H-1 Visa Stamping at Toronto
Having benefited a lot by reading all the posts here, just want to share my experience to benefit others.
Having benefited a lot by reading all the posts here, just want to share my experience to benefit others.
Agency kicks off effort to ensure that immigration pathways for foreign entrepreneurs are clear and consistent, and better reflect today’s business realities
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas hosted an Information Summit today at the NASA Research Park in Moffett Field, Calif., to launch the USCIS Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) Initiative.
Alexandria Bay, N.Y. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations announces a change in the operating hours for the dedicated NEXUS lane at the Alexandria Bay Port of Entry. Starting March 1st, the new hours of operation for the dedicated NEXUS lane will be from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Frequent cross-border travelers are encouraged to participate in the NEXUS program, which allows pre-screened, low-risk travelers to proceed with little or no delay into the United States and Canada.
Rajiv Khanna law firm did excellent job for my wife and my son H4 extension case. Rena Wadell assist and help us preparing the application and finally we got approval letter in 3 weeks. Thanks for your excellent service.
yeaaaahh..i am so happy and that wouldnt have been possible w/o this forum and all the help I have received!
We had our interview appointment at 11.05. We left home at about 8.00. And of course, Chicago would not be Chicago if there was no traffic jam, so we left the highway to take an alternate route. After spotting the INS building, we looked for a parking. We enter the building at 10.00.
Alright, first off thank you to everyone that helped me out with what to bring!
We showed up with about 30 pounds of paperwork, photos, tax returns, wedding albums, cards.
Our appointment was at 1 pm, we arrived around 12:15. We got in the lineup, and waited. and waited and waited. (got a little warm considering it is still in the high 80s, 90s) At about 12:55 they let us in along with a swarm of other people coming in for the same thing (and some naturalization cases) We signed in, and waited right up at the door to be called.
I had my interview today in downtown miami. The entire process took just less than an hour of which around 45 min was the wait for my turn. I had taken so much with me but nothing was needed except the passport and green card. I did get one unusual question related to my mailing address. I have always used a P.O Box as a mailing address so she just asked why P.O Box, why not use the home address. I just told her I change residences quite often ( am a single guy ) and its just easy for me to get a P.O Box near work.
My labor got cleared under PERM on February 7th,2006. I started the whole process in December 20th,2005 with Rajiv Khanna as my attorney. I’m very grateful to Rajiv S. Khanna and team for helping me with my labor certification. Their guidance helped me to get all my paperwork right. They make it a point to educate us about the laws and update us promptly about any changes in the DOL. This makes us feel comfortable and generates awareness of new policies under PERM.
In short Rajiv and his staff made the whole process very easy, simple and painless. We are really glad that we chose this Law firm. We are greatly pleased with Rajiv and his staff as far as their professionalism, courtesy and promptness regarding my Labor. Many of my friends went through Rajiv and all of them are also happy like me. We are thankful to Rajiv and his staff.
I deeply appreciate all the helps from Rajiv Khanna's firm to my journey of PR. All the staff here I have been contacted with are knowlegable, and warm hearted, which light up so many dark nights of mine in the past. I would like to give my special thanks to Prerna, Shivane, Suman, Richa, Charu, who not just helped my case but also give me the hope as well.
Thank you all!
Rajiv, Anna and the team was great with their help regarding my H1B transfer, particularly with their thouroughness in responding to an RFE.
Thank you all again!
-Sonali.
I was approved for H1B which would be effective on 1st of october,2005. But I didn't get my I-94 with my H1B approval. Before 1st of october, I left my previous employer and joined with my current employer. On that moment, it was tough for getting the new H1B. But Law offices of Rajiv S. Khanna made it, especially Rena Wadell, who was handling this case. My spouse's H4B also on processing. Hopefully, get the good news soon. I am really happy for getting their service.
I was running out of time on my H1 B and had requested Rajiv Khanna's office for Quick filing and not only they filed my LC PERM on time but I also got my Approval in 4 days , All of my contacts (Suman ,Vijay ,Pramita,Anna Baker) at Rajiv Khanna's Office were very detail oriented and very helpful .I would like to specially thank Pramita for updating me with the case status ( at times on hourly basis ) when I felt unsure if I could make the deadline . Pramita and
Vijay took good care of my case and kept me updated with the status which is rare attribute which every cleint like me longs for . Rajiv Khanna Rocks !!!!
Mr Khanna , Mr Durgam , all other members of the office ..I would like to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to get my labor certificate done and as a result we obtained approval in a very good time..with out going into details of how hard the process was . all I can say Thankyou. George
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 am thankful to Art who was my case manager in my green card application. He initiated my PERM process and help me out in each and every step till i got my physical green in hand. There were couple of bumps (RFE, etc) but the firm handled it so quickly and professionally without any issues whatsover. It is worth to mention about availability of Mr Khanna on coneference calls, as and when needed without any delay and whenever you have doubts or questions. I will also thank heather and others people and attorney that help me in getting my Green Card. Really nice law firm and highly recommended.