Discussion Topics, Thursday 21 June 2018:
FAQ: Changing jobs after I 140 approval || Can a green card be filed for me if I am on H4 or L2 or F1 – – any status other than H-1B or L-1A? || Can an employee withdraw an H-1B petition? || How to add forgotten information on to a naturalization application/N-400? Other: Changing jobs when an appeal to the Department of Labor (BALCA) is pending || Trading stocks while on H-1B or H4 status || Changing from H-1B to F1 status and back to H-1B again || How to extend my I 94 within the USA? || Obtaining EB2 with a three year degree || Procedure after a denied PERM is approved || Validity of I 140 after I 485 denial || Minimizing the future impact of an L-1A denial || Exemption from H-1B quota where visa is stamped but never joined the employer || WHD complaint against employer || Green card processing times || Receiving pension after surrender or loss of green card || Challenging wage levels determined by an employer || India EB-1 priority dates || Traffic violations in N400 || Checking status of PERM, etc.
Discussion Topics, Thursday 5 July 2018:
FAQ: How many days can I stay in the USA after H-1B denial a detailed discussion? || Applying for H-1B transfer while an extension request is under RFE|| Other: Applying for EB-1C, international managers/executives criteria || Desertion charges for military, effect on green card || 151 years for getting green cards ||Age for adoption/adopting a sibling for immigration || Being outside the USA on EAD || H-4 trading stock || TN for Management Consultant || H-1B transfers with approved I-140 || Promotions while green card is pending || H-4 to H-1 change || H-4 change of status || Green card pending changing jobs within the same company||Travel ban || Bridge H-1B petitions || PERM experience letters title, etc.
Topics of Discussion: - Audit on the PERM process - Traffic violation for naturalization - H-1B transfer - H-4 visa interview
FAQs: Feb 20, 2020 Community Call
- I-140 issues - getting a copy of approval notice, leaving employer when I-140 approved less than 180 days
- Impact on H-4 - H-4 EAD if the H-1B holder changes jobs
- Promotion while PERM is pending or approved
- Birth Certificates
FAQs: Changing jobs while I-140 pending and change in job title || Going to school while I-485 is pending || Issues in changing employers after I-140 approval.
OTHER: Fiance visa without a formal ceremony || Impact of Supplement J approval || Taking leave during H-4 EAD gap || H-4 EAD delay || Family-based I-485 interview rescheduled || Relocation while PERM green card is pending || Evidence of marriage || Applying for green card for parents || Applying for H-1 through two companies || Unlawful presence after H-1B denial, etc.
Topic: Accreditation of Distance Education in USA
Date: March 12, 2012
Total Time: 2 mintues 40 seconds
Hello, everyone. This is Rajiv S. Khanna for the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C, immigration.com.
A number of people have asked me this question in the last few days about how do they tell, if they finish a masters degree online through distance education in the U.S., how do they know if the degree is accredited?
I have looked into this issue because it became such a big issue for people, especially those who are born in countries where EB-3 is very backed up and EB-2 is a much better option.
So I did some review. This is the best of my knowledge. I am not an expert in accreditations, but what I see is this. On the screen in front of you, you see this page where they talk about accrediting agencies recognized for distance education and correspondence education.
This is a page on the Department of Education website.
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg10.html
Let me backtrack for a second.
First thing you do is ask the school where you want to go whether the particular program you want to do is accredited and, if so, who accredits it. In other words, the accreditation agency that is accrediting it. Get the name, and see if that name appears on this list right here.
Sometimes a particular program or a particular degree might be accredited, but not the whole school, and sometimes vice versa. So be careful--make sure that particular program is covered by the accreditation.
Good luck to you folks and if you have further questions, log in to the community conference call or we can talk a little bit on the blog itself.
Transcript: Working Outside USA While in Green Card or H-1 Process
April 17, 2012
Hello, everyone. This is Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com, the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
I have in front of me a couple of questions from two different people. They’re related so I thought I would club them together. The basic idea is this:
Can I, as an H-1 holder or as Green Card pending status individual, work outside USA instead of being inside USA?
I am just going to do a quick talk on the implications of a person working outside USA while he or she is an H-1 or a Green Card applicant.
The first question relates to somebody who has an EB-3 Green Card pending. As you know, that’s a decade-long wait. So, people have to make some plans about their lives.
So this gentleman says, actually, he’s one of our clients, both myself and my wife are working on EAD and traveling on Advanced Parole. So they have got an I-485 pending but they are EB-3. He is the primary. She is the dependent. The wife wants to move to India for longer than one year and is planning to come back before her EAD gets expired.
First of all, is this okay? Yes, of course. As long your Advanced Parole is alive, EAD doesn’t matter if you are working outside USA with I-485 pending. Only thing we care about is your Advanced Parole or your H-1 visa. Under the circumstances, I would recommend Advanced Parole. Keep it active. Keep it alive. For a derivative, there is absolutely no problem if they are working outside USA. If you are the primary applicant for an I-485, things could be a little different. Now, what happens is that there’s a decision tree.
You can have two situations. One, you are still working for your Green Card sponsoring employer, but you’re working outside USA. The second situation is you’re working outside USA for somebody other than your sponsoring employer. What happens then? There is nothing illegal about it. Both of these situations are allowed. But there is a common sense rule here. The government could say, “Why is it if you have a permanent job in USA, your sponsoring employer can get the job done without you?” Now, there could be many reasons for this. One of the reasons could be the nature of the job is such that could be done anywhere for the time being. So the employer is willing to accommodate you. But, whatever the reasons are, be prepared to be sensitive to that question. Is there really a job? They can ask you that. The idea is that you could be working from anywhere. That is not the main issue here. The most important thing here is that there should be a good explanation that you have a job in USA that is ready and open for you.
One of the issues here is keep in mind that certain technologies don’t allow people from outside USA to work. Most people don’t know that. I think there is some restriction, for example, on encryption technology. I think certain encryption technology is considered weapons grade. Just look into that.
Otherwise, just ordinary commercial jobs, ordinary software development, ordinary financial consulting, can be done from anywhere. That is not an issue. Remember whether or not you have proper work authorization in USA. This is very important to also keep in mind. For example, if you are working from, for example, India, it is not required that you have proper work authorization in USA. I don’t care if you have an EAD. That’s perfectly legal. You are working on Indian soil, not on American soil. I don’t care if you have an EAD. I don’t care if you have an H-1. And that will bring me to my next question in a minute or two.
It also does not matter whether you come to USA periodically or not, as long as the job is alive and well and waiting for you, you should be okay. For the primary and the derivative. For the derivative, it is absolutely no problem. Her job is not implicated at all. She can work from anywhere. But, for the primary applicant, this idea that job is still there and waiting has to be kept in mind. And don’t make things up, guys. We’ve to be truthful about this.
The same situation for H-1 people. I’ve got people who go to India or go to their home countries and get stuck in long, long adversarial processes that go on to three months, four months, five months, six months. What should they do? If you can get your job outsourced and you can work from your home country while the H-1 process is going on, it’s absolutely no problem. You can continue working. Now there can be tax aspects that you’ve got to figure out with your CPA’s. How you do you get paid? Where do you pay taxes? Things like that. But those are tax issues and they can be figured out. People do it all the time. In fact, our own office has a couple of employees from other countries. I don’t think that’s a problem. That can be worked out.
The more important question--What is the impact on my H-1?
For example, I am outside USA for more than one year. What happens to your H-1 is that, after one year outside USA, you can reset the clock and have six years of H-1 all over again, or you can go with something like a remainder option. It’s called the remainder option. I’ll explain the rule in a minute. The idea here is this. If you are outside USA for more than one year, you get six years of H-1 back, but then you are subject to the H-1 quota. If you’re outside, good news is six years back. Bad news is quota. If you don’t want to be subject to the quota, you have to give up your right to six years of H-1 and take whatever is remaining in your H-1 six years initially. That’s called the remainder option. Those are the choices you have. There is nothing wrong in working outside USA.
Bear in mind these principals. If a primary applicant, make sure there’s a job available. If a derivative on an I-485, work from anywhere. No problem. If on H-1, you can outsource the job. You can work from anywhere in the world. Doesn’t matter where you are. The only thing is, at some point, if it’s more than one year outside USA, you have to make a choice of either a remainder or resetting the clock and being subject to the quota.
I hope that explains things adequately, guys. As always, it’s good talking with you. I will speak with you folks soon.
Hello, everyone. This is Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com, the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
I am very pleased to report this morning that I saw a news report from USCIS Nebraska Service Center teleconference on April 12, 2012, that clarified you can carry forward the Priority Date from one I-140 approval to another 1-140 approval for another employer, even if the old employer revokes the I-140. USCIS has flip-flopped on this issue several times.
Let me first bring you to the news. Right here it says. If you look at the question number two. The answer is, both centers adhere to retaining the earlier priority date, unless the I-140 was revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation. So the idea here is this: even if you go from Employer A to Employer B, and Employer A revokes the I-140 approval, the Priority Date is yours to carry forward to any employer you like--B,C,D,E--unless the employer A’s I- 140 was revoked for fraud or misrepresentation.
The history of this interpretation is strange. A few years ago, this was the position. USCIS always said you can carry the Priority Date forward. A couple of years ago, they started saying, “No, you cannot.” We had several cases in which they raised this issue, so anybody who has had this issue decided against them can actually go back and file a motion to reopen/reconsider. I advise you to think about this very carefully. You could actually go back and ask USCIS for the Priority Date to be carried forward if they had earlier denied it. There’s a whole lot of people who went through this. File a motion to reconsider. Then USCIS started saying, “Well, you cannot do it.”
Now they are back to their old, very good interpretation, which is in line with Congressional intention for AC-21, where Congress wanted to create room for people to leave their jobs and move on to other jobs because Green Cards were taking so long. So Congress said, “We’ll put in AC-21.” That will make it easier for employees to change jobs without losing their Green Card benefits.
This is excellent news, folks. Once again, I am summarizing it for you. You can carry your Priority Date forward, even if the old I-140 is revoked, unless the I-140 is revoked for some fraud or some willful misinterpretation.
One more thing I wanted to add. This is not good for H-1. Don’t think that if the I-140 is revoked, you can still use it for H-1 extensions. You cannot. If you want H-1 extensions beyond six years, you’ve got to have something else going. You cannot rely on the revoked I-140.
That’s all I have to say on this issue. I will speak with you folks soon.
Thank you for listening.
Fraud Allegations in Immigration Law
Recorded on 12th July 2012.
I wanted to talk to you folks today about an issue that has become problematic in the last four or five years - fraud or misrepresentation. Very often, I see that the government very casually throws in an implication that you have committed a misrepresentation. Actually, they will come out and say that we find misrepresentation. You will think that this is a normal, ordinary thing, and you might ignore it. I have seen people get into so much trouble with that fraud or misrepresentation finding. Let me talk to you about what can happen with that.
First of all, a fraud or misrepresentation finding can lead to criminal prosecution. You can be prosecuted criminally, if the government so chooses. I have seen companies being prosecuted for amazingly trivial things. I have seen government start with a 43 count indictment of a company and then walk away with “Failure to report change of address” or something so trivial that it makes you wonder why did the government spends three, four, or five million dollars on the prosecution of these kind of cases. We have provided advice and help to various defense teams all over the country in criminal defense of these kind of cases. My bottom line approach in these cases is, you’ve got to be extremely careful the moment you see any implication or finding of fraud or misrepresentation. Speak with counsel or speak with somebody who knows all sides of this picture. Unfortunately what happens is, if you are only concerned with benefits like an H-1 or an F-1 or an L-1, you probably won’t pay too much attention to ancillary findings other than the fact it has been denied.
Let us talk about what can happen if there is a fraud or misrepresentation finding a little bit more in detail. The worst thing that can happen is a criminal prosecution. You can go to prison over this, make no mistake, if there is in fact a finding that was not rebutted and then there was a subsequent investigation and more evidence was collected. I will give you this--criminal prosecution and conviction are not as easy as just throwing out a finding and it is surprising how easily USCIS and other agencies toss around that finding, “Oh, this is misrepresentation.” The moment I see that word, I know it is a buzzword for us to go all out for this issue and make sure that the government has it on the record what our side of story is.
So, criminal prosecution is not easy but it can happen. Be careful. Deportation, removal, exclusion. What does that mean? If you are in USA on a visa, F-1 , B-1 , H-1 , L-1 any visa, and they find that there is some fraud or misrepresentation in your past or present, the government can initiate deportation, more accurately, removal from USA, and you can then be barred from coming back to USA for up to permanently . And I am saying that again so that you folks understand. Any attempt to procure a visa or immigration benefit, note that “attempt.” You do not have to have been successful. Even in an attempt could lead to a permanent bar from entering USA.
As I recall, there is only one waiver available based upon a family member--immediate family member-- who is a US citizen or permanent resident, but then you have to convince the USCIS that you should be given that waiver and there is extreme and exceptional hardship on your relative. I recall that is the waiver that is available for these things .Third thing that can happen is denial of sought benefit now or in the future. So think about this very carefully. You applied for an H-1. For some reason, they said, “Oh, your degrees are fraudulent,” and I have seen these kind of cases .They thought that the degrees were fraudulent merely because there was no confirmation of certain kinds of things. For example, you just gave your transcripts. You did not give your final diploma, and USCIS, after doing some cursory checks, decided that you had not been able to prove your case. Instead of merely saying that you have not been able to prove your case, they will throw in something very casually saying, “Oh, this is misrepresentation.”
Next thing is, you get stuck when you apply for an H-1 again. They will pull up the record, and they will say you have a misrepresentation and we cannot give you the benefit. So, in the future, this can come back and haunt you. Next thing that can happen is, if there is any misrepresentation finding, let’s say you applied for an H1 transfer and they found fraud they can revoke whatever they have given you. Now remember that when I say that they find fraud, they do not even, this is very sad, but they will just throw in the finding without considering, and I have seen too many cases like this. It is awful for the government, and I do not think government. Let me rephrase that. I do not think any government officer individually is IQ challenged, but I think, as an organization, the moment we get into a bureaucracy, we are dealing with very unintelligent bureaucracy. Without considering the consequences of what they are doing, they will throw in a finding of misrepresentation. So your benefits can be revoked, and as I said earlier, you can get a permanent bar from entering USA.
So the next question is “When does this come up?” Normally, when a fraud or a misrepresentation finding is made, typically, where do they make this finding, they can do it at the consulate during visa application. I talked with some individuals yesterday, such an easy case and because of a misunderstanding, it’s become a complete problem. What was the case? Boy and girl meet, they get married. According to South Indian ceremonies, I do not want to say the exact state, but South Indian ceremonies, and the marriage occurs in a temple. According to the law of the state where the marriage was entered into, until the marriage is registered, it is not valid. However, when the lady goes for a K-1 interview (K-1 is for fiancées; if you are married you cannot get a K-1), the consul officer grilled her quite thoroughly and decided that she was lying and that she was already married. Next thing, they put a permanent bar on her. Now she is under permanent bar. The husband is scrounging around, trying to get some way of getting her back in. Of course, she will make it back in this particular circumstance, because there is a bunch of factors that go in her favor, but this is a tough case. And normally, US citizen spouses, actually, unless there is a unique case, I usually tell people do not even hire a lawyer. Is this is ethically okay? I think it is. In my judgment, certain cases don’t need a lawyer. Typically, spouse of a US citizen is such a plain and easy case. But look at this example and how badly this got messed up. So now, during a visa application, you’ve got a bar.
What other circumstances? Remember the Tri Valley University? A lot of you might remember that. There were some misrepresentation implications for certain groups of people, not everybody. They had a lot of problems getting visa stamping again from the consulate. Second place where it can happen is at the airport. When you land at the airport, the CBP (Custom and Border Protection) can haul you up there. I have seen cases where somebody said, “Oh, I am coming in for a visit” and the CBP officer went through the luggage of the individual, and they found letters showing that they were meeting up with some potential employers or they were applying to schools. Immediately, there is a fraud implication and the next thing is two things can happen. If they want to be kind, they will let you withdraw your application for admission and tell you to take the next flight back home without coming into USA .If they want to throw the book at you, they can ... actually there is a third possibility. Second is if they levy an exclusion on you, which basically means, we are formally denying you entry into the United States. Now you are barred for five years from coming back. But to throw the book at you, they would deny your entry based upon misrepresentation. Now you have a permanent bar. So these are not simple matters, ladies and gentlemen. They can be quite complex. Please make sure you have competent help if you see any implications or fraud or any chance of fraud in your application.
Then the next thing is you can have a fraud or misrepresentation come up during benefits application. In H-1, hiring without a project, the government now considers that to be a fraud. I do not know how at what point of time hiring somebody without a project became a matter of a fraud. I still think the jurisprudence-- the law in this area--is very poorly developed and poorly managed. But who wants to take a chance for the criminal court? Who wants to go in and spend 800,000 dollars, a million dollars, defending yourself if the government wants to take the stand that this is fraud? So do not hire somebody without a project, employers. That is now considered to be a fraud. I have seen indictments that said that specifically.
Inaccurate Job duties. An H-1 employee is supposed to be a System Administrator, but they are working as a Software Engineer, developing but not doing any administration. That can be a problem. Why? It can be a problem in depressing wages. System Administrators are typically, though it could be other way around, paid differently that a Software Engineer. Actually, if you hire somebody at a lower wage and make do to a higher paid job, that is a problem obviously. I have seen failure to post LCAs at client sites. If you have employees working at end client sites, I have seen the government try to make a fraud case out of that, because, partly, I think it is justified. There is something that we have to look at very carefully, because they can say, “Look when you signed the LCA. You made a representation to the government, ‘ I have posted this application at the end client site.’” That gets quite complicated. So this was H-1. There are many examples I could sit here and talk about for hours. But I just want to give you kind of a flavor of when these things happen and crop up.
Green cards. I remember a very weird case where, when filing the green card application (the perm application), the employer, who is a fairly good-sized company, signed the application without reading it through. The 9089 was prepared by lawyers and it was not mentioned that the employee is related to the company president. It was his brother. The next thing is, USCIS denied the I-140, and, on top of that, they said this is misrepresentation, and we are also revoking the labor certification. When I gave a consultation on the case, I immediately moved in and took certain steps, and I will get to that when I come to the next topic, which is what should you do. But the point is, government’s contention was that in looking at the ETA 9089 perm application, it says, “I have read this application.” It specifically says that. So if you are signing that as an employer or even an employee, you better read and make sure all the material information in there is correct. I have seen this issue come up a lot during Adjustment of Status. Where do they come up the most? Well, mostly lately, it has come up when government says, “Look, you are on H1 and you are authorized to work for an area in California, but you worked in Chicago.” Here is the employee who is stuck with the fact that they cannot do anything about where the LCA was filed by the employer, but now they have got a fraud implication on their record. Well, we deal with it, we make matters clear. We explain the law to the government. But it is still quite hasslesome and bothersome to be in that situation. Anyhow, go ahead and be careful and watch those whenever you see fraud or misrepresentation come up, just make sure it has been taken care of and properly addressed.
When else during Adjustment of Status? G-325-A. When you file the G-325-A, which is the biographical statement, government can take--I have a case actually, in which the employee neglected to mention two or three jobs that they had done illegally. It was definitely an oversight, no question about that, because he disclosed other things. And if he were going to try to deceive the government, he would have done a lot more than merely omit those two jobs. So that became a big problem. They are trying to bar him permanently. We have a MTR (Motion to Rehear) pending against that. During naturalization, there is an interesting case--interesting for me, but sad for the people who are involved. A gentleman ran a company—again, a relatively good-sized company--and somewhere about six or seven years ago, they had submitted a letter from an end client in support of an H1, which the government considered to be fraudulent. They said they could not verify the letter, and they made, I do not remember if they made an express finding a fraud. But they did say that they were not able to verify, so there is doubt as to the veracity of the document. Doubt as to the veracity. Okay, that does not alert you. You do not think, “Well, they are not saying they find fraud, but that is what they are saying. Okay, six or seven years later, they have a lot of approvals for their H-1 after that green card with no problem. Employees have been doing fine, and the issue never came up. This gentleman applies for naturalization. Guess what? Barred from naturalization. The government may go after his green card. Why? There is a fraud. So this issue comes up in naturalization.
It can come up in courts. Sometimes you are there for unrelated proceedings, for example divorce. Next thing is, there is a misrepresentation element or an element of fraud that you have not considered, and you are stuck. The worst case that I have seen come up , which was very unfair and sad is, when an employee on H1 fell out of status for a month or so. Under the law, if you are out of status for even one day, by operation of law, your visa is considered to be cancelled. So the Visa stamp that you have on your passport is cancelled. Very few people know this law. Of course, as they say, ignorance of law is no excuse but when the law is so complex and so difficult to keep track of, who can know when something has been voided or made invalid by operation of law? Nobody can keep track of that. It is something that happens quietly, perniciously in the background. So, when this gentleman applied for Adjustment of Status, his 485, government said, “Your last entry into USA was fraudulent because you used the VISA that was void by operation of law.” I do not think he is going to have much trouble ultimately, but he is definitely being dragged around for misrepresentation. See, I do not mean to imply that the government is always unreasonable, but they can be. Individual officers can be sometimes be very unreasonable and overzealous in what they feel is the right application of the law.
What should you do? Look at the left hand side of the screen. Clarify the record even if you lose the case. You want to make sure your story, your side of the story, is on the record. I do not care if you lose the case. So what did we do in that? Remember I talked about the president who signed the 9089 not realizing that he had signed saying that they were not related to each other, the beneficiary and he were brothers. So what we did was, we immediately filed an appeal, and the appeal got dismissed, but we told our entire story. We explained what happened. We went through the entire document trail. We submitted documents and I think even though the company may not realize it, by doing that, they have now put their own story on the record. So tomorrow, if this issue ever comes up, whoever at USCIS is reviewing his case, they can see both sides of the picture before they deny any future benefits like naturalization. Now we have both sides of the stories there. Appeal it, file a motion to reopen, even file a lawsuit. All of these things you can do.
And what else can you do? If nothing else, send out a letter. Make it clear what the record was. I believe that should at least provide you a modicum of good defense .Good luck, folks, and it is good talking with you. I think I want to do a video next time about these I-140 revocations. I am seeing I-140 revocations coming up after 8-10 years of having been approved. Highly unfair. Let me get into that next time. Good talking with you.
EB3 to EB2 conversion
EB3 to EB2 porting
EB3 to EB2
Good afternoon, everyone. This is US Immigration Attorney, Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com, the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
This is a community information call. It is not intended to create an attorney/client relationship. Whatever we say here remains merely an informational conversation.
This is a follow-up to the August 30 Community Conference Call.
We are talking about issues related to converting from EB3 to EB2.
What is this idea of EB-3 to EB-2 conversion?
Most of you know that EB-3 for countries like India and China are very backed up and EB-2’s are better. Actually, for the rest of the world also, EB-2 is much better. So sometimes even though you have obtained a Labor Certification (PERM certification) and then you obtained an I-140 approval or you are on the path to that, you feel, “Oh, maybe I should have filed an EB-2, or maybe circumstances have changed and now I can file under EB-2.” So, in those cases, when we get the priority date from an EB-3 case and put it on top of an EB-2 case, thereby essentially converting an EB-3 case to an EB-2 case, we refer to that loosely as a conversion. Really, it is not a conversion. It is a new case filed under EB-2, and essentially the priority date is being transferred.
One relevant question here. Can priority dates be transferred if an employer revokes my old I-140?
The answer is “Yes.” USCIS has said that they will allow transfers (carryovers) of priority dates even if the old I-140 is revoked, as long as the revocation is not for fraud.
So, when you do this analysis of EB-3 to EB-2 conversion, the first question you want to ask yourself is “Am I currently qualified for EB-2?”
Why is this question important? Remember a Green Card is for a job in the future, which means today I am working as a programmer; tomorrow’s job could be a project manager, and even though I continue to work as a programmer for the next three years or until I get my Green Card, it is not a problem. The future job of project manager can be given to me once the Green Card is approved. Or before. That is up to the employer, but it is not required. So the idea is a Green Card is for a future job. However, you must be qualified for it on the date you filed the PERM application.
So let’s say you have three years of experience after Bachelor’s Degree, and you know that the Green Card will take three or four more years, can you file under EB-2 today?
No, because you are not qualified. You may be qualified in two years or three years, but that does not mean you can file an EB-2 right now.
So are you currently qualified for EB-2?
One of the recommendations I have is for people who are not qualified and don’t have the five-year experience or have a three-year Bachelor’s Degree, you may consider doing a Master’s Degree online. I have a video on this. It’s on my blog. It tells you how to choose an appropriate on-line Master’s Degree program that is accredited and that will help you get into EB-2.
Here is a link to the video and a transcript:
Accreditation of distance education for EB-2
The next question you want to ask yourself is Do I want to process my EB-2 case with the same employer who petitioned the EB-3 or some other employer?
It is a little bit easier to do it with another employer, but given the choice between going with a totally new employer and going with an employer who is totally, solidly behind me, who is going to pay the attorney’s fees. This is a considerable expense. If they’re on my side and they want to cooperate fully with the law, then of course I would stay with the same employer.
The next question you have to ask yourself is Do you need a promotion--present or future?
What does that mean? What if you have three years of experience before you joined this employer, you want to process your Green Card through this employer, and you’ve got two years with this employer now? Now you’ve got five years but two years are with the same employer through whom you are going to file your EB-2 who also did your EB-3 earlier. In order to use that experience, you must be offered a job which is more than fifty percent different than what you were doing before. Let’s say the old job was all coding and the new job is mostly providing project management, so that’s a promotion and then the experience that you have gained with this employer can be applied towards your EB-2.
I hope I’m making myself clear. Most of you already know the concepts, but still I want to put it out there so that you are sensitized to the issues. You can ask your lawyers the right kind of questions and make sure your case is being properly approached. These concepts are difficult. They can be complicated. Even we can make mistakes. Lawyers are not perfect, as all of you know. Be educated and take your lawyers’ help in making these decisions.
It is very important to have a bona fide job.
What does that mean? If you have a three-employee company and the employer says, “I will you a promotion.” That’s a little difficult to establish and believe. It can be true but, if you are a 300-employee company or a 3,000-employee company, probably a better case for a promotion, but of course it all depends upon the facts of the case. I’m just giving you an example. This does not mean smaller companies cannot process promotion cases.
How do I eliminate the risk of problems of EB-3?
What does that mean? I already have my EB-3 approval. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to mess that up.
What you can do is, you can make sure, taking the example of the programmer under EB-3 who wants to go for project manager under EB-2. If your EB-3 was for a programmer, make sure you continue working as a programmer until the I-140 for the new case is approved. So don’t change jobs, because, if you take a promotion to project manager, then the Government could question, "This guy has already taken a promotion, then why would he come back to the lower job which is the Green Card job?” Do not take a promotion until the I-140 for the new case is approved. That would be important.
What if I used AC-21?
This is a very tricky situation. You are one of the lucky ones who’s got your I- 485 pending and I-140 is approved under EB-3. You changed from IBM to Sun Microsystems. You changed employers. Your job was programmer. Now, for AC-21, the job that Sun gives you has to be the same or similar to the job IBM gave you. So it’s got to be a programmer or thereabouts. Now the problem here is this. In order for Sun Microsystems to process your case under EB-2, they have to assess whether they have to promote you so that an EB-2-level job can be given to you or can they use the same job. This can be tricky.
So for AC-21, the key question is can the same job which was the subject of AC-21 be used to file an EB-2 case?
Tricky question. Depends upon the facts of the case.
Now, to the posted set of Questions from the Community Conference call of August 30th.
First Set of Questions
Question: I have an I-485 pending on EB-3. I have been with my company for 12 years. They are planning to apply for EB-2. Same company. I have a Bachelor’s four-year engineering degree from India. Can I qualify for EB-2?
Answer: Yes if the job that is being offered to you is sufficiently dissimilar from the EB-3 job.
Question: Is there any audit risk?
Answer: No. Filing for a conversion (again, I am using the term “conversion” loosely) does not create any additional audit risks.
Question: If we apply in EB-2, will my EB-3 application processing stop?
Answer: No, it does not stop.
Question: What happens to the EB-3?
Answer: It goes on. Don’t take up a promotion. I just mentioned that.
Question: My wife is working on EAD. Will her EAD be affected?
Answer: No, not at all. No problem at all.
Question: If I get EB-2 I- 140 approved, can I use EB-3 priority date?
Answer: Yes.
Question: At that time, will I get another EAD from EB-2 processing?
Answer: No. What you do is, you take the EB-2 I-140 approval and put it on top of the existing I-485. So your old I-140 gets knocked out and the new one now sits on top of your I-485. So I-485 does not need to be re-filed.
Second set of questions
Question: He is preparing for his I-140 for EB-2. Can this be done premium processing?
Answer: Sure.
Question: Do we have to specify the pending EB-3 case information?
Answer: You will have to, because if there is an I-140 approved or pending under the old case, you have to mention that. There is a question I think on the form.
Question: Should we do it during the I-140 filing?
Answer: Yes. On the form itself, there is a question. If there is only a Labor Certification pending, there is nothing to say. If the I-140 is either pending or approved from the old case, you have to say it in the new I-140.
Question: When I started filing for my EB-2 case, my attorney mentioned not to file AC-21.
Answer: I think that’s a personal choice. I like to file AC-21’s and then I like to assess whether I would need a promotion case or I can go ahead with the same AC-21 job for EB-2. I would like your lawyer to decide that as I do not know the case.
For updates, see my blog page on Obama's Immigration Action.
Takeaway points for legal immigration from President Obama’s executive action:
1. USCIS is “about to” publish the final rule on H-4 work authorization. That will make it possible for certain spouses of H-1 holders to get work authorization.
2. Improving employment-based green card backlogs by:
a. Making visa issuance more efficient so no immigrant visas are wasted;
b. Providing for better AC21 rules and other ways to keep immigrant visas intact after a change of jobs. USCIS will clarify what constitutes “same or similar” job so that AC21 will not stop workers from getting promotions or even changing to related jobs within their field. USCIS must clear the path to career progression for green card applicants.
3. Expandingfurther the OPT time for STEM students, but creating tighter control on which universities/schools/degrees are eligible and ensure local workers are protected (Implement some sort of a “mini PERM?”).
4. Creating opportunities for foreign “inventors, researchers and founders of start-up” companies to come to the USA through an existing program called “National Interest Waiver.” Unfortunately for India, this is an EB-2 category program requiring several years of wait. But the following parole program will help:
a. Creating a parole (which is usually a temporary, but very quick measure and could eventually lead to a green card) program so that on a case-by-case bases, “inventors, researchers and founders of start-up” companies can be brought quickly into the USA where:
i.They have raised financing in the USA; OR
ii.Otherwise hold the promise of innovation and job creation through development of new technologies OR cutting edge research
5. Creating guidelines for exceptionally qualified or advanced degreed individuals to come to the USA through an existing program called “National Interest Waiver.” As noted, unfortunately for India, this is an EB-2 category program requiring several years of wait. But the parole option above could be helpful.
6. Providing clear guidance on L-1B program as to who can qualify.
FAQ: H-4 EAD filing while H-1 extension is pending; H-4 EAD. Converting from H-1 to H-4 EAD - good idea or not? H-4 EAD. Documents needed; name issues; processing times, etc.; H-4 EAD Expediting Possible?
Other Topics: Green card issues because of diseases; H-1 amendment with change of location; when is a degree considered to be completed;
Transcript: Leaving an Employer after Approval of Green Card
Hi everyone this is Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com the Law Offices of Rajiv S Khanna, P.C.
I have been trying to get to this email now for a few days and it just keeps getting postponed. But this was from one of our community members who has a bunch of questions about what happens after you get your green card if you have done your AC21, not done your AC21 what to do, not to do to make the process of naturalization eventually smoother.
Question number 1. How long must one stay with their employer after getting a Green Card?
Now we do have a very detailed video on this. If you go to my blog (http://forums.immigration.com/forumdisplay.php?253-Rajiv-s-Blog) you will get a video that talks about how long must you stay. I am not going to repeat that information here. That information has already been covered.
He also asks along with a response to this question please provide any exceptions that might exist
I will give a very small summary. Let’s take the situation where no AC21 is involved. All we have is an employee who is staying with the same employer who sponsored their green card and today they got their green card approval. When can they leave safely without negatively affecting their naturalization?
And the answer is it is difficult to say depends upon the circumstance. There is no six month magic rule that people often talk about. But the way it works is green card is given based upon the premise that the employee is taking the job on a permanent basis. Permanent does not mean forever. Permanent simply means indefinite basis. And what is important is at least in my view that the intention or the intent at the time of getting the green card approval must be indefinite. So if I have already started packing my bags before I got my approval and I move three days later there could be some question about it. Although in the age of AC21 this question, did you really have the intention of working here permanently, which in real words means indefinitely - it has become very diluted because of the AC21. At least that’s the way I would see it. I doubt very much government should make an issue out of it as long as you know the two jobs that you’re doing the one that you go from and the one you go to are substantially similar positions.
I would make an AC21 type argument saying that I basically ported over to a new job which was similar, if it ever became an issue during naturalization. But if you wanted to avoid all issues then I would say stay as long as you can, at least a few months after you got your green card approval and only then leave.
Let’s say in the AC21 context things become more complicated. This is the worse scenario. Lets say you moved job one to job two and before you could file anything with the government your green card got approved, so what has happened is, you were hoping to use you AC21 but before you could inform the government your green card got approved, so you never filed anything formally notifying the government that your changing jobs.
Of course you are not required to under AC21 law. You are not required to file anything. But the fact that you did not file anything, makes it complicated because tomorrow when naturalization time arrives, the government could notice that you left the sponsoring employer ten days before the green card got approved or three days before the green card got approved.
So technically, you never took the job for which the green card was meant. Now again here the argument would be I was going to use AC21, this is a problem in the procedures, it is not something I have done wrong. The AC21 process does not really require government notification by or before a certain time when I am changing jobs and in fact it does not require notification at all, so how can you hold me responsible for something for which I am not even required to inform the government. So what should you do - just make sure you have some documentation that shows that the job that you moved to was substantially similar to the job that your moving from. I would strongly recommend getting a lawyer involved. And keep that documentation for the next several years if it becomes an issue during naturalization you can provide the documentation and make the AC21 argument.
So the situation where you were doing AC21 and the situation were you are doing basically a job after getting the green card approval are the same except were the green card gets approved while you are still in the process of thinking of filing an AC21 level. Otherwise if you change jobs - let’s say you went to job one to job two and you filed a notification with the government and then ten days later the green card got approved now you are in the same situation probably as the guy who stayed at the same job and did not move jobs.
Number 2 question is.... Is there any documentation that one must acquire from his employer at the time of exit?
One point I want to make, what if you want to work and the employer says I don’t have a job for you. I think in those circumstances it is a good idea to have some kind of termination letter or some kind of email or an acknowledgment in the letter that we understand from the employer, that says we understand the you are agreeable to continue to work for us on a indefinite basis however because of XYZ circumstances or business circumstances we can no longer offer you this job. I think that would protect you to a reasonable extent.
There are cases that I have seen a few years ago I did some research on this issue. There were not a whole lot of cases but there were some cases where the government tried to take somebody’s green card and the court said: well if the employee is willing and the employer is not what can you do? We should let them keep their green card.
Documentation in cases where the employer is going to lay you off should be kept in the form of a termination letter and if possible some kind of acknowledgement that the employee is willing and able or even some kind of an email that you can send to the employer saying that I am willing to continue with this job on a indefinite basis, I was hoping it will be a permanent job but I understand that you don’t have it any longer - something like that - it shows that you have documented - I think we are paranoid, but I think it is better to be paranoid.
Number 3 question is: How is the naturalization process impacted by exiting the wrong way? How does anyone find out about how you exited if let's say you apply for naturalization after 10 yrs?
They can not only refuse the naturalization they can even try to take away your green card. So one of the things you can do is, remember when you file for naturalization within 5 years of getting your I-485 approval, it is easy to reverse I-485 approval in the first five years, so one of the things you can do is file for naturalization after five years have passed. The law allows you to file 90 days before the five years are over I would say do the naturalization application ten days after the 5 years from the green card approval are over.
That is another thing you can do. That way if they want to come after your green card they (USCIS) have to go through a longer process rather than just revoking your I-485 approval. One concrete suggestion is apply for a naturalization a few days after the five years from the approval of your green card are over.
How does anyone find out about how you exited if let's say you apply for naturalization after 10 yrs?
If you apply after ten years they probably cannot find out. I think the form N- 400 only asks for your employment history for the last five years.
Question 4 : Can the IO (I guess what you mean is the adjudication officer)involved in the naturalization process reach out to previous employer for any reason? If so how does one prepare for that contingency since the employee (and maybe his boss) might not be with the same employer at the time.
Normally no I have never seen it that happen in over two - three decades of my practice. And of course you point out that by that time maybe the boss and everything is all changed and the answer is yes. That is a practical difficulty. In fact I was reviewing a case from Seattle, Washington State Federal Courts, where the judge had pointed out that when the government creates a situation where it is impossible for an employee to go back and fulfill the requirements of the evidence the government is asking for e.g.: where there was an I-140 revocation and the employee had already left the employer and now they are trying to go back and revoke the I- 140. He cannot get the documentation that they want. They are trying to revoke the I- 140 several years after it was approved. It’s impossible for the employee to get the information that they are looking for. I think something like that would work for us.
I am not that concerned about the adjudication officer reaching out to the old employer it would be just impossible for any employer to keep the records that long anyway, if it is several years down the line.
Number 5: Can any of the employers that one has worked for before getting the GC approval negatively impact one's naturalization process? Any safeguards that you could recommend
No ... I cannot think of anything, except if there is an active fraud that you have committed and that fraud is against the US government in any way for e.g.: giving a false degree certification etc then you can have a problem but otherwise there is no issue and during naturalization they don’t go to the old employers.
Number 6: If a previous employer gets into legal issues because of their business practices can that negatively impact one's naturalization process?
Again that depends, if there was fraud in your green card approval that can definitely become an issue. If it becomes part of the record government could actually unravel the I-140 and try to unravel the green card and then of course that affects your naturalization as well.
Number 7: What documentation does one need to hold on to for naturalization purposes like paystubs, offer letters etc?
I just described that documentation. Paystubs is always a good idea as we are dealing with some of the cases where USCIS is trying to revoke I-140s for fraud and we are able to prove that there is no fraud because the people that they are coming after were actually working. Here are the paystubs, here are the bank deposits slips that show that this money was not only received from the employer, but also deposited.
Number 8: Can negative information or any information posted on the Internet (social media for example) be used against someone in the naturalization process?
Not unless it was the kind of information which would bar you from getting naturalization such as - it is a crude e.g.:- but let’s say you are trying to solicit a minor for immoral purposes. That could become a problem. Because remember good moral character is part of naturalization- moral character is implicated, at least in my mind when there is something negative being done against US government or the laws of this country. It can become relevant, the information on the social media, but not just because you are an obnoxious person or you are in a bad mood and you have written something bad. It has to be something more than that. I get this question all the time what if I am in bankruptcy does that affect naturalization. No it does not. Only time you could have a problem is if you skipped on your taxes but even there - a proper bankruptcy discharges some kind of claims and if those claims are discharged they cannot be held against you.
Number 9: Can a disgruntled employer or colleague negatively impact
Again unless you have committed a fraud I don’t see why.
Number 10: General wisdom on what NOT to do after getting one's GC and before citizenship?
Make you file the AR-11. Try not to get arrested. Lead a good life. Other than that I have nothing else to recommend. Most of our clients get a list of things they should be doing. Filing AR-11 is important. Within 10 days of moving address from one place to another you should file AR-11. You can do it online.
I hope this helps. Good luck people!!!
Discussion Topics: FAQ: L-1B or TN visa for intracompany transfer - advantages and disadvantages || STEM-designated MBA - is it easier to get an H-1B visa?|| Parent's EB-2 approved, EB-3 downgrade pending, - will aging-out child's EAD interfere if EB-2 advances, and the best way to maintain the status of a child turning 21|| Do we have to refile PERM or I-140 0r I-485 due to corporate restructuring/successor-in-interest
FAQ: Consular processing employment-based green card with a job offer from a different employer
Discussion Topics, Thursday, April 28, 2022:
Discussion Topics, May 12, 2022
FAQs: Traveled on Advance Parole - Maintaining H-1B status without going for stamping and filing multiple I-485 or Interfiling || Green card application for parents during tourist visa || How are PERM minimum job requirements determined? || Extending or Renewing F-1 student visa risks and requirements || Various Interfiling Issues ||
Discussion Topics:
FAQs: Experience & education requirements for a PERM/labor certification-based green card || Continuing work or reverting to STEM OPT during H-1B Change of Status || For PERM, can I use my master's degree completed after I joined?
Discussion Topics
FAQs: Changing profession after receiving Employment Based Green Card || Eligibility for the EB-1A extraordinary ability category || The H-1B remainder option: Calculating recapture of H-1B unused time ||
Discussion Topics, Aug 18, 2022
FAQs: Change of employers after H-1B is approved and before October 1; the number of pay stubs required; revocation of H-1B before October 1 || I-140 was approved and then revoked in 2011. Can I keep my priority date and also apply for I-485? What is the deadline for filing I-485? || Impact of alternate wage survey for H-1B LCA; the success rates of H-1B extensions; AC21 rule when the company is bought by a successor-in-interest
Discussion Topics:
FAQ: What is the meaning of a US “visa canceled without prejudice”? || I have an Approved I-140 from a previous job. My new employer has initiated the PERM. How can I make sure that the attorneys use the priority date from my old I-140? || What are the chances of an H-1B visa (STEM OPT) after completing Masters in the U.S? || H-1B visa holder travels abroad (Canada) for work sometimes; is an H-1B amendment required for change of address or location abroad?
Discussion Topics:
FAQ: Can I change my status from B-1/B-2 to H-1B, L-1, F-1?|| Can an H-1B holder open an LLC in the US and employ their spouse on H-4 EAD? || Parents staying in or traveling to the U.S. while their green card petition is pending? || Volunteer work on an H-1B visa || Deportation when a permanent resident is involved in Shoplifting || 7th year H-1B extension with pending PERM