Effective immediately, USCIS will begin accepting copies of negative consultation letters directly from labor unions relating to a current or future O nonimmigrant visa petition request.
WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the agency will celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, observed on Sept. 17, with over 260 naturalization ceremonies across the country from Sept. 14 to 23 as part of this year’s celebration of Constitution Week.
USCIS is sending text and email messages between Sept. 17 and Sept. 20, 2018, about filing Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card online. If you are a lawful permanent resident and your Green Card has expired or is about to expire, or if you need to replace it for another reason, you may file Form I-90 online.
The experience working with your firm was amazing. All the paralegals were great and everything was done in a prompt fashion. I will definitely recommend your service to all my friends who need help with visa processing.
Thank you very much again for all your help.
Best Regards
Vishwesh Sankholkar
I am satisfied with the service. Thanks. - Srini
I would like to thank Mr. Khanna and all the staff members - Mathew, Shivani, Homa(presently not working with you) and all other remaining members who have helped me get through this process. You all were just great to work with.
Mr. Khanna has been my immigration lawyer for H1-B as well as Greencard. My 485 was approved from TSC last week in a record 11 months! He and his staff (Vijay, Suman, Shivane, Prerna, Rena) have all been exceptional! They never hesitated to answer the million questions I had and were always prompt in calling or emailing me back. Mr. Khanna too always made time out of his busy schedule to call me whenever I needed to speak with him directly. This is one exceptional group of folks and I would highly recommend them to anybody looking for a good immigration lawyer.
I am so glad I hired the services of Mr R S Khanna. The staff is so dedicated and responsive. I always felt I was in good hands and help was always round the corner.
Special thanks to Leila Lehman for responding promptly to all my queries and for being so very friendly and helpful. She is certainly a pleasure to work with and will always hold a special place in my family for being so very nice during the whole process from I-140 onwards.
Also, Subha was very professional and helpful during labor processing and Shivane helped very promptly and efficiently with filing I-140.
I always thought Consular processing was risky business but Mr Khanna and Co. really made it work without a glitch.
I wish them good luck with their business and hope they continue to serve many more with the same efficiency. I rate them as A+++
Many thanks !
Shashi
I am so thankful and greatfull to the wonderful people in The Law Offices of Rajiv Khanna for filing my GC and getting my approval and stamping. Their consul at very stage was excellent and always accurate. My 485 was cleared in 18 months. I would like to thank Mr Khanna for his consul and assertiveness in my case, Leila Lehman - a wonderful person, for taking care for my case and clearing all my doubts and Suman for initial supervising of my case. They were always reachable and would respond immediately. I rate them as the most precious people in my life with my Parents, Family, My favorite Teacher and best friend. Their help and consul cannot be thanked in words. I shall always be indebted to them.
I would strongly recommend The Law Offices of Rajiv Khanna for any issues in your GC. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about the Law Offices of Rajiv Kanna. Apart from their professional services, their site has been in my opinion the greatest contribution to the immigrants in the US, I cannot find a parallel to a site anywhere in the net which benefited so many, so much.
Wishing them the best!
Great work by the team. Seamless transfer from one person to another through the different stages of the processing. Great response time and guidance. Thanks for all the help.
First of all I would like to thank Mr. Khanna, Joy, and Charu for accepting my case and working on it.My case was a bit complicated, but with the help of Mr. Khanna, I was able to get the H1B Visa. Excellent service, very professional, and very patient. I know that for any future legal matters, I will definitely return to the Law offices of Rajiv. S. Khanna. All my good wishes to Mr. Khanna and his staff.
Excellent service , very cooperative , courteous and patient staff.Always gets the prompt response and the everyone seems to be knowledgeable .. Very happy and will consult again for any future needs..
I have no words to describe my heartfelt gratitude to Attorney Khanna and his excellent team for their hard work during the processing of my green card. I had previously filled out the client book when my self-petitioned I-140 was approved. A long time passed between that and the I-485 stamping which warrants me to add something more about Attorney Khanna and his team.
Attorney Khanna and the people in his office are fully accessible and in spite of their busy schedules will contact you within a day if you have any questions. Sometimes you get answers to your queries on the weekends too. All paperwork is efficiently processed and throughout the tedious and time consuming process of multiple EADs, APs etc, not once did I have any problems. They will patiently answer your questions without charging you (which is such a rarity in today's world). I have had no hesitation in recommending my friends and family to Attorney Khanna for his legal services because I know that they will be in good hands, as was I. My sincere thanks to Attorney Khanna's team some of whom, like Diane Lombardo, Mathew Chacko, Leila Lehman and Suman Bhasin, I had the privilege of talking to during the processing of my case. Great team indeed !
Feel free to email me if anyone has questions about the law office of Attorney Khanna.
Best Regards.
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.
We would like to convey our sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Khanna and his staffs for helping us to succeed in our immigration petition through EB-1 (OR) category. We were very thrilled to note that our petition was approved without RFE in a record pace (within 9 months of submission).
Without his kind support and dedicated staff, we think we could not have achieved this. We would like to convey our special thanks to Ms. Diane Lombardo who meticulously put all the evidences together and shaped the case as a strong one.
I highly recommend this team.
Good Luck for all you. Thanks.
Senthil.