Citizenship Interview Story
I had my interview today morning (2/6/2012) and I got "Congratulations, your application is recommended for approval." letter at the end .
I had my interview today morning (2/6/2012) and I got "Congratulations, your application is recommended for approval." letter at the end .
I got married last month ! My husband is a GC holder and next year is going to become Citizen , I have my GC (I-140- Approved) with a priority date of September 2019 on EB3 . What are my best options here ? Do I wait for him to become a citizen and then apply for my GC through his citizenship ? Or shall I apply GC now through his GC status, before he becomes a citizen ? Or shall I wait for mine ? Will my pending GC still be valid if I apply through my spouse ?
You should apply through as many green card categories as are available to you. The family-based green card can be upgraded once he becomes a US citizen. You will be able to get and keep the green card through whichever category comes through first.
Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments and blog on immigration.com
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Release Date
USCIS announced today 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.
Processing Queue | Priority Date |
---|---|
Analyst Review | June 2021 |
Audit Review | February 2021 |
Reconsideration Request to the CO | June 2021 |
Discussion Topics, Thursday, December 09, 2021:
FAQ: Working for two employers on W-2 using the GC-EAD || STEM extension denied based on approved H-1B pending for withdrawal at a USCIS service center || Correcting names on passports, visas, and other documents || Options to remain in status: F-1 visa expired, H-1B approved for consular processing, but not stamped.
I am in a situation where my current employer has filed PERM and as per the timelines there are high chances that it will be approved till January. And as per immigration team in the current company says it could take a week or two to file for I-140. I am going to pay for premium processing. But at the same time, I have accepted an offer from another company and the start date is 31st January. I am sure that I-140 would not get approved till then. Can I pay for premium processing, leave after they file the I-140 and before it gets approved? Will it go through?
PS: As per company's policies they don't revoke I-140 of the employees if they leave before 6 months.
Theoretically, an I-140 does not require you to be continued to be employed by the petitioning employer. You could leave after applying, but if there is an RFE, the employer would not be motivated to respond to it. As a practical matter, there is a second difficulty as well.
Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments and blog on immigration.com
I am on my H-1B and my wife is currently on her H-4. With the new bill does she still need to wait for my I-140 to be approved?
There is no new bill, just a policy clarification. And, yes, she will have to wait per the law.
Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments and blog on immigration.com
On Thursday around 7:15AM, when I was two blocks away from immigration office in Atlanta for my Naturalization interview, I had a car accident. A black Suburban hit my car and ran away, my car spun out about 5 times, air bags were deployed, but thanks God I didn't suffer any physical damage. My Interview had been scheduled for 8:20AM
I filed my N400 on 25 oct 2011 when completed 4years 9 months of my Legal residency. FP was done on 14 Nov2011. Naturalization interview was on 21 Dec 2011 at San Jose . The officer was extremely nice and cordial. I had an issue of 182 days in one trip and total 846 days away from USA, total 6trips. As advised by Rajiv, I enclosed a letter with N400 about visiting India to see my aged mother yearly who passed away this year and explained the over stay due to my younger brother daughter's marriage as Host after my father's death.
Release Date: June 28, 2012
For Immediate Release
DHS Office of Public Affairs; Contact: 202-282-8010
DOJ Office of Public Affairs; Contact: 202-514-2007
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is moving from a paper-based model to a secure, online environment. On May 22, we launched the foundational release of our new system, named the USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS).
USCIS ELIS is a streamlined online account-based system that enhances customer service and the quality of our processes by enabling USCIS to access all relevant information about a customer. These improvements result in more complete, accurate and timely responses to customer requests.
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 2, 2012
Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs is visiting Guatemala from July 1-3 as part of a Congressional Delegation led by Senator Mary Landrieu. The delegation, which includes officials from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is meeting with Guatemalan officials to discuss progress in resolving the remaining intercountry adoption transition cases.
On June 25, 2012, Acting Ombudsman Debra Rogers submitted the 2012 Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman's Annual Report to Congress.
In her opening message, Acting Ombudsman Rogers writes:
Posted by Alejandro Mayorkas, Director, U.S.
On July 1, 2012, Montenegro became a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). However, the Department of State (DOS) has determined that Montenegro does not yet have a fully functional Convention process in place. DOS consular officers are unable to certify that adoption decrees or custody orders obtained in Montenegro for a child habitually resident in Montenegro have been issued in compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention. Without this certification, U.S.
On June 22, 2012, USCIS hosted a public engagement featuring two economists who work on the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program. Following that engagement, some stakeholders sought clarification as to certain points raised by the economists. USCIS is now pleased to provide clarification as to two of the primary questions raised.
EB-5 Projects Involving Hotel or Resort Development
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 3, 2012
Mexico City, June 29, 2012 – Following President Obama’s efforts to promote travel and tourism as important contributions to job creation and economic growth, the U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that beginning July 1, 2012, an expanded visa renewal program will allow many more Mexican citizens and residents to renew their nonimmigrant visas without a follow-on interview at the Embassy or a U.S. Consulate.
Substantial transcription:
7th July 2012 at 05:16 PM
9.59 Minutes
What do we do when our visa gets denied under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act? Basically, this means that if the consulate doesn’t believe you are going to come back, they deny the visa, saying that you have an immigrant intent which you have not been able to rebut. So the idea is whenever somebody goes for a visa stamping, they actually are presumed to have immigrant intent unless they prove otherwise. Of all the visas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H all the way to V, some visas are immune to this problem.
What are the visas that are immune?
H-1 as well as H-4, L-1 as well as L-2, and O-1 and O-1 derivative visas are immune by law almost. H and L are clearly immune by law and O by implication. With these visas, if you have a green card going, the consulate is not going to deny your visa for that reason.
On the other hand, there are notorious visas that are very susceptible to this problem:
B-1, B-2, F-1 as well as F-2 (which are for students), and J-1 as well as J-2 are susceptible. A lot of physicians on J-1’s have had a visa denial on 214(b).
TN visa holders strictly not going for visa stamping but can be stopped at the border if their green card has been filed. So bear in mind that when TN holders apply for a green card, they should be careful about this particular factor.
The biggest problem with 214(b) is it is extremely difficult to fight it. I have recently taken a case in which an F visa was denied on 214(b), and I think we have a fighting chance because the visa applicant has come to the U.S. many times and she has left within her time permitted. So she’s been a frequent traveler on a B visa. Her F visa denial is extremely unjustified, in my opinion.
Let me just very quickly go through the visa alphabets.
A visa (diplomats) will have no problem. They have no issues of a green card being denied.
B visa will have a problem.
C, D, and E visas will usually not have a problem.
The only thing you have to establish for E-3, especially for Australians (E-3 is kind of equivalent of H-1), is that you do have an intention to come back but not to the same degree. In other words, if you have a home in Australia, the degree of proof is not very high so it is very easy to meet that degree of proof.
G visa is ok.
H visa is ok.
By the way, H-2B visas can have a major problem with immigrant intent. These are people who are coming to U.S. for to perform skilled labor.
I, which is international journalists/media representatives, may or may not be ok.
J visa will definitely be a problem.
K -1 and K-3 are no problem because they are fiancés or spouses of U.S. citizens and are obviously meant to go into green card.
L visa is no problem.
M, which is folks who are doing vocational training, can have this problem.
P visa (performers, athletes, etc.) can have a problem but usually won’t.
Q visa (exchange visitors) can have a problem.
R visa usually won’t.
S, T, and U visas won’t usually have a problem because they are done within the USA and are usually either victims of crime or people who are assisting in criminal investigations.
So what do you do if you get a 214(b) denial?
Normally there isn’t much we can do but, if you have been to USA before or else there is something unique in your case, we can ask the consulate to reconsider and if they are not willing and able, then we can ask the visa office in Washington, D.C. to intervene. You can also contact your family or employer in the U.S. to contact the local Congressmen to seek their intervention. This typically is not helpful but you can try. If anybody from the bar or a lawyer tells you he or she can fix it, be mindful because they may not be able to. Especially be careful when you talk with lawyers in your own country. This makes me very nervous because we have had some cases where local lawyers in other countries did some strange stuff. They had some hook ups with consulates and ultimately got caught.
The biggest problem is with fraud or misrepresentation. If you make a misrepresentation in attempting to get any immigration benefit, you can be barred from entering USA forever.
Going back to 214(b) denials, you can ask the consulate to reconsider. Reapply if you have a case that begs for a special consideration, like you’ve been to the U.S. many times. For example, one of my friends asked me that, if his girlfriend is refused a B visa, is it okay to bring the lady in on a K-1 (fiancé visa)? My take is do not use the fiancé visa in lieu of B-1 or B-2 visa, because if you do not have the intention to get married, the government can consider it to be fraud. So make sure you want to get married within 90 days after they enter the U.S.
One more point -- there is a legal fiction created in U.S. immigration law about ties to your home country that says you can overcome 214(b) denial if you have ties to your home country. That in my mind is a legal fiction. To demonstrate ties is very difficult. Of course, if you have family in your home country, that’s a good example of ties but to say you have property, but property can be sold, so I don’t think that’s really ties. Having business is also not really a tie as a business can be sold. Hence demonstrating ties to your home country is usually a difficult thing to do.
This issue has come up several times recently. Feel free to ask me specific questions on the website, in a forum, or on a community conference call.
I can truly say Mr. Khanna is the best immigration lawyer. Our office has worked with Mr. Khanna and his team for years. They are always available to answer any questions and very helpful with the amount of information and assistance they provide. Thanks to Rajiv, Art, Anna and Judi we have a 100% approval rate so far.