Recording available for download for June 2 Conference Call

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monica1

monica1

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Recording available for download here for June 2 Conference Call. http://www.immigration.com/free-community-conference-calls
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Conference Dial-in: 1-712-432-3066
Conference Code: 531023
Topic: General Immigration Related Questions
Start Time: 1:55PM, EST
End Time: 3:20 PM, EST

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NOTE: This call does not mean that we have agreed to represent you or that there is an attorney-client relationship between us. This is merely a community service. You should discuss the specifics of your case with the attorney representing you.
 
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Best way to request for younger sister and mother.

Hello Rajiv,

I am happy to report that as of February 17 2011, I am a U.S. Citizen ... However, now I wish to bring my sister to live here as well (She lives in my home country, Venezuela).

I am 26 yrs old. I have been married for 5 years to my husband (born U.S. citizen) who is 27 and will be 28 in July. My sister is 16, she lives with my paternal Grandparents and my parents are divorced.

I had called an immigration lawyer friend of a family member with all these questions, but I wasn't satisfied with his answers.

1. How long would it take if I just plain and simple apply for my sister to come here?
The lawyer said 10 to 12 years, is this true?

2. Since that's too long I asked if I could adopt her?
The lawyer said if I did, it would have to be BEFORE she turns 16, and that since she turned 16 in May, that would be too late to adopt her. He also said I would have to look at adoption laws in Venezuela. I think there was something about me having to be a lot older than her than I actually am, but I don't remember how much older. He mentioned something about the "Convention Country Adoption Treaty". And that I should call an adoption agency as the fastest route and check about this. ***My mom said she heard that you now can be older than 16 in order for you to be able to be adopted, is this true?

3. Since this sounded too complicated to me, I just asked what if someone else in my family (like an uncle who's much older - 40 something) could adopt her?
He insisted that they have to adopt her BEFORE she turns 16 and that it's too late for that. Also, he said that adoption would cost 10s of thousands of dollars (which I obviously don't have!!!). He said they would have to apply to adopt her at an adoption agency here in the US, but that it couldn't happen because she's already 16.

4. Since this was not getting me anywhere I asked what else could I do to bring her here?
He said she should get a Student Visa, either for her to finish high-school here, or come when she goes to college... But if it was a High-School, it would have to be a private high-school and that is expensive. Plus I came here as an International Student to go to college and I know how expensive that is, and there is simply not money for that right now ....

5. Since I was really disappointed I asked what if I apply for my mom to come here, and then whenever my mother gets her green card, then SHE could apply for my sister to come here as her dependent?
The lawyer said it could take 10 years as well.

My questions to you are:

6. Do you know of any other way I could bring my sister as soon as possible?

7. If I ask for my mom, how long will it take before she has a Job Permit and a Green Card?

8. If my mom comes here, and she gets a job permit and a Green Card, can she THEN apply for my sister?

9. If my mom does apply for my sister, how long until my sister is actually living here in the states, obtains a job permit and obtains a green card herself ???

10. Do you know of any scholarship programs that would pay for everything for an International Student ? or any International Student Scholarships at all?

11. On a separate note, I have an AUNT who will get her citizenship soon, she only has the "Ceremony" left to go to. And she is my father's sister. If my AUNT applies for my Father to come how fast will he be able to come - how long will that take? and could he bring my sister with him - as a dependent? What if he gets a job visa?

12. Also, is it best for my mom to stay in Venezuela while I submit paperwork for her (Consular processing)? Or is it best for her to come here with her current tourist visa, and then apply to change her status while she's here? Which one is faster??

Thank you for all and any help or answers you can provide.

Melissa
 
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Hi Rajiv Ji,

1Q: Iam on EB3 (2008), my son is 17yrs old, per present pace of GC dates are moving, he will be aged out. Right now, He's ready to take admission in college, Will he be protected by CSPA? Or what are the best ways to handle this ? (is it better to transfer him to F1 or stay on AOS?).
2Q: Iam on 11th yr of H1, Can I do this : H1--> EAD---> H1 (if needed)?
3Q: Change of Address to another State, will have any adverse effect on GC case?
4Q: Client is offering job with similar duties as in my GC labor, with different title name and more pay? Is that a problem for my existing GC process? LC applied in CT–56K now paying 60K. Client located in MO– I may get around 79 or 80K.

Thanks a lot,

Sai4gc.
 
Hi Rajiv Ji,

I am a US Citizen and I had applied for my mother to get a green card in Sep 2009. I took her to an Immigration office for her interview but during the interview we were told that we needed to provide evidence that she is not charged with or have a warrant out for her arrest for something that happened 37 years ago. We provided evidence from the police department saying that this no longer exist and she does not have any warrants out for her arrest. We have been waiting since 2009. My mom needed to go back home to American Samoa and to New Zealand to work on my dad's stuff because he had passed away in 2009. I was not aware that she had to be back in country by Nov 2010. I had called USCIS and they said because my mom left the country after November, her case is considered abandoned. It hasn't been a year since she has been gone. If this is so, how can I get my mom back to the US so she can stay with me while I reapply for her green card? Or can we use the existing forms that were filed.
 
Dear Rajiv,

On the last conference call, I had posed a question regarding the best way to bring a baby back to US after being born in India for parents on AOS(I-485 /EAD for the last 3 years).You had advised to contact the consulate /congressman.I did that and got the following reply from the consulate.But the answers seems to be based on the fact that the parents are already are permanent residents .The reply is give below:

As per the U.S Embassy as per 9 FAM 42.1 N1.1,your child will not require an immigrant visa to enter the United States provided the following conditions are met:
· The child must have a separate passport and a birth certificate from the Corporation, Municipality or a Registrar of Births and Deaths. Hospital records are not adequate.
· The Child must accompany the immigrant mother (or the father) upon her/his first return to the United States following the birth of child. The child must be under the age of two years.
· The immigrant mother (or the father) must have a valid Form I-551 or I-151, Alien Registration Receipt Card (better known a Green Card) or Form I-327 (permit to Re-enter the United States) valid for two years from the date of issue.

If you meet the above requirements your child may accompany you to the United States without a visa.
Following your admission you should, however, contact the nearest office of the United States Citizenship and Immigrations Services (former INS).

However We are pending applicants for adjustment of status with a planned trip to India. If we have our child while on our visit to India what are the visa options for return travel to the US for the baby?

Could you advise how to proceed regarding this.You had mentioned that one of your client had got a B1 visa for their child in the same scenario ,but is this soley under the consulates's discretion?

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

TP
 
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Can same employer Re-file in EB-2 ? :

Hi Rajiv, thank you so much for this wonderful service. I have great regards for you expertise, caliber and thoughtfulness in reaching out to the community through this call.

A few years back, I was the beneficiary of a substituted labor in the Eb-3 category and the I-140 was approved and 485 file in july 2007 through a consulting company. Subsequently, I did not join the company and continued with my current employer who provided me with an Ac21 letter when we received an RFE from USCIS.

Since the priority dates have not moved and my current employer is not re-filing in EB-2, I am conidering going back to the consulting company with whom I have stayed on recently good terms. However, they said something like the same employer cannot refile for you in EB-2 if they have already got a labor certification approved for you in EB-3. Is that true? Would I be better off trying to do this through some other firm then?

Thanks very much in advance
 
What kind of unpaid internships/volunteer work can be done on H4:

Hi Rajiv, Would you know what kind of volunteer work/unpaid internships can be done on an H4 visa? i.e can my spouse take up an unpaid internship in the same field (say IT) in which she has previously worked overseas and has a degree/expertise in? and would that be a problem if the organisation subsequently sponsors her for an H1? or does it have to be strictly social service volunteer kind of work?

Really appreciate the help.

Thanks
 
Dear Rajiv,
This relates to a situation where in last year, i traveled on an expired AP by mistake and had to go out of the country and you advised me to
1. Come back on H1b
2. File for 485 again for me and my wife when dates become current.

I have since renewed my EAD and AP in parallel for me and my spouse.

I came back on H1B, how ever my spouse's Employer/Attorney (goldman Sachs/Fragomen) is of the view that they would file a H1b if and when it is really required.

now that the priority dates are moving forward for eb2(10/15/2006) and my priority date being nearby (11/26/2006), could you help advise me on the below


When is the earliest that we could file for a i485 again (do we have to wait till we get a decision on the current 485 petition)

If we have to wait till the decision and if the 485 gets rejected,

1. Now that we are expecting a baby in 2months from now, are there any alternatives (medical, humanitarian, H4 conversion etc) for my spouse to stay back in
the United States and/or avoid/delay her travel to India for her H1B stamping
2. Is it an option to get her h1b stamping done in canada (citing medical reasons)?
3. Is she ok to accept Maternity benefits from her Employer like Salary, Hospital visits etc within and outside the United States before she gets back to valid work status?

I would appreciate if you could suggest any solution for us to try.

thanks much.
-gk
 
Hi Rajeev,

I had applied for my Green card in 2004 in EB3. I got my labor and I 140 approved. Due the slow movement of EB3 I applied in EB2 and got my labor approved. I 140 was denied saying that I had bachelors in Physics and masters in computer science and both were unrelated degrees. I had re-applied I 140 again on March 31 2010. Since then the application is pending in TSC. Since I ported the date from EB3 I had applied 1 485 and got my AP and EAD.

Is there any way I can find out what is happening? Why is this taking so long? Is there any way I can expedite the process?? I worked through my attorney to find out what is happening. The first time he mentioned that he contacted USCIS and they said that my papers went to fraud investigation unit and came back in October 2010 and they put it in regular queue for processing.

Waited for a couple of months then I asked again and below is the reply I got from the attorney.

"Stanly,
I made an infopass to talk about your matter. The USCIS officer indicated that he believed that your I-140 is with the TSC. I submitted written inquiry requesting the Atlanta office to reverify whether your I-140 was not at the local office, and if it was, then, to transmit the same to TSC for processing. Thanks."

I am struggling to understand how an USCIS officer does not confirm where my papers are processed rather he thinks that my papers are in TSC.

Stanly.
 
Hi Rajiv,

I got my GC in June of 2010. Last week I was laid-off by the company that had sponsored my GC.

1) Do I have to file any paperwork, like AC21 or anything else to switch jobs?

2) Do I need to find a new job immediately or are GC holders allowed to take some time off?

3) My GC was sponsored as a “Programmer Analyst”. However, I may be getting an opportunity as an investment banker in a big firm. Can GC holders change careers?

4) If the company revokes the I-140 now, is that a problem?

Thanks,
Drew
 
Subject: Change in Employer & job profile while AOS was pending

Hi Rajeev,

First of all, "Thanks a lot" for all the help that you offer to members of this forum.

I have a couple of questions and I would sincerely appreciate any suggestions/help you could offer. Here are my Green card case details:

- Employer Applied for GC under EB2 in June 2006
- Job role for Labor: Software Engineer
- PD: Aug 11, 2006
- I140 & I485 filed concurrently
- Got EAD in July 2007

* Started Part time MBA in 2007

Employment History:
- Lay off in Apr 2008 from GC sponsoring employer
- Worked on EAD with Technology contracting firm on 6 month contract as Software Engineer (Jun-Dec 2008)
- Jan - Feb: No Job
- March 2009 through Sept 2010 worked as Biz Dev intern for a startup
- Sept 2010 to present working as a Biz Dev Manager
- I never applied for AC21 since I was told it is optional to inform USCIS

My priority date is current, and I have two questions I 'd like to ask:

Q1. If I get an RFE for Employment verification or something else that USCIS might want to check, what are my options since I am with a different employer in a managerial role?

Q2. If luck favors and I get the Green card, could I still fall into trouble in future 'cause the GC was issued for a Software Engineer labor application? For example, when I go for citizenship etc?

Sincerely appreciate your help!
 
Visitor visa denied; help needed

Hello Rajiv,

My elder brother wanted to visit United States. He applied for visitor visa last year however it was denied by US consulate at Mumbai. Here is some background:

My eleder brother is an Architect (related to construction business not an architect related to IT profession) and he has his own business there in India. Has been doing business for past 15-20 years now and has good client base. He wanted to visit places in the US and also wanted to stay with us for few weeks so he applied for visitor's visa to US consulate in Mumbai. They denied to issue visa stating he is a potential immigrant. He applied for his visa only and not for his other family members. I did not provide any documentation from my side. It was purely his own application. Also the application was processed by some travel agency through whom he was supposed to take package tour to US and at the end of the package tour was supposed stay with us and leave. He had no intention to immigrate ot the US. I also have attached the letter that consulate issued to him giving reason for denial.

Now he is planning to apply once again for the visa. This time he is planning to apply for the whole family unlike last time when he applied only for himself. His professional status remains unchanged as explained above. His family has 4 members including himslef (2 kids and wife). This time also I am not planning to provide any supporting docs to him from my side.

My question is: What precaution do he need to take or what specific documents should be submitted to consulate so that they don't look at him as a potential immigrant and grant visa to him and his family?

How many times can he apply for visa? Is there any limit on how many times he can apply for the visa?

Will appreciate if you could advise on this please.

Thanks!
 
New H1B with wage between Level1 and Level2

Is it ok for person with bachelors degree in CSE from india with no experience apply for H1B as DBA with Level 1 wage (according to wage database,Level 1 wage is $45000,Level 2 wage is $59,900 and offer is for $52000 )?,its entry level job.
Is there anything like, to apply for H1B,wage must be more than Level 2 wage?.
What are chances for H1B approval for DBA position for person who doesn't have any experience but have CSE bachelors degree?.I know there is no guarantee in immigration but, I want to decide if its worth taking this offer or look for better one.
Am currently on H4 status.



Thanks
 
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