The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established in 1986 with the objective of eliminating unnecessary barriers to travel, stimulating the tourism industry, and permitting the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas. VWP eligible travelers may apply for a visa, if they prefer to do so.
The H-2B visa category is used by U.S. employers to temporarily employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in nonagricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S. workers are unavailable. The company must plan to employ the foreign nationals for a temporary period and the employer’s need for the skills of the foreign nationals must also be temporary. In addition, the employer must seek a “labor certification” from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifying that:
The following discussion applies to all visas where working is not permitted. Most typical examples of these types of visas are F-2 and H-4. The question often arises whether or not it is legal for such folks to volunteer their time or are they constrained to stay at home.
Quote: Q. May an H-4 (or F-2 type visa) holder volunteer for work to provide charitable service, to gain experience or just to stay busy?
I have a friend who came to US on H4 & was on H4 for 2 years. Then she applied for H1B from 2 companies (A & B) & got approved from both the companies. She got the project in Oct 2008 & started working for Co B .
Now due to bad economy, her Project is ending in January 2009 and she is not able to find any new project.
While working she have been paying taxes regularly.
Pl let us know what needs to be done now:-
* She is planning to go back to H4, pursue higher studies, Changing to F1 & then coming back on H1B work. (H4-H1-H4-F1-H1) or (H4-H1-H4-H1).Will this create Bad impression to USCIS ?
* When next time the H1B petition is being filed for her, will her petition be subject to regular H1 B quota of 65000 & will have to go through a typical process of filing, that means Petition being filed in April & waiting for approval until Oct. to work?
* If in case My friend goes back to H4, Will Co. A & B will terminate H1B petition as per law? & If in case yes will this create any difference?
Changing the way she is planning is perfectly legal. There is no question of a "bad impression."
In my view, she will not be subject to quota unless she is outside USA for a year.
The companies are required by law to revoke her H-1. I see no issues there.
An H-3 classification applies to an alien who is coming temporarily to the United States:
(1) As a trainee, other than to receive graduate medical education or training, or training provided primarily at or by an academic or vocational institution, or
(2) As a participant in a special education exchange visitor program which provides for practical training and experience in the education of children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
Facts - I am on an L1 visa working for employer A and my wife is on L2-EAD. We both applied for H1 visa through Employer B and it got approved recently. I am not sure if Employer B (Consulting Company) has applied for COS while applying for both of ours H1 visa. Could you answer the following queries for both (COS applied and COS not applied) conditions during H1 application.
Questions
When we apply for Green card under EB2 category, should the masters degree and present job be related? Here is a situation: I have a masters in Agribusiness and I am working as a business analyst. My employer says I am not eligible to apply under the EB2 as my masters is not related to my present job in IT sector. Please let me know the reality.
In fact there is no simple answer. Legally, there is nothing that requires that the degree must be in a related field. But, the employer needs to make sure, under penalty of perjury, that they do require a Master's degree, even if it is unrelated.
I am here on L1b visa from x company. My sister sponsored me Immigration visa in 2006. (File is still in processing). My assignment is going to over here.
Is there any work around or change of status through which i can stay here?
So, the questions is does filing for any green card permit me to stay in USA?
The answer is no.
Only those green card application in which there is no wait for a visa number (example: spouse or parent of a US citizen or EB1 category currently) permit you to stay in USA but only if AOS (I-485) is filed in a timely manner.
That is the reason spouses of green card holders have to wait OUTSIDE USA for many, many years.
Have a situation. My company applied for Labor in oct 2007 which got approved and we filed I-140 (EB-2) in april 2008. We got a RFE in Sep 2008 and reply recieved by the USCIS on oct 16th 2008. Mean while my 7th year of H1b was approved and now it expires on Nov 2009. We have not received any updates on my case and its been >90 days. My current lawyer now says that I should apply for EB-2 NIW as a back up. My concerns are:
1. If my current I-140 gets rejected will my 7th year of H1b be revoked? since it was based on labor pending?
2. What will be my options if it gets denied( can I file for Motion to reconsider). Will I still be in Status and work till nov 2009?
3. Will they extend my H1b beyond nov 2009 if the MTR is not resolved by then?
4. If at all everything is rejected what can I do to start residency in july if I match?
If all else fails what are my options to continue working in the US?
My wife is on her independent H1B visa and I have 2 US citizen kids. I also have a US citizen brother( dont know if that would help any)
Generally speaking, NIW is a lousy back up for a number of reasons. But I say this not knowing the merits of your situation, as your lawyer does.
I have recently gotten engaged to a green card holder. We are making plans for our wedding, very likely to happen this year. However, the following questions arose:
1. Does the fact that I already hold another Master and a Ph.D. degrees accelerate my green card application? I understand that the backlog is of 5-6 years, but I wonder if my advanced education will assist my application.
2. My H-1B application last year was approved, but I did not use the visa, as I decided to go back to school for (yet!) another degree. Will the approval of the H-1B be looked at favorably, unfavorably, or will it not make a difference?
3. I am currently an F-1 holder. If I marry my fiance' this year, may I simply maintain my Visa independent of his? I am eligible to an OPT after I graduate (to happen this year or in mid-2010) and I am certain I will be able to obtain an H-1B afterwards. Therefore, I do not depend on my fiance' to keep a legal status in the country. Is it legal (or advisable) to keep my Immigration records separate from his?
4. How about when we file for taxes, after the wedding happens? May we file separately, or do we need to declare we are married?
1. Advanced degrees do not help in a family-based green card.
Dear Mr.Khanna, I have reading all your post and found you quite informative. I will appreciate if you can let me know the possible consequences of my case.
I was in restaurant in Gaithersburg MD on Jan 29 2008 with my boss who was visiting from Atlanta. I had a beer and 2 glasses of wine with dinner came out sat in the car and started backing up. As you know it was winter and had rained earlier the windscreen at the back got fogged out. While backing up I hit a car parked. Police was in that parking lot and arrested for drunk driving. I blew .09. I was given a bunch of tickets after being 30 minutes in the precinct and was released. In the court they dismissed 2 tickets like DUI and DUI par se and convicted me DWI and Failure to control Speed to Avoid Collision. BTW DWI in MD is a lesser offence when you blow less than the state .08 BAC typically .07. And Failure to control speed to avoid collision which is maximum fine $130.00.Now the Judge gave me Supervised Probation till I finish my MADD Class. After that the Probation goes to Unsupervised for 12 Months. Now I am elligible to file citizenship. I have finished 5 years of LPR time with minimal travel aborad.
Now my questions are :
1.) Will I get deported or removed.
2.) Will I have problems while entering POE while travelling from overseas.
3.) Will my Citizenship be denied if I file after my probation gets over.
Please share your knowledge It will immensly help my stress. This one mistake of my life has really taken a toll in my life.
Your earliest reply will highly appreciated.
Let us look at the law for green cards and removal (deportation) first.
Remember the following GENERAL elements of the law (there is more to it).
I obtained my green card 4 1/2 years ago through employment. My former employer sponsored me h-1 visa for 6 years and labor certificate and green card as well.
Unfortunately, I was terminated by the employer last year, which ended my 10 years career at the company. After the termination, I then filed workers compensation claim for the injuries at work, and civil lawsuit for discrimations and under-paid wages through lawyers. The two cases are pending at courts.
Now I have a part time job which is not related to the job that helped me get the green card.
It is almost time for me to apply for citizenship. However I am worried about how much the two cases would affect the application. I will be asked in the citizenship interview why I left the green card sponsor, why you were terminated and so on, so forth.
Please help advise if my worries are correct ?
Is it better to apply for citizenship when the problems above are ended in courts ?
Thank you very much for your help.
I see no reason to worry here. Neither the civil cases nor the fact that you have left and taken a PT job should have any bearing on your naturalization.
Published by: The Times of India - Date: January 02, 2021
USCIS announced that it will automatically extend parole, and employment authorization, if applicable, for parolees who timely applied for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term resident status.
Published by: The Economic Times - Date: January 05, 2021
I was working with employer A for 7 years on H1 B and they have filed Labor and I-140 with Priority Date 2014. Now I am on H4 EAD since 2019 and working for employer B for same role .
My Priority date was in filing date chart and my ex employer A agreed and filed my I-485 with form J on November 2020. Do I have to join my old Employer A now or it's fine if I join them after I-485 is Approved? If I don't join them now , will there be any problems in the 485 interview if I intent to join after I-485 approval ? Is it possible that employer B can file form J form after 180 days of I-485 receipt date without joining my old employer A considering my Priority date will be on the final action date after 4, 5 years .
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Can you talk about this upgrade process from EB3 to EB2 for pending I-485? Does it need another I-485 application or just a letter to USCIS?
Watch the Video on this FAQ: Eligibility for and the process of EB-3 to EB-2 Porting
Video Transcript
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
I have a PERM and i-140 approved by my previous employer. My priority date is 15 Mar 2015. I changed my employer in Jan-2020 with a similar job occupation. I was told that I don’t need to file a completely new process for PERM and i-140 with the new employer but the new employer can file an i-485J form when the priority date is current to complete the remaining GC process. Is this a valid process to complete my adjustment of status(i-485) and apply for EAD? What are the complications involved of going through the route with old i-140 and getting an approved i-485? If that option is not viable, will I have to file a new i-140 with the new employer? There’s got to be an easier way of dealing with this, because I’m sure many people have changed their employer after their i-140 approval.
Watch the Video on this FAQ: Job Change after I-140 Approval, Before I-485 Submission
Video Transcript
You have to start your green card all over again, no question about that. FAQ in detail...
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
1) I lost my job almost 6 months ago. I was on H1B with I-140 approved. I filed for a change of status to B2 (not approved yet). Now I have to extend again since I wasn't able to find a job and cannot move out of the USA right now.
How long/many times can one extend a B2 under the given circumstances?<br>
2) If for whatever reason say the original B2 petition filed in July gets denied do I get illegal presence for all these months from July? How long(days/weeks) does a person has to leave the country in this case?
<br>
3) Any suggestion on what steps to take if USCIS does not approve COS from B2 (pending) to H1b but processes as consular processing. I am a Canadian resident but I heard only emergency visa appointments are available.
Watch the Video on this FAQ: Loss of H-1B Job and Opting for B-2 Visa
Video Transcript
1. Until the B-2 is denied you could try to keep getting it extended.
2. No, as long as a timely filed B-2 was pending you have no unlawful presence.
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.