General Nonimmigrant Visa

Guestbook Entry for RosieJai , United States

Name
RosieJai
Country
United States
State
NY
Comment

We thank you very much Mr. Rajiv Khanna, for providing us by far the best advisement on our case. Your suggested course of action turned out to be the winner since it comprehensively favored us. So we would like to take this opportunity to convey our appreciations for your meticulous judgment and astute advisement on our case.

We believe that people, who engaged services of Mr. Khanna's law firm for their immigration matters have certainly made one of the best choices in their lives. Also we would strongly recommend hiring Law Offices of Mr. Rajiv S Khanna, if anyone can choose to pick and is on the look out for a reputable Law firm to handle his/her immigration needs. Rest assured you can’t go wrong with that decision. In fact your case will be dealt with utmost trust and care by this firm that you won’t worry about anything ever again. Surely, you will agree that such a feeling is priceless.

Mr. Khanna and his staff constantly keep abreast of all the changes that are taking place in immigration law on daily basis is another reason why one should trust them completely.

H-1 related I-94 issue

Question details

I have read some very nice articles on your Forum and wanted to get your help on My Weird Issue with I94.

I am on H1-B Visa and my Approval (I797) is Valid Till October-2010 However My Indian Passport is Expiring on 26'th-Aug-2009. I just came back from India a week back and Immigration Officer has Issued me I94 Till my Passport Expiry.. Is thr any other way for me to Apply for I94 Extension based on Approval validity without Leaving the Country ??? or i have to leave the Country & Come back ???
Same Applied to my Wife as well Since we traveled together and went for Immigration together immigration officer Issued Her also I94 Till My Passport Expiry Date ...

Whenever CBP gives you an I-94 with mistakes on it, they can easily correct it if you just go back to the airport and request a correction. Most airports have CBP office hours. In my view, they should issue an I-94 co-extensive with your approval, not your passport. So, go back to CBP. Post your experience here for all.

Start-up applying for H-1 and AC21 for employees

Question details

If a new start-up IT consulting company wants to transfer H1 of a prospective employee who is already on H1 and working for his current H1 sponsor, what are the issues and feasibility for such a transfer?

How can such a start-up IT consulting company go about hiring AC21 eligible folks on EAD? May this is the safest route in the beginning until the company gets more employees and grows revenue?

Will the AOS of the prospective employee be safe if he is the only employee of this company in the beginning. Of course the company wants to expand in the future but has to start somewhere.

 H-1 by Start-up Companies

H-1 Quota issues for students

Q. I am a student graduating in December with my Masters degree. I have an offer from an university. I understand that universities apply for exempt-H1B. I also understand that exempt H1B's cannot be transferred to non-exempt H1B's.

Will I be able to work in the period from April to October 1st with the private company, when my non-exempt H1B is still in process? Will accepting this offer be a problem if i want to move to a private firm later?

H-1 where there is no license in hand

In professions that require a license under State law (teacher, nurse, architect, physician), an H-1B cannot be submitted without the license. This is the general rule.

Nevertheless, where the license is delayed because the beneficiary does not yet have a Social Security Number, CIS may approve the petition for at least one year. We must, however, submit documentation from the licensing State agency confirming that the beneficiary has met all other requirements for the license (except providing a SSN) and that one will be issued as soon as the agency receives the SSN.

H-1 - how to revert to old employer

Question details

My friend was working for Company A and he shifted to Company B, three months back filing a new H1B, But his employer got a 6 page H1B query list, his employer is not revealing the query and is not in a position to respond.

Couple of questions, Can I switch back to Company A.
1. Does he need to file with DOL (or) USCIS that I am switching back to company A
2. If his H1B with company B is not approved, will it be a problem that I worked Company B for 3 months and has taken the pay?

Other Question is, Company A send a letter to INS saying that he is not working with Company any more (Company A employer is telling that he did not revoke the H1B but send a normal letter to INS), Can he still switch back to Company A???

If he can not join back Company A, Can he file a new H1B with another company, knowing the fact that he has a query on his H1B with Company B.

In my view, he cannot go back to company A without taking some additional steps.

Here, company A has revoked the H-1 (all that takes is a letter), they will need to reapply the H-1 and he should get a new visa stamp. He can also get an H-1 through another employer but will most probably need a visa stamp before he can start work. The existing query (RFE) should not normally interfere with any future applications unless the RFE contains some allegations of fraud or lack of qualifications related to your friend.

F-1 OPT - No Job

Question details

I was approved for my OPT on February 2008 for a duration of one year. At that time, I was allowed to stay in US for 1 year while looking for job. On April, 2008, a new regulation came according to which a student on OPT can not stay in US without job for more than 90 days. I was not aware of this rule until end of September 2008. Now I have applied for dependent visa. My worry is that unknowingly I stayed for around 6 month without job when I was actually allowed for only three month.

I am worried that is this mistake going to affect my new visa approval? Is there anyway I can explain USCIS that it happened because I was not informed about this rule and I did not come across it.

Your best bet is to get your dependent visa stamp from a consulate as soon as possible. That should take care of any potential future problems.

H-1 quota - the law

People (even lawyers, including me) find it difficult to keep the H-1 quota issues straight. I am giving the law here for reference and better understanding.

The Law
_________________________________________

AC21
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SEC. 103. SPECIAL RULE FOR UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH FACILITIES, AND GRADUATE DEGREE RECIPIENTS; COUNTING RULES.
Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

H-1 transfer - what action is needed for H-4

Question details

I came to USA with an H1b Visa, my family's H4 visa was also issued with me. After coming to USA I transferred my H1b visa to new company and I got my transfer approved and I got a new H1b with new I-94, my question is whether they can travel with the old H4 or not?

If their visa is still valid, they can travel. Each time an H-1 holder changes jobs, the H-4 holders are NOT required to change their H-4, as long as the H-4 status (I-94) or visa is still valid. An action on H-4 is required only if the status (if within USA) or the visa (if traveling abroad or outside USA) is about to expire. Of course, if H-1 holder has been out of status even for one day, my answer would change.

E-3 Issue

Question details

I am an Australian citizen currently on a B2 that expires in Oct. I lodged I-539 application for extension in Aug and received I-797 receipt Aug 25.
I may have found an employer that will sponsor me on an E3 visa (Australians only). All I need is a letter of offer and a completed Labor Condition Application.
To apply for the E3 visa though, I need to leave the USA and visit a US consulate. I do not have my original I94 any more (I submitted it with my I-539) but I do have a copy of it. Once I get a letter of offer, I will travel to either Toronto Canada or home to Sydney Australia to apply for the visa.

Qo1. Can I still leave the USA without the original I94?

Qo2. In the event my E3 visa is denied, will I be able to re-enter the USA from Canada without the original I94, provided my stay in Canada is less than 30 days? (And how would this work if I take the trip up there after the expiration date of the original I94? Remembering that my B2 extension is pending)

 Ans1. Yes. You should not need an original I-94 to travel out.

Ans2.  You probably cannot reenter using a copy of the I-94. Not only that, your departure from USA renders your pending B application void (considered abandoned).

They way I see it, you have two choices. Wait for B extension before you go for E stamping. Or, go for E stamping bearing in mind the consequences of abandonment and reentry not assured.