Though still waiting for my last stage of GC to be cleared, I went with Rajiv S. Khanna as my attorney. Rajiv is an expert on Immigration Laws and is straight up and abreast of rules & regulations. He helped me at every point in the whole process even when my 6 yr H1-B was getting expired to file the renewal with appropriate paperwork and was very quick to do this. I never had any problem or incompletion about the paperwork done under his guidance, which has been perfect. Perfect paperwork reduces the total time of this lengthy process. His associates who worked with me on my case are very thorough. I am greatly thankful to Richa Narang who worked with me from the begining of the process and then Prerna Mehta who took over later who is always available and is happy to respond calmly and peacefully. Also many, many thanks to Sheena, Mathew, Lakshmi and other staff members who are very co-operative and would return calls & e-mails promptly. I even got good & prompt advises on some legal issues even if it wasn't the area of interest for them and not related to my case. I am really glad that I chose this Law firm. I am greatly pleased with Rajiv and his staff as far as their professionalism, courtesy and promptness regarding my GC.
Many thanks to all for doing a wonderful job, excellent team.
Law offices of Rajiv Khanna did a good job in getting my labor approved. My special thanks to Richa and Suman My case is EB2 with masters. But, I got masters after joining the company. Attorneys has provided good instructions on how to get promotion on to a position requiring masters etc. It worked very well and the documentation is really good. Response to the client is quick. Overall I am satisfied with the skills.
I have got a very professional service from Law Offices of Rajiv Khanna. People are very reactive on the processing steps and helped me through all my process.
Thanks a lot
The service and expertise I received from Rajiv and his team was way above my expectations. Right from the beginning Rajiv answered all my concerns, he made himself available at all times and troubleshoot all the legal aspects and constrains regarding my case. His knowledge of the legal system is just amazing !
Thanks to Mathew Chacko for his professional advice and support during all the phases of my GC process, he is very professional and along with Rajiv create an elite immigration team.
A honorable mention to Heather Crump who made the entire process a real delight. Her attention to detail made me so confident and relax even in hard times.She is incredibly efficient and effective , her organization skills and pleasant personality are the best i ever known.
From their financial department to their legal team they are flawless.
I strongly recommend Mr.Khanna's law office to anyone, this is by far the best experience i ever had. I could honestly say that they are the # 1 immigration firm in the United States. Thank you all for your service !
I would like to say a great thank you to Mr. Rajiv's team--Rita, Ursula, Sushila, Pramita, Roopa, and Suman, Mathew. I-140 has approved and waiting for I-485.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team including Ms Baker, Mr Khanna amd Ms Waddell for their excellent and prompt efforts in helping me transfer out of a J1 waiver job. The team was excellent to work with and treated me with respect and was very professional. The approval came in within 2 weeks without any RFE's.
The chances of approval were poor due to lack of consent from the primary state, but the team achieved nothing less than a miracle. Cheers!!! and Congratulations!!!! God Bless you!.
I am very greatful and obliged to Prerna, Mathew, Rajiv and his wonderful staff from bottom of my heart for being with us through this entire procedure.
Thanks is a very very small word to show our gratitude to you.
I got my I-140 approval in 1 day and I-485 approval in 6 months with no RFE's.
I proudly say that one of the best decisions we made was to choose Mr.Rajiv's firm for our immigration matters.
At the end of the day, that we were in safe hands and it worked out absolutely well.
It only happenned because of the excellent paperwork and guidance done by Prerna and Mathew.
Mathew and Prerna has always dealt us with patience and almost immediate prompt emails answering our indefinite questions
and provided comforting words, that they will take care. It was overwhelmingly good.
Several times,I was really AMAZED at how Mathew can respond to emails and phone calls in spite of his busy schedule in this busy month July.
I thank again Prerna from bottom of my heart for being my saviour through this entire process and making the experience very friendly.
I would recommend any one going through immigration process, to choose Mr.Rajiv and his team, for they are excellent in handling the cases, as well as very prompt and caring as they take up cases very personally and work through it, to set everything right. This would help the case to not reflect back with RFE's.
May GOD bless you and your TEAM with the BEST of the WISHES so that a LOT many souls like us, can see their DREAMS come TRUE.
Rajiv ji , you and your staff are the best of the best.
My status: on H1, visa expiring in September 2007. Rajiv's team applied for my H1 extension and I had I797 approvals till 2010. I had an H4 extension approval done for my wife as well. There is no employer change from first 3 years on H1 to second approval.
Hey Everyone!
We got approved in Atlanta today. Everything went really well, but anyways I wanted to share my experience with all of you:
Left from Alabama at 7:30 AM. Took us about Two hours to get there.
The DO is a 3 story building with the USCIS logo and name... impressive and yet scary.
We entered they building at 11:23 AM and went through the security (metal detector and x-rays) Make sure you empty your pockets!
Thank you very very much Rajivji and Vijaybhai for all the help with my PERM process and finally it was certified on Nov 13th(PD 06/25/2014).
WASHINGTON — The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) deployed 14 additional field representatives to territories across the country this week. The field representatives serve as liaisons between the nearly 9,000 U.S. schools that enroll international students and SEVP. The program, housed within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), certifies schools to enroll international students and protects national security by overseeing those students for compliance with U.S. laws.
WASHINGTON— Due to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has announced his decision to designate Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. As a result, eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone who are currently residing in the United States may apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
I am working on H-1B. This week, I got my I-140 petition approved that was filed in EB2. I am Indian citizen born in India. My marriage is scheduled to happen in Jan, 2015. The girl is citizen of India and was born in Nepal. I have heard that after marriage, I would be eligible to file I-485 for both myself and my (then) wife, based on cross-chargeability rules. <br>
1: Is my eligibility to file I-485 (based on the birth country of wife) and its approval thereafter dependent on discretion of USCIS? If yes, does USCIS generally approve or deny such I-485 petitions filed on the basis of cross chargeability rules? <br>
2: Is there any reason due to which my wife and I would be denied from filing I-485 and there-after getting an approval of I-485 (leaving aside fraud matters)? <br>
3: My fiancée is yet to get her passport made in India. I found that my fiancée does not have her birth certificate from Nepal. Is a birth certificate the only way to prove location of birth? If she gets her birth certificate made now, Does the USCIS create issues about a birth certificate made so many years after birth? <br>
4: In my scenario (EB2 petition, primary applicant India born, wife Nepal born Indian citizen), How long (approximately) after filing I-485 would it take to get the green card?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujMQ79pgzX8
FAQ Transcript
I have a question on the unpaid leaves when outside USA while on H-1. I am on H-1 and recently went to India for stamping which was completed without any problem. I had paid vacation of 2 weeks, which I had already used and stayed in India for a month which is not going to be paid. My employer is saying these will be unpaid leaves and won't be running paychecks for these leaves and is mentioning that this won't be a problem in future as this is legal. I want to take legal opinion from you regarding what the law says in the above situation. <p>
1. If I am out of US on unpaid leaves and won't get paid, will there be any issues on my H-1 status in future for transfer or GC? <br>
2. If due to unpaid leave, W2 is less than the LCA, will it be a problem? If yes, what documentation we can show to USCIS to clarify to them why it’s less?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujMQ79pgzX8#t=1516
FAQ Transcript
If you are on H-1, sometimes people ask me, I want to maintain status even though I am getting laid off. Can I be on unpaid leave and does maintain status?
Does this impact EB-3 India wait times and also does this lift counting on family members/dependents for visa numbers /quota ?
Obama's Immigration Action plan could impact all waiting time for EB categories. We are not clear how far or how quickly. There is no indication that the method counting green cards will be changed to One per family, instead of one for each family member in an employment-based case. President has asked for recommendations for improvement within 120 days. We shall see.
I am on H-1B Visa, got my I-140 approved in EB-2 Category and waiting for the dates to get current. Based on Executive Action, shall I be given any EAD ? Or at least any other forms so that I can travel and need not go for Visa Stamping and all the additional paper work.
I have heard that there is a proposal to allow filing of I-485
Is this true ? - "If the ‘Schedule A’ application falls into the “EB-2” or Employment Based Second Preference category (the employer requires a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy or a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy + 5 years of experience), then the Adjustment of Status application can be submitted simultaneously with the Form I-140".
Concurrent filing is possible ONLY if your priority date for EB-2 is current, and not backlogged.
For updates, see my blog page on Obama's Immigration Action.
Takeaway points for legal immigration from President Obama’s executive action:
1. USCIS is “about to” publish the final rule on H-4 work authorization. That will make it possible for certain spouses of H-1 holders to get work authorization.
2. Improving employment-based green card backlogs by:
a. Making visa issuance more efficient so no immigrant visas are wasted;
b. Providing for better AC21 rules and other ways to keep immigrant visas intact after a change of jobs. USCIS will clarify what constitutes “same or similar” job so that AC21 will not stop workers from getting promotions or even changing to related jobs within their field. USCIS must clear the path to career progression for green card applicants.
3. Expandingfurther the OPT time for STEM students, but creating tighter control on which universities/schools/degrees are eligible and ensure local workers are protected (Implement some sort of a “mini PERM?”).
4. Creating opportunities for foreign “inventors, researchers and founders of start-up” companies to come to the USA through an existing program called “National Interest Waiver.” Unfortunately for India, this is an EB-2 category program requiring several years of wait. But the following parole program will help:
a. Creating a parole (which is usually a temporary, but very quick measure and could eventually lead to a green card) program so that on a case-by-case bases, “inventors, researchers and founders of start-up” companies can be brought quickly into the USA where:
i.They have raised financing in the USA; OR
ii.Otherwise hold the promise of innovation and job creation through development of new technologies OR cutting edge research
5. Creating guidelines for exceptionally qualified or advanced degreed individuals to come to the USA through an existing program called “National Interest Waiver.” As noted, unfortunately for India, this is an EB-2 category program requiring several years of wait. But the parole option above could be helpful.
6. Providing clear guidance on L-1B program as to who can qualify.
Excellent service.Tried approaching many attorneys who were either busy or not responsive.But Rajiv was not just responsive but also humble and the consultation was free of cost!
In early 2015, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor will begin exercising its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking T visas. In addition, WHD will expand its existing U visa program by certifying such requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting.
Excellent team. Very quick effective correspondance and communications skills by Mr. Vikas.