Visa Bulletin - January 2011
Number 28
Volume IX
Washington, D.C.
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
Number 28
Volume IX
Washington, D.C.
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
Visa Bulletin for the month of January 2011.
I applied for my waiver in Aug 09 from the US and sent completed DS 3035 to the Waiver Review Div. in St. Louis, MO and Indian Embassy in DC. I returned to India in Sept 09.I have not had any updates since then. I would like to know (1) If I have missed any steps and if that is the reason why my waiver status remains unchanged (2) If I HAVE TO and can still apply for the NORI and obtain my waiver since I already have my case number and barcode (3) If I apply for the NORI from India, where do I send the Statement and Affidavit for attestation? (4)Are there any additional steps for waiver from India?
Contact the Waiver Review branch in USDOS first. Figure out what is going on with your pending case. You cannot apply for more than one type of waiver at the same time.
I have a 4 years Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering and I am working in IT Industry for the last 13 years with documented progressive experience. Do I qualify for EB2 or EB3?
EB2 is possible
I have 3 years bachelors in computer science and 2 years masters in computer science in India..My education evaluation says masters..so is it possible to apply in EB-2?
It is possible, but your lawyers must assess which route is best for you: evaluate the two degrees to be equiv. to a Bach. and use Bach + 5 for EB-2 OR just use the Master's degree (risky).
I am currently on H-1 and interviewing with another company. The interview involved air travel within the US and staying at a hotel. Is anything wrong with my prospective employer reimbursing the air travel and hotel costs and also providing reasonable allowance (for covering food) for the days of my stay? Would receiving a cost reimbursement check from the prospective employer invalidate and/or interfere with my current H1 visa status?
Interesting issue. I do not believe there is any law covering this situation, but in my view out of pocket expense reimbursement including food is acceptable and is not a violation of H-1 status.
Dear Rajiv and Vijay, I would like to thank you and your entire staff for great job plowing through many emails/teleconferences/phone calls and documents. As someone who pays extra attention to detail, it is refreshing to find others working with the same diligence. Without getting into the cobwebs of my case, Mr. Khanna was introduced to a new law that affected my case. Rather than bypassing it, we tackled it head on; it did take additional time for both the lawyers and myself, however the LCA was approved. With such a stressful and time consuming process, Mr. Khanna and his staff, can give their clients not only the knowledge to move forward, but also peace of mind! H1/LCA (now I-140 and I-485)
Received greencard through Eb1-b category in exactly 5 months. Diane did an impressive job in putting together the application packet in a quick and timely manner. Guidance from Rajiv was thorough. Overall, extremely pleased with the customer service of this lawfirm.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna and team. They have been very helpful in my case. A year back I have filed my H1 transfer through this firm and now an extension of stay in US. In both the cases, I am very happy. Specially thanks to Fran who took over my case. I definitely say with strong voice that it would be worth working with Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna. - Praveen
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I had a conference call with Attorney Khanna. I was given very specific and precise information which cleared all my doubts and being a friendly person helps to ease and think during conversation if any questions are raised. Truly speaking, its a dialogue rather than monologue which I have seen from others. I am satisfied and strongly recommand his help whoever wants. Good Luck.
I want to thank Mr. Rajiv Khanna and his team for taking care for my L1B visa application during the summer of 2010. By now (dec 2010) this is all history and I have the visa in my passport. At the time, it was quite a stressfull period with much uncertaincy of the outcome. My Khanna and his team kept faith in a good result and steered the application through rough seas, until the final approval by USCIS. Thanks very much for the professionalism. Theo Borst
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions, for individuals with disabilities who are seeking exceptions from the English and civics requirements for naturalization.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds Haitian nationals that the registration deadline for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is Jan. 18, 2011.
Haitian nationals who have continuously resided in the United States since Jan. 12, 2010, and who meet other TPS eligibility requirements, must file their applications for TPS no later than Jan. 18, 2011. The TPS designation for Haiti will remain in effect through July 22, 2011.
There was an interesting question in today's community conference call we host every other Thursday. The link to the question is here: http://forums.immigration.com/showth...onference-Call
PERM filing issue
Here is an excerpt from a press release from USDOL. I have said this many times before, - government investigations are NOT the same as litigation or practicing transactional immigration or corporate law. This is an entirely different area of practice. We as counsel need to know the law, compliance as well as litigation. We must approach all investigations in the spirit of good faith compliance, yet protect our clients from unnecessary liability. The investigators are not only investigators, but in effect also prosecution and judge.
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.
USCIS updated the following USCIS form(s):
Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
08/01/2023 09:59 AM EDT
I want to thank Mr. Rajiv Khanna and Richa Narang my case manager for helping with my PERM application. Mr Rajiv Khanna and his team are very professional, detail oriented and up to date. My PERM was audited in 2009 and Richa Narang made sure that all the documentation was completed and the details were answered promptly. Mr Rajiv Khanna provided excellent guidance in obtaining required letters to answer the Audit notification. My PERM was certified last week, This is such a great relief because I am in my 6th yr of H1-B. I look forward to work with this great team for the next steps. I would recommend Mr Rajiv Khanna and his team to everyone.