In order to balance workloads, USCIS recently began transferring some cases from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center. The affected cases include:
How You Will Be Affected
USCIS will discontinue its legacy e-Filing system in order to maintain data security standards and focus resources on the replacement Electronic Immigration System. The legacy e-Filing system has offered online filing for several USCIS forms. After the system is decommissioned, you must use paper forms when filing all categories of:
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Haiti’s designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional 18 months. The extended designation is effective Jan. 23, 2016, through July 22, 2017.
My experience with Rajiv's organization has been fantastic. His understanding of the nuances of the immigration laws are highly valued by my organization.
My point of contact was Diane who was a delight to work with. She gave me detailed instructions at each stage and periodically followed up when there was any perceived delay.
I would most readily recommend Immigration to anyone who needs any service related to immigration.
Murali
I am a US Citizen residing in the UAE with my Wife and two children. My Wife is a Syrian passport holder. We petitioned her case for residency in the US under I-130. We have received the first notice from the NVC which was on the 24th of June. The letter stated that all documentation necessary to complete the National Visa Center processing of your case has been received, and as soon as an interview date has been scheduled then we will be notified.
How long does it take to receive the second notification with an Interview Date that we are closing on week eight?
Is there a way that you can expedite an Interview Date?
If the answer is Yes, Could we officially request your service?
Case Number: ABD2014671004
Beneficiary's Name: KINANA WARD
Preference Category: IR1
Priority Date: 25-NOV-13
Hi Loay. Times are highly variable from a few weeks to a few months. Expedites are only granted for showing of some sort of urgent humanitarian situation in cases like yours. We would like to help, but I am not sure we can add much value at this stage. Contact us if there are any issues (other than timing).
How does it work with financial co-sponsorship? Can a family member or a close friend co-sponsor a fiancee?
Anyone who is a US Citizen or green card holder can co-sponsor affidavits of support .
My wife and I got the I-485 approval in March 2008. We filed the I-140 & I-485 in February 2006. The LC PERM was done by Rajiv’s law firm too. The I-140 was approved in 4 months without any issues.
Mostly I dealt with Prerna Mehta and Jitesh Malik. Both provide me excellent help and support during the process. Malik called me on my cell phone to answer my questions, and he was polite, fast and correct. Also, I praise Prerna for checking my documents and forms thoroughly and providing correction/feed back immediately.
My sincere thanks to you Mr. Khanna, for all the help and guidance that you gave us through out the application process. You were always ready to answer all my questions and I really appreciate all the help that you provided.
In future if I need any immigration help I would definitely go for Rajiv firm. If anybody has any help needed about immigration I would highly recommend Rajiv firm.
I would like to thank the law offices of Rajiv S. Khanna for doing an outstanding job to help me get Labor Certification.
Here is what happened:
-My case was filed in feb 2008 under EB2
-Audit was sent on the 4th of March'08
- Response to the Audit was sent on 2nd April'08
- Labor was certified on 8th April'08.
I would specially like to thank Seema And Sheena for doing an outstanding job in preparing the appilication and the audit response letter. They were very polite and responded to all my queries promptly.
Also would like to thank Pramita in helping me out in the initial stages of process.
Thanks to Rajiv and his team for doing a terrific job.
I would like to thank Rajiv, Mathew, and Suman for their work on my case.
My 485 was denied and I had only 15 days to respond back or else I would have lost my EAD too! I came to know about Rajiv from a friend and emailed him right away, the same evening I got the denial letter. Next morning, Rajiv called me personally and collected all the details from me. At that time, he wasn't even sure if he is going to take the case or not. My 485 was based on family and I had done all the paper work myself. I had my initial interview 2 years back (in 2006) where I was asked to provide my original birth certificate within next 90 days. That was the only thing needed for approving my 485. I had sent my hospital issued birth certificate shortly after that. Since then I never heard back from USCIS. After a few info-pass appointments, I got a denial letter in Feb 2008.
The USCIS procedure mandates to send a letter of "Intend to deny" if the evidence they ask for (birth certificate in my case) is not satisfactory. I never got the intention letter. Instead, I got the denial!
The case was complicated but Rajiv took the time to research how to proceed and finally he suggested we appeal via form 290B (Motion to Reopen/ Reconsider). Mathew and Suman promptly created all necessary paperwork. I managed to get the municipality issued Birth Certificate and we files the Motion to Reopen within 10 days of receiving the denial letter. USCIS took a little over a month and approved my motion.
Now I just have to wait for my 485 to get approved. I was very pleased to find Rajiv and his team. I wish them all the best in the endeavor to help thousands of people with USCIS.
Law offices of Rajiv S. Khanna has provided excellent service in getting my I-140 approved (EB1-OR) within a few months.
I have dealt with other law firms before and I have no hesitation in reserving the highest praise for the supporting staff and attorney Rajiv Khanna. Mr. Khanna has been very straightforward, understanding, committed,
and singularly knowledgeable.
Incredibly, he agreed to a consultation (where he reviewed my eligibility under this
category) even before I had hired his services !
EB1 has its own set of complex requirements for both the
candidate and the employer. I have been very impressed with the way Mr. Khanna could explain these and appeased the doubts/hesitation of my managers. I have found him to be very approachable, generous and always willing to help in just about every issue regarding my immigration and legal status in the US.
My case manager, Diane Lombardo, has been extremely patient, supportive and prompt in responding to my innumerable
queries. She was instrumental in preparing the petition very meticulously . Over the last several months I have
been amazed at her committment and helpfulness.
As I understand, EB1 cases are difficult and I believe Mr. Khanna and Diane Lombardo have used all their experience to handle this I-140 petition in the most professional and satisfactory manner.
Thank you very much to attorney Khanna and his team !
Many thanks to everybody for their patience, perseverance, and professionalism over the last 6 very long years. Sometimes I was about to give up, but this morning when I walked out of the DHS office, it's all been worth it.
Hi Rajiv ji,
I want to thank you and your maginificent team (Specially Prerna, Richa,Sheena, Mathew, Joseph ) for helping me see this day. You were my strong baiston of hope when I was down. You all helped me keep my morale up through this 5 year one month 4 days ordeal. No wonder you all are what you are :->. All of you are so special in your own way. So please accept my deep and sincere gratitude.
You and your team was very sensitive and responsive to my needs. And I appreciate that a lot.
Once again thanks to you all great folks!! Long live immigration.com !!!!
Thanks and Warm Regards,
Neeraj.
I think Law office of Rajiv S Khanna has done a very good job in answering the RFE. After the RFE was answered, I got the approval in 15days.
My interview was done on December 11, 2012 For n 400, I passed the test but the officer gave me a letter saying that the decision cannot be made now.. Two days later I received request for evidence letter.. They requested my petition for divorce.. My green card is based on marriage that only lasted two years.. The condition was removed after the divorce.. I sent a copy of the petition for divorce on December 21.. I have not received anything since. Has anyone been asked to provide a certified copy of the petition for divorce before? Please help I am confused.
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.
A real great experience working with Mr. Rajiv Khanna. Very thorough in his approach and explanining his thoughts in an easy to understand, non-overly legal language. Crisp, precise and friendly, his opinion has been valuable in my preparations in acquiring for a US visa.