to thank Rajiv S. Khanna and his staff for their outstanding work to help me in this important process.
I had to have my EAD renewed 2 times due to immense backlog. But I was not charged for the unexpected extra work.
I would like to show my special thanks to Leila Lehman, who was always there to answer instantly to all my questions during the I-485 processing.
Also, I would like to thank the entire staff especially to Diane Lombardo (Labor, I-140 and other paper processing), Suman Bhasin (for all those complicated and subtle questions), and Rajiv S Khanna (for indirectly answering my convoluted questions) and every one else who helped me during the process.
I have a couple of colleagues who went through the permanent residency adjustment of status processed by the team from the Law Office of Rajiv S. Khanna, and I have never heard anyone complaining.
I would like to extend my gratitude to the entire staff and thanks them for their professional assistance. For without it I would not have seen this day.
I would like to thank Mr.Khanna and his wonderful staff for being with me at every part of my Green Card Journey. Their professionalism and prompt correspondence is second to none. If you are with Mr.Khanna then you are in good hands. I would like to Thank Leila Lehman, Diane Lombardo, Shivane Sharma for helping me with my case. Law Offices of Mr.Khanna is the best.
To Anna, Joy and Charu
My application was speedily and professionally done by the above-mentioned persons. You are truly remarkable for the effort you put in a short period of time available. Thanks once again for an outstanding effort.
I would like to thank the law offices of Rajiv Khanna. The staff was very helpful and very meticulous in their tasks. They are the best and kudos for the keeping you the good work.
Rajeev,
Savita and all your team did an excellent job to responding to this RFP. We had almost lost hope but it came through. Her hard work and patience finally paid off!! You got a great team. We'll be sending many more cases.
I finally got my GC after waiting 3 years in 485 status.
I appreciate Law office support,
prompt services and help in getting my green card. It is very pleasure working with Leila, Diane and
Suman all along these years.
I am very thankful to the advices given by Mr. Rajiv and his staff.
I would like to thank Mr.Khanna and his excellent staff for being with me at every part of my Green Card Journey.
Their professionalism and prompt correspondence is highly appreciable. If you are with Mr.Khanna then you are in good hands. My special thanks to Diane Lombardo. She did a great job.I would like to Thank Leila Lehman and Shivane Sharma for helping me with my case. Law Offices of Mr.Khanna is the best.
Thank you,
Venkata Maddipatla
1. My employer filed my I-140 and it was approved. They refused to provide me the approval notice but through InfoPass I was able to get my receipt number and Alien #. To port my priority date, I would like to request USCIS for the duplicate copy of I-140 approval notice.
2. Is it possible to request USCIS a duplicate copy of my I-140 approval notice using either G-639 (FOIA) or I-824 (Action on an approved application or petition) or any other method as I have my receipt#?
FAQ Transcript
Answer 1. People typically file a FOIA request. File the Form G-639 (Form G-639 - USCIS). Often you get copies of all kinds of documents. Government gives you copies of documents they have on you. It is not consistent but people have got copies of their 140 approval notices, copies of their H-1 approval notices, the entire perm package. So it is worth filing a FOIA and it doesn’t cost you anything. It can take a little bit of time a couple of months maybe three months but do file it if you don’t have documentation. You can port the Priority Date with your alien number itself and receipt number as well. It should not need a I-140 approval notice. Remember the government has that information already. They don’t specifically need it from you.
Answer 2. By all means file the form. File G-639 and not I-824. File G-639 and let’s see what they give you.
I have been laid off by my current employer, with severance paycheck coming at regular pay intervals until mid January-2016. Finding a new employment is taking time. I am on H-1B which first started on October 01, 2013, latest I-797 valid until December 2017.
1. How long do I legally have, before I become unauthorized to stay? What constitutes as unlawful presence?
2. My I-94 admission validity is until October 2016; with no employment, does this mean anything?
3. Before I transition into a new H-1B, can I travel outside and into the country, without a Change of Status? Can I use severance pay checks if asked, for entry purposes?
4. Can I use my severance pay stubs as pay stubs when my next employer applies for new H-1B?
5. I am hesitating to inform my next employer about my termination, thinking that this may impact my hiring decision or my ability to negotiate. But not indicating terminated employment, is it possible that my H1B transfer or new petition may be considered unethical?
6. In your experience, how long does the USCIS take to update a revoked H-1B petition in their systems?
7. If my new employer files for H-1B transfer before the update but with pay stubs older than 30 days, do I have to mandatory leave the country for new H-1B stamping before starting to work?
8. If such is the case, is it best to change to a B-2 status and have my next employer apply for new H-1B? If yes, I would assume that I will be cap exempt until September 30, 2019 plus the days spent on B2; would this be a fair assumption.
9. Can my employer continue to pay severance checks when I am on B-2 status?
10. What happens if my new employer applies for H-1B transfer with severance paychecks, after USCIS has updated their records?
11. In your experience, what gap in unemployment is generally ignored by USCIS when filing for new H-1B or transferring new H-1B?
12. What other words of wisdom do you have for me?
If you get laid off on H-1B there is no grace period. You get laid off today tomorrow you are out of status.
Answer 1. Not even one day. However when you are getting paid can you not make the argument that since you are getting paid you are still maintaining status. That’s a slightly unpredictable argument. It can cut both ways. An example: I did a consultation on garden leave. Garden leave is very common in the financial industry. The employer lets you resign or if they lay you off they will pay you for the couple of months but they don’t want you to join another employer. The idea is you should not be able to take their information which is current and apply to a competitor. So in that case those pay checks are strongly set to keep you in status because it is full salary and they are maintaining control over you and they are not letting you do what you please . And that’s the assumption.
However severance pay… government has at one point said that they don’t consider severance pay to maintenance of status because severance pay seems to be a part of an arrangement were this is not salary you are basically just getting paid sought of a bonus to part company and I have doubts about that . I do not believe that to be a very good legal opinion from the government. I feel as long as my salary amount is getting paid, my deductions are being made, it is does not matter if I have a job or not. So you can certainly argue that. Severance pay doubtful, something like garden leave or regular leave coming out your way is probably ok to maintain status.
Answer 2. Not really. Understand the difference between out of status and unlawful presence. These are two different concepts. If you are on H-1 and you get laid off you are out of status the next day. But you are not unlawfully present until your H-1 is revoked or until your 1-94 expires. For sure unlawful presence begins when 1-94 expires. So unlawful presence and out of status are two different things. You are out of status the following day but you may not be unlawfully present until you’re I-94 expires or revocation of the H-1 occurs. Consequences of being out of status and unlawful presence are quite different. You are out of status that is no bar from getting another H-1B visa, another H-4, L-1, L-2 maybe a problem for F-1 or B-1 visas that have rather weak basis but for H-,4 H-1, L-1, L-2 or even O-1 or E-3 this is not a problem. On the other hand if you are unlawfully present for 180 days you are barred from green card or work visa for three years to ten years if you are unlawfully present for one year. So you can’t come back without a waiver and waivers are limited.
Answer 3. No because you don’t have a job. If you use the same visa to come back in, that could be fraud.
Answer 4. The answer is yes and why not. Government has never made a formal announcement that they will not accept severance as indicative of violation of status. So definitely use them.
Answer 5. That’s between you and your new employer. Immigration law does not require you to inform your new employer about termination by the old employer.
Answer 6. It can be many months but revocation should be retroactive so if your employer sent a revocation request which reaches USCIS today even if they act on it three months down the line they will back date it to today. Revocation is effective on the date revocation request is received.
Answer 7. It is up to USCIS, they might allow you status if the facts of your case is such that they require some sympathetic consideration but normally if you are out of status even one day government is well within its right to refuse to issue you status within the country. In these cases I always advice people to file premium processing soon so you know rather quickly were you stand.
Answer 8. B-2 application to maintain status is acceptable sometimes and also objectionable by the government. You can try, you can tell them that you were laid off unexpectedly and you have enough money to support yourself and you will not work without authorization, and that as soon as you find another employer you will immediately apply for an H-1. When all these things are said and done I think you can make a case for a B-2.
Sometimes government has come back and said we cannot give you a B-2 but as long as you get it filed before your current H-1 expires at least you have the right to stay in the US. You can argue in what is called authorized period of stay. But the problem is this. Something you need to be aware of. Let’s say your status is expired you have filed for B-2 and it is pending now you found a job remember an H-1 transfer within US will be approved only (most cases) if the pending B-2 has been approved in your favor by the time USCIS decides the H-1 transfer. If the case is still pending they will not give you status within USA, they will ask you to go for visa stamping. That is not a problem. You can do that but be mindful of that. If the B-2 is still pending or the B-2 is denied you will have to leave USA. The only time you get H-1B within USA is if by the time they decide your second H-1and your B-2 is already approved in your favor.
You will be cap exempt. That is not a problem because cap just says if you have been approved anytime in the last six years you are not subject to the quota.
Answer 9. Why not. On the one hand we are arguing that’s keeping you in status. On the other government could take the position that means you are violating status and I would say “no” because that is payment for work already done. They are giving me severance not because I am working for them; it’s because I already worked for them and this is either a payment for work already done or part of the arrangement while I was working. In order for employment to be unauthorized there must be a payment or remuneration as well as work. If there is payment without work or work without payment I think that is a good argument that’s not an unauthorized employment.
Answer 11. There is no consistency. I have seen them ignore not even one day they will come back and say no you were out of status for one day, in some situations they have done for two or three months. Most of the times they are not tolerant of this issue at all.
Answer 12. I think B-2is a good idea as long as you understand the implications of a B-2.
I would like to thank Mr. Khanna and his staff, especially Prerna and Richa in handling my green card processing. They are very professional, diligent and meticulous in their work. I trust them completely, they have always advised me in my best interests from a legal stand point. I would recommend their office for any immigration related issues without hesitation and I am glad that I went to them. Their responses have been very timely and that's one less issue to worry about. Thanks again.