I am on my OPT period (June 1st, 2021 - May 31st, 2022) and am working for a company in the USA. I plan to travel to India for my sister's wedding from December 18th, 2021, to December 28th, 2021. The following are my questions for travel in these COVID situations:
1. I wanted to know the details for entering the USA. What documents should I have while entering the USA?
2. Does the USA allow OPT holders to enter?
A1: You will need to contact your DSO for endorsement on your I-20 to travel, evidence that you have been working (like pay stubs), and a letter from your employer confirming that you will be returning to your ongoing employment.
Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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.
Update 1- Feb 8, 2021
Can students on OPT CPT work remotely during the COVID times. ICE says yes. See from page 12 on of this FAQ released by the govt.
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/coronavirus/covid19faq.pdf
I can only recommend working with Rajiv's law offices. Rajiv himself and his teammates (Kalpana in our case) have been professional, efficient, smart and reliable.
We started to work with Rajiv to apply for a cap H1B in March 2016. Our file was excellent and we have been selected. Our petition, to our and Rajiv's immense surprise, has been denied without any relevant arguments from the immigration agent. Rajiv gave us precious advices, he was confident that we would win with an appeal. Rajiv built our appeal file, and later our RFE answer. We contacted Rajiv and Kalpana many times in the process; they always came back to us promptly and proposed call appointments in the next 2-4 business days. They were very well organized and precise in their answers. Our appeal has been sustained.
I was finally able to get the H1B visa. I know Rajiv and Kalpana are a big part of our success. I am very grateful for their work.
I am very greatfull to Rajiv Ji and his team for immediately responding to my request for help when I needed it in my immigration problems and queries, on calling Rajiv Ji's office the staff was very co-operative and scheduled a phone appointment with Rajiv Ji at the earliest since the time I had called and Rajiv Ji spoke to me the next day and answered all my queries without charging for it. which is the biggest help I could get. Words are not enough to Thank him for all the help he gives to people in need in his busy schedule at his position. Only Rajiv Ji can handle to help people and carry on his office with his profession in such a efficient way. He is the most kind and helping Immigration Attorney I know of in the USA. My prayers and best wishes go with him for God to shower his choicest blessings on him and his profession to flourish. THANK YOU RAJIV JI............:) YOU are like the light in the tunnel for Immigrants like me here in this foreign land.
Our client, a former Tri-Valley University of California (TVU) student who was left out of status due to unexpected closure of TVU, applied for reinstatement to student status. He retained us to respond to the Request for Evidence (RFE) he received on his reinstatement application. There were several serious issues raised by USCIS in the RFE. One of them was that the USCIS alleged that the online classes our client took at TVUdisqualified him from full-time F-1 student status. We prepared a comprehensive response and documented our client’s entire case
I am in the initial OPT which expires on November 30th, 2021. My STEM Extension has been denied based on approved H1-b which is pending withdrawal at the Texas Service Center for the last 6 months. My current employer’s attorney raised the Ombudsman request a week ago and I’ve taken Ohio senator's help to submit inquiry two weeks ago but no response so far from the USCIS and also from online forums it seems it’ll take 30 days to get a response at least but I’m running out of my time. My employer is reapplying for my STEM OPT in two weeks again. Do I need to take any other steps to get this issue resolved?
Firstly, talk with your DSO. Second thing is to talk to your congressman's office. Even though they are effective in my opinion they can take time. These are the only two steps that I can recommend in addition to what you have done.
Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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.
Hi just want to ask if I can apply my 15 yrs old child an H4 visa while I'm already here in the US. I am a single mom. If so, can he have a visa interview alone, without me having to come home to accompany him?
Contact them, support-india@ustraveldocs.com. This is the fastest and best way to reach us. We read every email and strive to reply within 3 working days. Occasionally, complicated requests can take longer.
Telephone:(91-120) 4844644, (91-22) 62011000 and 1-703-520-2239(for all calls from the United States).
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Hello, I have my current h1 valid till Sep 2022 and my extension has been approved. If my spouse went for h4 stamping in Sep after my current h1 gets expired, Do I need to get my visa stamped first for the extension or only extension I797 will be suffice to get h4 stamping. Thanks, Ashish
US consulates in recent years have not insisted on H-1B visa stamping before they stamp an H-4 visa.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am on an F-1 visa. I just need to know what are the consequences of working without authorization. I have a situation due to a hardship problem during the Covid times, I worked for one and a half months (approximately I don't remember exactly). I had a loan that paid my tuition but during the Covid times the bank from my hometown denied the transfer of funds. So, for that particular period I worked because I did not have a choice. All of my family members were fighting the worst covid situation at that time. There are five people in my family; four were in the hospital for weeks. I was not aware that working without authorization is a serious violation of my status.
In the future when I apply for H-1B or apply for OPT, what kind of consequences do I face? What are my options to get out of this situation? Can we get one pardon from the USCIS for this mistake?
The DSO could assist you in this matter and figure something out. But be prepared to leave the United States and secure a job if possible. Keep applying for an H-1B and if you ever get through the lottery and you get an H-1B approval make sure that you reveal in your visa papers that there was a violation. Be truthful about it. Remember this is not a ground for denying your H-1B. Therefore H-1B is definitely a possibility, but getting back the student status may be difficult.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
1. Can I have multiple employers i.e. jobs in the first year of OPT and also after getting STEM OPT extension?
2. Can all my employers start my green process simultaneously?
3. If H-1B COS is approved through one employer i.e. switched from OPT to H-1B, can I still continue other jobs and GC process with them? If not, is there a way to continue all jobs?
4. Does it make a green card case stronger if the sponsoring employer is a big renowned company like Microsoft or Amazon? Also, what about if the company is small?
5. Does OPT, STEM, and H-1B allow you to do a job that allows remote work from within the U.S. regardless of the pandemic? Is such a job eligible for H-1B and green card sponsorship?
1. Yes. STEM OPT people can also have more than one concurrent job, but they have to work with their DSO's to make sure the paperwork is filed properly.
2. Yes, as long as there is a good faith intention to join any one of these employers who can get your green card.
3. Yes, you can. You can have multiple H-1B approvals living together in the same space.
4. It does not impact the speed of the green card. What is most important is the company's financial solvency.
5. Remote work is possible for both OPT STEM, H-1B and Green Card jobs.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Q1. If I change my employer while my H-1B COS is filed but not yet approved, then can I keep using my OPT and STEM with my new employer, or I will lose both OPT & H-1B, and will be out of status?
Q2. If my H-1B COS is denied, then can I keep using my OPT and STEM, or I will lose both OPT & H-1B, and will be out of status?
Q3. How often does it happen that H-1B COS, transfer, and renewal get denied? And what could be possible reasons for denial?
1. You can double check with your DSO about the technical issues involved.
2. You have to go back to your DSO and tell them you would like to continue on OPT STEM.
3. All the time.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
My daughter was born in Canada and is on my H-1 visa as an H-4 dependent. She is currently studying 2nd year of her Bachelor's degree and will turn 21 in July/2024. I have a couple of questions, and they are
1. By what date/age she needs to change her status from H-4 to F-1?
2. Once on F-1 status, are there a minimum number of months/semesters/years she has to complete before being eligible for a CPT or OPT?
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I really appreciate Mr. Rajiv, Kalpana, and their team for their work. They handled my case with utmost care and very professionally and did regular follow up with USCIS for the case status. They were always there to answer my questions and clarified them with almost details. I would highly recommend them if you have any immigration issues.