Dear Rajiv Khanna jee
I am not able to express my happiness when I got your mail. I can just say THANK YOU for the sincere effort and a strong belief that you always had in my case. I also want to share the amount of frustration that I went through after the second refusal of the application. Still in that moment of time you said that you will not give up until we achieve our goal. I want to thank Diane, Sumanjee for their immense support of preparing things with the detailed hard work. Many Many thanks. We will always be together.
Sincerely
Ronu Majumdar
My 6 year period of H1b visa expires in Dec 2010 and my labor application is still pending for approval. It was filed in February 2009. Am I eligible to apply for a visa extension , if so when should I apply for that? I assume I still have time.
H-1 extension beyond six years can be obtained under two circumstances:
First, indefinite H-1 extensions in one-year increments can be obtained, if the I-140 (or I-485) was filed and the green card process was started a year ago. The GC process is started for:
- Labor Certification based cases (including PERM) the date for the begining of the countdown is the date when the labor certification is officially received:
- for PRE PERM cases - by the local office (SWA); and
Discussion Topics, Thursday 8 February 2018:
FAQ: H-1B or other status denied - what is my status?|| Can I get H4 visa stamping while the H1 to H4 change of status is still pending? ||AC 21 job portability, changing jobs before 180 days || AC 21 job portability, changing jobs before 180 days || National interest waiver (NIW) filing when priority date is not current || Other: Fixing I 20 problems ||L-1A amendment issues ||changing from H-1B to F1 ||Reentry permit and N-470 || multiple H-1B filings for the lottery/quota ||returning back to old H-1B employer if H-1B transfer is denied ||Impact of terminated deportation proceedings, logistics ||impact of revocation of I 140, EB-1C filing || Entering the United States on H-1B without a job || Client address change, DS160 filing || H-4 EAD and H-1 questions
Hello, everyone. This is Rajiv S. Khanna for immigration.com, the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C.
I wanted to talk with you folks about requirements for naturalization for people who get their Green Card based upon employment and then have to stay outside USA for a certain period time. Many of the criteria here are common to people who have obtained their Green Card through any other method such as through marriage or through political asylum. Pretty much, it is the same law. But I want to focus primarily on people who have gotten an employment-based Green Card, because those are the inquires I receive the most and I don’t want to miss anything, because N-470 typically does not apply to people in non-employment situations, except for missionaries. I’ll get to that in a second.
So, first of all, let’s look at the requirements for somebody to get naturalized in USA. What are the normal requirements?
Right here. You must have received your Green Card approval five years ago. Actually, it is a little bit more complicated than that. You can apply 90 days before your 5th year anniversary of Green Card. In case you got your Green Card through marriage, then it is three years, when you are married to a US citizen. After that, you must have stayed in USA for at least 30 months physically. 2 ½ years. Half the time. You should not have visited outside USA for a year or more. If you go outside USA for a year, your Green Card is gone. It’s difficult to get it back. Not impossible, but what you will have to do if you end up staying for a year or more outside USA is, you will have to go to the consulate and convince them that you have not abandoned your US permanent residence, your Green Card, and you can do that by a process called SB-1 (Returning Resident Permit). I’m not going to go into that in too much detail, but just to give you an idea. If you are outside USA for one year or more, for naturalization purposes, you have to start your five years all over again, except in the following two circumstances, I-131 and N-470, which are these. I’ll get to that in a second as well.
So, physical presence of 2 ½ years, no visit outside USA for a year or more, any visit outside USA for six months or more but less than one year, you have to explain. Why were you gone that long? So this is for people who have not filed these special forms called I-131 and N-470. I also want to make a quick note about I-131 and N-470.
What is I-131?
It’s the same form you used for filing for Advanced Parole when you are in need of Advanced Parole during your Adjustment of Status. It’s also the same form used for protecting your Green Card through a process called Reentry Permit. So you use your 1-131 to apply for a Reentry Permit, which is typically given for two years at one go, and you can get that extended, depending on the circumstances. Basically, the I-131 tells the government, “Look. I am not abandoning my permanent residence. I am just going outside temporarily.” Once you file the I-131, things change for naturalization purposes.
Did you stay outside USA for one year continuously?
If you did, ordinarily, if you had not filed I-131, you would have to start five years all over again, if you have not lost your Green Card. You could have even lost your Green Card. But, if you had filed your I-131, you don’t lose your Green Card, and you also get a respite of one year. When you come back, you have to establish your US residence for four years and one day instead of five years and apply after you have accumulated physical presence in USA for 2 ½ years. It gives you one year off from those five years. That’s an added advantage of I-131. It protects your Green Card as much as humanly possible. There’s more to it. I would always advise you to talk with a lawyer before you take any steps of going outside USA for an extended period of time. It also shortens the time of five years that you would have to otherwise accumulate for naturalization.
Did you stay outside USA for one year continuously after I-131?
If the answer is no, then these same requirements that apply to normal people will apply to you. Physical presence of 30 months, no visit outside USA for a year or more, six months or more will have to be explained.
Then comes N-470.
N-470 is one of those tricky strange forms. It’s applicable to a certain group of people. I would strongly encourage you to read up on the instructions on N-470. They’re pretty informative.
The way this works is, if you’re going to work for a US company abroad and, again, I am talking about employment context. There are other reasons N-470 can be filed. Read the instructions. What N-470 does is it allows you to stay outside USA for a year or more and not have a break that will restart your five years all over again. Let me explain. Let’s say I file I-131 and N-470. I do it together. Usually, in most cases, we do both forms together. When you file I-131 and N-470 together, let’s say you stayed outside USA for 1 ½ years. Normally, when you come back, you have to start that five-year period all over again, because you were outside USA for one year or, in case of I-131, you have to start the four year, one day period all over again. But N-470 says, “We forgive your stay outside USA for one year or more for naturalization purposes. We don’t forgive your requirement of 30 months of physical presence.” But it stops the discontinuity that would normally restart the five-year clock or the four year, one day clock after having stayed outside USA for one year. It is a clock-stopping device. It is a very good device. One problem though. N-470 has one strange requirement. You must have at least one year anywhere during your stay in USA as a Green Card holder where you did not travel outside USA for even for one day. Makes no sense to me. I don’t know why it is there, but it’s there. Go figure, but keep that in mind.
I hope this has been informative. I had told one of our posters. Somebody had posted a comment on immigration.com wanting to know more about this. And I told him that I’ll record something, but I’ve had some technical issues. They’re working on our website developing some new material that will make it easier for us to post our videos. I hope to be doing this a lot more, and I’ll continue to do so.
Thank you for being here. I hope to speak with you very soon.
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I had a brief telephonic consultation and Resume review with Mr. Khanna. He seems like very through and knowledgable attorney. He provided me right information and suggestion as what should be the next step to follow and in which category my GC petition has more chances to get approved. This is all within 15 mins of consultation and that too with no charge/fee. I would strongly recommend him and his firm. - Pallav
We filed a petition premium processing for a self-petitioning researcher. The petitioner had over 15 years of research experience in the nanotechnology field. He had an extraordinary research career which included 52 scholarly scientific articles with over 1,020 citations of his work. His publications were featured in numerous high impact international journals. In addition to his noteworthy research publications, the petitioner was a highly sought after reviewer for a multitude of prestigious, international scientific journals. He was also selected to an editorial board.
Does the USCIS make a distinction as to whether a specialist physician works in a Medically Underserved Area vs Health Professional Shortage Area versus Physician Scarcity Area? My job falls in MUA, HPSA but not PSA , is this a problem for a specialist?
NIW requires "You must serve either in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), Mental Health Professional Area (MHPSA – for psychiatrists only), a Medically Underserved Area (MUA), or a Veterans Affairs facility, or for specialists in a Physician Scarcity Area (PSA)."
Is there a direct way for me to get a green card or apply for EB-3 without my employer's support? My employer is unwilling to support me for any working visa and I am already out of the status due to this.
Three options: Extraordinary Ability Aliens, National Interest Waiver and Investment (EB-5).
I got my Ph.D. (biochemistry and molecular biology) and I have 3+ years of post-doctoral experience. I have 4 publications (3 lead author) in human pathogenic research. Could you please comment on my eligibility for EB-1 or NIW.
My best GUESS is probably not. While NIW/EB-1 should not be a numbers game: how many publications, how many citations..., but it often ends up like that. Given that if you had one publication in a premier journal like Science, that would could count a lot more than 5 or 10 publications in a lower impact factor journal.
This morning, I was working on explaining to a client (whom I respect greatly), one of the foremost musicians from India, how EB1 (Extraordinary Ability) category applies to musicians and performers. As I was sending him the basic information on EB1 category, I thought I will share the general criteria with all of you. This information is for EA, generally and applies to all fields - not just music. See attached.
Regards to all. Rajiv.
We won a case for National Interest Waiver a Microbiologist holding a Ph.D., 12 publications and over ten years research experience. We were able to provide evidence of a strong national interest through numerous letters of recommendation from leading scientists. This applicant had an international reputation in his field.
We won a case for Alien of Extraordinary Ability a Mathematician holding a Doctorate of Mathematical Science, numerous “invited” publications and presentations as well as several prestigious international awards. We were able to provide evidence of extraordinary ability through letters of recommendation from leading mathematicians around the world. This applicant had strong support from the U.S. government and industry.
We won a case for Alien of Extraordinary Ability in environmental sciences with 9 publications, numerous “invited” committee memberships, a judge of the work of many other leading scientists and considered one of the leading experts in his field. We were able to provide evidence to show that his work was innovative and pioneering.
This applicant was a data recovery specialist under contract with the U.S. government providing critical skills to a high-level project. It was noted by referees that his knowledge and background were rare and greatly needed in the interest of our national defense. We provided documentation of his academic achievements as well as additional specialized training.
We won this case for an applicant with expertise in computer science utilizing his skills in the development of e-Government. His work was considered pioneering worldwide. We provided evidence that he was frequently called upon to present his work. He also served on numerous program committees.
We won this case for an applicant with five years research experience. The applicant was able to secure a very strong letter from the National Science Foundation director which detailed the innovative and pioneering work of the applicant. It was noted that his skills were critical for an initiative developed by the Foundation. We also offered evidence of his strong Ph.D. work as well as his publication record.
We won an Alien of Extraordinary Ability case for the applicant having advanced degrees from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, one of the most premier institutes in India. His research work was so highly regarded that he was awarded a two-year post-doctoral fellow at the Institute. This is a very high honor in that only “a select few” are considered for this position. The applicant had numerous books on civil engineering published and utilized by prestigious teaching institutes.
We obtained both and Outstanding Researcher and National Interest Waiver for this applicant. Based on his strong academic record and exceptional work experience we were able to obtain letters of recommendation from leading experts around the world. The applicant was currently working for one of the most prestigious research/teaching institutes in the world. His innovative research was noted internationally and he had multiple scholarly articles in well-respected journals. He also held membership in leading professional societies.&nbs
We won a case for National Interest Waiver for a Physician working in a medically underserved area. We provided a five year contract, copy of his J-1 Waiver approval, numerous experience letters, a letter from the Department of State and documentation to reflect statistics of health professional shortage in the area.
We won both an EB1 Alien of Extraordinary Ability case and a National Interest Waiver for this applicant. He was noted as being an exceptionally qualified, brilliant and outstanding researcher amongst an international peer group. We provided copies of his substantial publication record as well as evidence of his numerous "invited" presentations. This applicant had patented material which was identified as innovative and pioneering in the field and admired by top researchers.
We won this case as the applicant was noted to be a critical component to the success of various projects and had a very large impact on the research program. Referees described this applicant's talents to be rare and difficult to replace by U.S. workers. Her original and pioneering research made her uniquely qualified to further this intrinsically important research which greatly effected the nation as a whole.
We won a National Interest Waiver case for a Molecular Biologist holding a Ph.D. having over ten years of research experience. We argued that her qualifications were unique as compared to others in the field and that she was noted as one of the few in her field that has achieved the highest level of success. She had remarkable contributions to the field, most notably her significant discoveries in cardiovascular research. This applicant had an extensive publication list as well as a book chapter.
We won an Alien of Extraordinary Ability case for a Ph.D. in physics. This applicant had over 13 years of research experience, 30 refereed journal articles, 12 Invited presentations at conferences and meetings, 2 refereed conference publications, peer reviewing of manuscripts for prestigious international journals, employment at several world-renowned institutes and was elected to membership in Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society. Clearly, this applicant stood out among his peers as one of the few who has reached the highest level of success in his field.
My family did receive the green card through the extra ordinary ability (EB1) category. We have no words to say for the inspiring, exciting and excellent work done by Rajiv and Diane through the entire process. It took just about 8 months to receive the green card. In each and every step, we met many times through the conference calls with Rajiv and Diane and they explained the process clearly and precisely. Of course, we felt always that someone from our own family guiding us in the entire GC process.
I highly recommend reader's of this testimonial to consult Mr. Khanna's immigration experts for any immigration related legal issues at any time. You will be certainly pleased to find such a great friendly group of people that are well prepared to provide you the service you deserve. I really wondered sometimes that how Rajiv and Diane find time to respond quickly for an individual in addition to deal with the other clients. Dear Rajiv and Diane, our prayers to your whole team for your selfless service to us. In future, any of Rajiv's clients who wants to apply under extraordinary ability can reach me to share my experience.