New USCIS Policy Memo
The following Immigration Policy Memorandum is now available:
The following Immigration Policy Memorandum is now available:
FAQ: Fastest method of getting spouse of a green card into the USA and reducing wait
FAQ: Is new H-1B visa stamping needed if you change employers?
FAQ: H-1B visa stamping in Canada or Mexico; importance of I-94
FAQ: What are the options of an H-1B visa is denied and petition sent for revocation?
USCIS offers immigration services that may help people affected by unforeseen circumstances, including disasters such as Hurricane Harvey.
The following measures may be available on a case-by-case basis upon request:
I am a US permanent residence (Green card holder) working in the US. I have received my Re-entry permit which will expire in Feb 2019. I have plans to get married to a bride from India and I will be visiting India shortly. I know that to process Family based second category GC (F2A) for my wife in India can take a minimum of 2 years and I will be separated from my wife during this time. Here is my plan to live together (with my wife from Day 1 in the USA) after getting married in India. After my marriage, ask my wife to apply for a tourist visa and I will send the sponsorship letter required by US consulate. Do you see any challenges in my wife's tourist visa application getting approved if my wife states that she is visiting the USA to see her husband if the Visa officer asks any question?
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.
USCIS generally process cases in the order they receive them. The link below provides you an estimate of how much time the office handling your case currently takes to process your type of application, petition, or request.
The regulations enacted by the USCIS on 17 January 2017 have created a new class of employment authorization - "Compelling Circumstances EAD." This is available to those people whose I-140 is approved and priority dates are not yet current.
This is a compelling circumstances EAD approved in appx. 100 days in July 2017 based upon health grounds.See: http://www.immigration.com/sample-cases/%5Bcompelling-circumstances-ead…
As of June 29, 2017, we began implementing the Executive Order at our embassies and consulates abroad in compliance with the Supreme Court’s decision and in accordance with the Presidential Memorandum issued on June 14, 2017. Our implementation is in full compliance with the Supreme Court’s decision.
USCIS recently updated the following form(s):
PERM Processing Times (as of 6/30/2017)
HOUSTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today the deployment of facial recognition biometric exit technology to William P. Hobby International Airport (HOU) in Houston for select flights from HOU. The deployment builds upon a June 2016 pilot at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport using facial recognition.
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…
Hello Rajiv Ji,
Thanks for your time and responses (over the email). I have below questions.
1) I am an EB-2, with Priority date Jun-2008. Applied i-485 in Jan-2012. Cut-off date became current in July-2014. Through congressperson / infopass found that my application is in background checks.
1.a) I have given fingerprints 2.5 years ago and background checks are not cleared yet. so what are my options in expediting it?
1.b) My worry is the checks may not be cleared before next time dates become current, and I may be in the same situation again.
1.b) Can I use Writ of Mandamus? Does my case (485 pending for 2.5 years, current for 2.5 months, but background checks are not completed yet) have enough reasons to claim "unreasonable delay"?
2) I am using my EAD. My labor says "Senior Analyst" as my job title.
2.a) Can I accept a promotion with a director/managerial job title ?
2.b) or does it cause a problem / RFE in future? Duties are more or less similar and work on same software technology, but will have few direct reports and need to manage projects.
3) Can I switch to H1-B as a safe measure?
3.a) Does switching mean I am abandoning my GC?
3.b) Do I need to go out of the country for stamping or can I continue to work without going out?
3.b) what are the risks involved?
See the marked clip below from Rajiv's video recording for the answer to this question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UUm4s1qwOS…
Hello Sir,
I am H4 visa holder and want to blog for hobby. If I get any money from blogging due to advertisements or page hits, I want to take all of that money and donate it to charitable organization. I want to know is this legal while in H4 status and if so I want to know the correct procedure to do what I have mentioned, so that I am still following the rules for the H4 visa.
See clip from video recording by Rajiv for the answer to this question regarding volunteer work on H-4 visa status.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UUm4s1qwOS…
My sister filed petition for me last year maybe I-130. I am an Indian and my wife is Italian, I am in California nowadays since last week. Can we stay here permanently under I-485 or AOS whatever?
That category takes 13-14 years. During the time you are waiting for your priority date to be current, you cannot stay in the USA just because your green card is pending. You can, however, stay or come to the USA under a visa independent of the green card such as L-1, H-1. You can also apply for a green card in several categories simultaneously.
1. What are TN and L nonimmigrant classifications?<br>
2. How can Canadian citizens obtain TN and L-1 classifications? <br>
3. I am a first time TN and L-1 applicant – am I required to go to a designated port of entry?<br>
4. Which ports of entry are designated for optimized processing?
1. The TN nonimmigrant classification permits qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to seek temporary entry into the United States to engage in business activities at a professional level. The L-1 nonimmigrant classification - Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager – enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company that does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the U.S.
Recently USCIS erroneously scheduled some customers for more than one Application Support Center (ASC) biometric appointment (Form I-797C).
If you have already attended an ASC biometric appointment, and received a second appointment notice for the same application type, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY for hearing impaired: 1-800-767-1833) to confirm that you do not need to return to the ASC to have biometrics collected again.
On January 1, 2015, E-Verify must dispose of transaction records that are over ten years old - those dated on or before December 31, 2004. E-Verify employers have until December 31, 2014, to download case data from the new “Historic Records Report” if they want to retain transaction data that is more than ten years old.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez announced the launch of myE-Verify—a new website designed for employees. myE-Verify is a one-stop shop for employees to create and maintain secure personal accounts and access new features for identity protection.
Important Notice - New Application Fees: Nonimmigrant and immigrant visa application fees for certain visa categories will change on September 12, 2014. All visa applicants must pay the fee amounts in effect on the day they pay, with the exception of Immigrant Visa application processing fees paid domestically to the National Visa Center (NVC), which will be effective as of the date of billing.
Fees that will decrease are not refundable. If you paid a visa fee before September 12, 2014 and that fee decreased, we cannot give you a refund.
Rajiv and his team were very helpful during the entire GC process. I come from a non IT background but his team respresented my case with the appropirate attention. I would not hesitate to recommend Rajiv and his team to any friends or family.
Thanks again.