You all are the best. I got my GC approved in 08/2008. I would like to thank everyone at your firm for all the help and support in this long journey. One thing that stands out compared other firms is your customer service. The staff at your firm are epitome of customer service. You guys rock. Keep up the good work.
I had applied for an L1-A for start-up in 2007 August. Rajiv and his staff put all their efforts to make sure that the petition was correct and all the required supportive documentation was there. L1-A was approved in a span of 4 days from application and I got it for a period of one year, which is the normal case, that the Law Office had notified well in advance. Though the responsibilities of Rajiv was over with that application, he put extra efforts in detailing out the steps required in the coming year before going for the renewal so that I will be able to get it renewed.
He told me that getting the first L1-A is relatively easier compared to the renewal where in they thoroughly scrutinize the documents. He also detailed each activities I should fulfill based on my application for going for the renewal in 2008. However, I had to wait for 3 months in Chennai to get the appointment for Visa stamping. So all I had was 9 months of working time to fulfill these steps.
I came to U.S in November 2007 and contacted Rajiv. He gave me an abridged list of key things to be done in 9 months for the renewal. I worked according to the plan and we started the L1-A renewal process in July 2008 end. Vikas from the L1 department was meticulous in preparing this application. He gave me a list of documents required and he put lot of time to go through each one of these documents, provide suggestions to make it better etc. Over a period of 4 weeks work, we had a comprehensive petition in place.
The Law Offices of Rajiv send the petition on 21st August. It reached the USCIS on August 22nd 2008. They started processing on 25th August since 23&24 was Sat & Sunday. My renewal was approved on 25th August itself and the approval notice was sent on the very same day. Notice of Action (I-797) and (I-94) reached the Law Office on the next day, August 26th itself. It was unbelievably fast because the petition application was done perfectly.
What more do you want from an immigration attorney; he delivers what he says plus he takes the right steps to guide you to the next step. And can you believe, he is already advising me on the next steps to be taken in business path. I vouch for Rajivji and his staff and I recommend them for anybody who want to go to the best attorney in Immigration. Thanks once again Rajivji, Anna & Vikas for making this possible.
We are delighted to share that my wife and me both got the green card in the mail.
Once again thanks a zillion times from bottom of our hearts for Rajiv and his teams support and help during this long and painful process.Initially our case was handled by various other team members but lately our case was assigned to Mathew and Rita.I would like to sincerely thank Mathew,Rita and Pramita (our earlier case manager) for their support and help.All the team members were professional, courteous,prompt,patiently answered all our questions and helpful which makes ton of a difference.We didn't get an even single RFE.
May god bless you all for doing such an excellent job.Keep up the good work.
Our case was filed in August 2004 in EB2 category.Later it was transferred to Dallas BackLog Center.After 3 years in 2007 our first stage(Labor) was approved and just in time for July'07 fiasco filing.Rajiv asked us to be prepare with all the documentation for 140&485 concurrent filing during turmoil period.There was lot of uncertainty, chaos due to July/August 2007 Visa Bulletin.During that crisis time Rajiv and his team not only guided us very well but also came up with an innovative idea of opening up a new web site exclusively for their customers to share the information and to answers all our concerns. Rajiv and his team is very particular and prompt in answering all the questions via above mentioned web site.It provided lot of update and information about how the team was handling such crisis situations and also helped us better understanding the BIG picture.
Based on our personal experience for the past 4 years+ I would highly recommend Rajiv and his team for any immigration needs.
I had accepted an offer of employment from a well established Indian Consultancy company last year in the month of June 2007. I was given the pre approved labor and they filed I 140 and 485, EAD, AP during that Visa bulletin fiasco last year. I got EAD and AP for both me and for my wife. My I 140 approved from TSC last month. Now I have a better opportunity.
My employer is threatening to withdraw GC files processing unless I work with them till I get my GC.
Qo1. Is that possible for them to withdraw like that?
Qo2. Does that affect my GC process in negative way?
Qo3. What I have to do in case they withdraw?
Qo4. Is it possible to re-start the whole GC process again in case?
Qo5. By the time I file AC 21, if the present employer withdraws the GC files, what happens to my case?
Qo6. How do we know whether they have withdrawn GC process or not?
Ans1. They can withdraw the 140. That is their petition, but they cannot withdraw the I-485. That is your petition. If they withdraw the I-140 you can still take recourse to AC21 and not suffer any negative consequences.
Ans2. If you are covered by AC21, you should be fine.
Ans3. File AC21 letter as soon as possible.
Ans4. Sure .
Ans5. See this link: http://www.immigrationportal.com/blog.php?b=25
Q1. How soon can I leave my petitioning employer once I get my green card approval?
Q2. I did not willingly left the GC sponsor employer but actually after three months I got my GC, i got laid off from the project and due to the bad economy , my employer was not able to get me other project so he gave me letter saying that he wont be able to pay me salary since he doesnt have any project for me.And, after getting that letter I resigned from GC sponsor employer.
Q3. I am employed at the XYZ University (XYZU). I applied for 485 myself (without attorney). My 485 was approved last month and I got my passport stamped in July. My contract with XYZU is coming to an end. My job is renewed every year based on the availability of funding. I have been with XYZU for the last 5 years. There is a possibility that they (XYZU) may not extend the contract because the research grant I got is coming to an end in september.
Will my termination from the job at XYZU affect my Green Card in the future, and is it better to be terminated from service (based on unavailability of funding) by the WVU or is it better to offer my resignation?
A1. There is no brief answer to this question. Let me explain. The basic premise (or theory) behind permanent residence through offer of employment is that an employee is accepting a job on a "permanent" bases. What does "permanent" mean? Does it mean for ever. Obviously not. That would be unreasonable. But "permanent" also does not mean that you pack your bags the moment you receive your green card. So what is the answer? No one really knows. Each case has to be determined upon its own merits.
We got an approval for a L1 to H1 with an I-94 effective Oct 1, 2008. But the candidate got an admission for a one year full time MBA program which he wants to pursue and join us in August 2009. His MBA program is starting in September 2008. So, he will be applying for his F1 status soon.
Qo1. What choices do we have to keep the H1 approval valid so that he can join us in August 2009 ?
I arrived at the Garden City DO at approximately 10:15 this morning. My interview was scheduled for 11:25, so I decided to try my luck and see if the security guards would allow me to get in early. They politely told me to come back at 11:00, so I dropped my fiancee off at Bloomingdale's at the Roosevelt Field Mall and drove back to the parking lot at 711 Stewart Avenue. I should mention that there is plenty of free parking available, so don't worry about where you can leave your vehicle.
This link below shows the average amount of time it takes to receive a decision in a particular type of case after the case file is received by the AAO. Processing times are directly related to the volume of cases received.
http://www.immigration.com/processing-times-status-checks/aao-processin…
I am reporting here comments from and my responses to a member of our community, "Julissa," regarding whether or how she could apply for a green card herself if she has a Master's degree. Do note, if a set of new immigration laws gets passed, all this could change.
Q. How soon can I leave my petitioning employer once I get my green card approval?
WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas will help USCIS celebrate our nation’s 237th birthday as the agency welcomes more than 7,800 new citizens during more than 100 naturalization ceremonies across the country and overseas from July 1 to July 5.
Statement from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano:
Immigration Reform 2013 Status
I wanted to give you quick overview of where we are as of today in the immigration reform effort. As you know the comprehensive immigration bill labeled S.744 was passed by Senate, and the voting in the Senate reflected what kind of support there is generally amongst the two parties (Senate and House of Republicans (House)) for this reform effort.
The composition of the Senate is currently 54 Democrats, one Independent and 45 Republicans. A total of 100 Senators. When the bill was voted upon, it was passed 68 to32. All Democrats voted for it, one Independent voted for it, but only 13 Republicans in the Senate voted for the bill. So less than one third (of Republicans voted for passage). This means that Democrats overwhelmingly support the reform, the immigration bill S. 744. But Republicans are not by any means, or in any way shape or form overwhelmingly or even in a majority in favor of the reform as it was proposed.
So, now bill has been passed the Senate. 68 to 32. It’s a good margin, but the problem situation in the House is totally different. The politics of the situation is that the Latino, Hispanic vote is becoming in proportion much larger. It is exponentially expanding. The Republicans leaders rightly believe that they must curry favor or must be considered a friend to the Hispanic industry of immigration. A lot of Republicans also believe that they have no incentive to pass an amnesty bill. One thing I would say that as far as reform of the legal immigration is concerned I don't think we have too much controversy about that. Both parties agreed that certain things need to be done, like we need skilled immigration professional. Special provisions for PhDs, physicians, people who have Master’s degrees, people with STEM degrees. We need all that and some way to remove the backlog, which is horrendous for many countries. For instance, India has nine to ten years of backlog waiting for a Green Card. So there is consensus among both parties on legal immigration. It is the amnesty part, the enforcement and border protection, which are the key areas of disagreement.
If you look on the Republicans composition, only 24 out of 234 House Republicans represent districts that have any appreciable numbers of Hispanic voters, more than 25 percent. So, only 24 out of 234. Where is the incentive for them to pass an immigration bill with amnesty? In fact, many of the Republicans come from districts that actually oppose amnesty. Republican Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) was speaking in Lynchburg, Virginia yesterday and passions were really running high against the amnesty.
So in the House even if Democrats all get together, the problem is how do we move the reform forward. House is controlled by Republicans, 234 to 201. House Speaker, John Boehner (R-OH) has said that he won't bring the Senate bill up for a vote if he does not have the support of a majority of the House Republicans (known as Hastert Rule). He says, I will not even allow this Senate bill to be voted on in the House unless a majority of House Republicans support the bill. And if we look at the cross-section of the voting that occurred in Senate, less than one third of Republicans support. It’s not good sign to get that kind of support.
So, it appears at least at this stage that the Senate bill will have very tough time going through the House as today’s politics stand.
What are the options?
Four obvious options, the fourth option is very unlikely, which is House leadership brings up the the Senate bill up for vote.
There are four options, but again it’s important to understand what happens if there are two separate bills addressing some of the same areas or all of the same areas, and there are controversies among those bills, then it goes into something called “conference”. When we get into conference, the idea is representatives from Senate and the representative from House will meet together and they will iron out their differences. A lot of times if you want to effect the Senate bill, all you have to do is pass something in the House and then it goes into the conference where you can work on one bill or the other, agree, negotiate and then take the negotiated version back to both chambers for voting Senate and House. So, option number one is House passes its own bill or bills. Actually, here we are talking about comprehensive, some kind of comprehensive set of bills, then it goes for conference. Option two, the House passes any bill, it does not have to be comprehensive bill, something that effects or contradicts the Senate version again we go into conference.
Another interesting option and normally this would not be a really good option but here may be worth considering. I doubt it, but I am not a political pundit just a lawyer. House can actually vote on the Senate bill without the House Speaker’s support. If 218 house members vote for a discharge petition, which means we don’t care what the Speaker says, we are going to vote on this bill anyway. That means House Democrats need 17 votes from Republicans to get a discharge petition and vote on the Senate bill.
So, what are the four options again:
1. Comprehensive bill by House;
2. Any bill by House;
3. Discharge petition; and
4. House leadership brings up the Senate bill to vote which is unlikely.
Let us talk about a comprehensive bill. House had its own “Gang of Eight” people working on a comprehensive immigration bill. Their focus was a lot more on enforcement, on border security, etc. But then one of the Congressman, Raul Labrador (R-ID), quit. The now “Gang of Seven” still might produce a comprehensive House bill. If such a bill is produced, we will get into conference, negotiate and then finally vote on the negotiated bill. So number one is Comprehensive bill.
Number two is any bill. As I mentioned Rep. Goodlatte from Virginia, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has produced a series of immigration related bills. House Democrats do not like it because it’s a piecemeal approach and there are all kinds of very extreme positions taken by Bob Goodlatte that House Democrats feel are inimical or enemies of immigration reform. But one of the ways, this series of bills, could be just a device to force matters into conference. If any of these bills pass in the Republican controlled House, then we will all get into conference anyway, where we can negotiate based upon the Senate version of the bill and make changes to it and then go back with the compromise. So the passage of a series of extreme bills could be a way to force matter into conference.
Option three is a discharge petition. Discharge petition normally its considered to be very bad form. If a Republican votes for a discharge petition it’s disloyal, it’s considered to be bad form. But here, Speaker Boehner himself and many other leaders, who are perhaps more in tune with the needs of the time, have said that they want immigration reform. But it looks like there is very strong opposition from certain elements within the Republican Party, which is basically muting some of these more moderate or more aware. I would not call them moderate but more aware members of the Republican Party. So normally a Republican will not vote for a discharge petition, but here who knows. Maybe this is the choice.
The key date to watch is 10th July. On 10th July there will be conference, the House Republican conference, and they meet in the basement of the Capitol to decide how they want to move forward. So that's when we will hear about the final strategy. Once again, right now we don’t know which way House is going to go, but on 10th July we should have better idea of the direction.
I live in Bulgaria and I have a Master's Degree in Veterinary Medicine. My question is can I get a EB-2 visa if I work as a veterinary assistant in the USA ?
You can qualify for EB2 only if two conditions are met:
1. Your degree is equivalent to a U.S. advanced degree (a credentials evaluation service needs to assess that under proper standards); and
2. The job requires an advanced degree or equivalent experience.
1. Certification of Decisions to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO)
Purpose
This policy memorandum (PM) and accompanying revisions to the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) guide officers on the proper use of the decision
certification mechanism described in 8CFR 103.4. This PM revises Subchapters 3.5, 10.7, 10.8, 10.14 and 10.18 of the AFM ;AFM Update AD13 -08.
Scope
Unless specifically exempted herein, this PM applies to and binds all U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS)employees
Rajiv was great to work with, he analyzed my case in detail and gave relevant advice on the next steps and possibilities regarding my green card. I would recommend him to my friends. Ravi
Under Phase II, DHS and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will expand the exchange of biographic entry data collected on third-country nationals (those who are neither citizens of Canada nor of the United States), permanent residents of Canada who are not U.S. citizens, and lawful permanent residents of the United States who are not Canadian citizens, to all automated land ports of entry at the common border, including all major land border crossings.
I have stamped visa from Company A and I entered into USA from that company itself. Now my visa has been transferred to Company B. I am going back to India to bring my family. Will I have to go for stamping again? Will it make any difference at POE if Company A revoked/cancelled my H1B?
If you came in and actually worked for company A for a while, and you have never been out of status, you should not require a new visa stamp.
Status of Immigration Reform, S. 744
Today is a very big day for immigration reform because today the House of Republicans are supposed to meet and decide which way they want to go. The Senate has done their job. Senate has sent out a passed bill. But as I pointed out last time, House Speaker John Boehner has said that he is not going to bring any bill for voting, until and unless a majority of Conservatives has agreed about the major outlines of the bill.
In other words, if Boehner does not want to bring the bill to the floor of the House for voting, it wont come. Today they are going to meet, and the options they have I pointed out last time. They can come with their own comprehensive bill , which is unlikely. They can vote on the Senate Bill, which is unlikely. The most likely outcome of today’s meeting is that the House will start passing small bits of legislation one at a time. One of the conservatives noted that one hour of meeting is not enough because the issues are so complex. But I think that at least what they can do is come with a strategy that they want to follow. So today will be a very decisive day for all of us who are waiting to see what happens and as I pointed out last time there is a little disagreement about the fact that they want to reform legal immigration, which is very badly scattered all over the place. There are a lot of problems with legal immigration as you know. It takes about eight to ten years of waiting times even for people with Master’s degrees. There is no disagreement that it needs to be done. The disagreement is about amnesty. The Republicans are worried if there are 11 million people who are going to vote. First of all, most Republicans come from Conservative white districts where they are not going to gain any favor with their voters if they vote for amnesty. Second problem is that historically 75 percent, or maybe at least 66 percent, of the newly legalized Hispanics will probably vote for the Democrats so why should the Conservatives create more Democratic votes. This is the main thing that is swaying the Republican uncertainty.
So we’ll see how it goes. Today is a very important day. We will keep you informed on this.
Questions regarding H-1 remainder option and H-4 application
Question: I possess a U.S. Master’s Degree in Computer Science and worked for seven years in the U.S. I was on H-1 for five years and have been outside the U.S. after those five years. That is 12 months of physical presence outside the U.S. I do have an employer now willing to petition on my behalf. Will I be subject to the cap of 65,000 or 20,000?
Answer: There are two options. One option is to get all six years of your H-1 back and then be subject to the cap. I don’t know all the facts, but you can possibly exercise the remainder option. The remainder option works like this. A person in your situation can choose to just take back the one year left out of the six in the United States. You can get an H-1 for one year and that H-1 is not subject to the quota. So if you choose to take one year you are not going to be subject to the quota. One of the strategies you could follow is to start the Green Card as well as the H-1 and time it properly so that based upon the green card you can keep getting H-1 extensions beyond six years. In other words, take the reminder option, but have a sufficiently mature Green Card that they will have no interruption in your work.
Question: My Company is processing my H-1B application. Is there any information regarding dependents that will be accompanying the H-1B applicant to the U.S. at the time of filing the petition?
Answer: H-4’s are given on a walk in basis, based upon the approval of the H-1 if you are outside the USA. So If your family is outside U.S. the moment your H-1 gets approved, you can send the paper work to them and then they can go to the consulate for H-4 stamping. There is no processing necessary for H-4 at the USCIS level. On the other hand, if they are in the United States then all their details are needed to apply for H-4. So the answer depends on if they are inside or outside the U.S.
USCIS is announcing its latest customer service enhancement to E-Verify that will allow direct notification to employees. Currently, if there is a record mismatch that needs to be resolved before the employee can be confirmed as work authorized, a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) is issued to the employer, who must then contact the affected employee. Now, with this new enhancement, if an employee voluntarily provides his or her email address on the Form I-9, E-Verify will notify the employee of a TNC at the same time it notifies the employer.
My wife and I recently got our citizenship case approved. Our case was a fairly complicated case because we were out of the country for 2 years after getting our GC and had returned since then. While every other lawyer we enquired they asked us to wait for 5 years since our return, immigration.com was able to sort our case and file for it much earlier using the 4yr - 1 day rule. I was amazed at the responsiveness from the team at immigration.com. Every time I had a question, they would respond within 24 hours or less and definitely understood the laws surrounding citizenship approval. My special thanks to Mr. Chacko and Mr. Art Shifflett who handled our cases.