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Documents for filing GC for parents

Hi,

My query is regarding documents needed for filing a Green card for parents.

I have read the USCIS website and gone through the I-130 form and from what I understand so far the only set of documents that will be required from the parents is their birth certificate and their marriage certificate.

My questions are as follows-

1. Are these the ONLY documents required during the entire GC process?
I heard from a friend that two Police clearance certificates will be required for each parent - one, a Central police clearance certificate and the other, a police clearance certificate from the city they live in. Is this correct? If so, is there a template/format for the same?

2. What are some of the acceptable documents in lieu of the birth certificate and the marriage certificate?

3. I read somehwere that an Affidavit from TWO close relatives can serve as a birth certificate. But a letter from the government agency saying that the birth certificate is not available must accompany the affidavit. Is this true? What if one is not able to obtain this certificate of non-availability?

Thanks for the great service! Look forward to the call and the answers.
 
Hello Rajiv,

Thanks you Rajiv for such wonderful support to community.

Situation:

1. I am on H1B visa valid till Feb 2009. My I-140 PD is December 2006 EB3 Case.
2. I-485, I765 and I131 was filed to Texas Service center on Jul 2007
3. Wife’s application (Dependant) return due I485 check was not signed. All documents sent back to lawyer for refilling and not sure the status. Lawyer is not responding to phone calls or email.
4. Principle applicant have received receipt notice for I485, I765 and I131. Notice date Sept 2007
5. Finger printing is done and I have received AP.
6. Principle applicant have not received EAD.
7. On Dependent returned application CIS put internal tracking number (start with #3) and application received date as Jul 2007.
8. As per last communication with Lawyer, he sent file to USCIS but so far checks are not encased.

Questions:

1. What are the options for refilling I485 for dependent?
2. Do I have to wait till priority date gets current for refilling I485 for dependent? Does CIS consider receipt date as earlier file date?
3. What are the chances to get it accepted incase it resubmit to CIS before priority date gets current?
4. Is there any way I can get information whether lawyer resubmitted dependent I485 application?
5. When I called USCIS for dependant application status they didn’t have any records.

Thanks
Vijay
 
Hello Rajiv,

This is related to family based Green Card. My uncle is on Green Card and right now living in India. He filled family based Green Card for his son, who is 18+ now. INS requested some documents one of them is Affidavit of Support.

Questions:

1. Do Sponceror needs to be in US, when the particular sponcered file for his/her son is in-process? If yes, what are the critical stage he needs to be in US?
2. Affidavit of Support can be presented by any one or it has to be from the person, who sponcered Green Card?

Thanks in advance.

Deepak
 
Can I have an answer for this.

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 reveling the query and not in a position to respond.

Couple questions, Can I switch back to Company A.

1. Does he need to file with DOL (or) USCIS that I am switching back to companyA
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.
 
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Hi Rajiv,

I have transferred my H1-B visa to my current employer. I have all the necessary papers from my new employer including I-797. But my passport is stamped with H1-B of my previous employer which is still valid until September 2009.

Now I am going to India to get married and will need a H4 visa for my wife. Please let me know if I still need to stamp my passport with the new employer's H1 (for my wife's H4) or there are any other ways around it.

Thanks,

Souvik.

P.S. In addition to the question above, I have one more query.
My previous employer is not aware of my H1 transfer to my new employer. In case if they come to know about the H1 transfer, is it possible for them to invalidate or expire the H1 stamping on my passport? In other words, can my previous employer do any harm to me in any ways?
 
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H1B & I-140(approved) --- Job concern

Hello Mr. Rajeev,

Greatly appreciate the opportunity this forum provides for such discussion.

Here is my specific situation.

I am from India and I have been in the country for little more than 8 years now. Been on F1 status for more than 5 years; H1B started in May 2005.
In Sep 2006 I switched employers and have been with my current employer since then. My current employer filed for my green card and the current status is that my I-140 has been approved in mid Sept. My priority date is Feb of 2008.

Here is my concern. Our company is in a bad shape and we are facing almost a certain slow-death. There have been some layoffs recentely (luckily I was not in that list) but we feel that the next time around will be sort-of packup for all.

1. In this environment I wanted to find out what my options would be if when I get affcted say in a week or 2 weeks. Some body told me that because my
I-140 is approved I can apply for EAD. Is there any substance to it?
2. What does having an approved I-140 mean?

Can you please shed some light on this?

Many Thanks in advance.

vishuonline
 
F1-OPT-H1B...OPT Extension ??

1. I have a question on F-1 OPT extension. I am currently on OPT expiring Jan 2009. I applied for H1B in Apr.2008 through a consulting company and got approval starting Oct.1.2008 with new I-94 attached to it. Now, I am offered a teaching position in the university I graduated and they dont want to sponsor H-1 (transfer). Is there a way I can apply for OPT (STEM) extension of 17 months without using H1B?

2. I am volunteering in research at my university lab and can get a letter from Professor on my work. Although my H-1 is starting from Oct.1, can I join the company after 2 months as I have some work left at lab? as I have OPT valid till Jan 2009. Will I go out of status if I dont start working on H1 immediately on Oct.1?
 
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F-1 status and N-400 Questions!

Hello Rajiv,

In December 2003 my F-1 visa was declared "out of status" due to work without authorization. The Optional practical training (OPT) permit came in late and i countiued to work on campus while my OPT was still pending. This put my F-1 visa out of status and had to depart the country to reinstate the status. Departed the country as soon a possible! Here is the timeline of the events:

1. On December 5th 2003 I was informed by the University's International Student Services (ISS) that i was "out to status" due to working without authorization on campus after graduation (pending OPT permit).

2. Made travel arrangement and wraped up my stuff and left the country on 14th of Dec 2003. So technically i was out of status for 9 days while in the United States!

3. Applied for a new F-1 visa (based on new I-20 for MBA course work) on 22nd Dec 2003 from India and was rejected because i could not establish that i was going to return to my homeland after completing my education in the U.S.

4. I got married to a U.S. citizen on 15th of Jan 2004, filed for immigration from India on 20th of Jan 2004 and re-entered on CR1 visa (Marriage based visa) in late may 2004.

I am currently a 10 year permanent resident. Now filling out my N-400 form for citizenship and i have a few YES or NO quesions on Form N-400 that i am having a hard time understanding and answering! I understand you don't answer questions on filling out forms, but i am having a hard time interpreting / understanding the following two questions given my background! Please help! The questions are:

1. Is my "F-1 visa-out of status" considered a citation or was i cited? No document was provided to me, I was simply told to leave the country to go reinstate my F-1 visa!

2. Was i removed, excluded or deported?

Please help me answer these questions!

Thankyou Rajiv!!
 
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Citizenship question

Hello, Rajiv,

I am applying for US citizenship based on the three-year exception for being married to a citizen. Right before I sent the application in, I had to spend 5 and a half months in my home country due to my mother being sick. My husband was in the U.S. during that time. My question is: If there is a need for me to go back again some time between my filing the N-400 and interview date, would that jeopardize my application?

Thank you very much for your advice!
 
After receiving the GC

Hi Rajiv,

Thank you very much for conduction such wonderfull tel confirence.

I have a question.

1. One of my friend working for a company "A" using H1-B
2. He applied for a Green card from other company "B".
3. Now he got another Job in company "C" willing to work using H1-B, and he accepted that offer. Will be joining soon in 2 weeks. And he got the H1-B receipt notice from company "C".
4. Now his green card got approved and will be receiving the Card soon as it was ordered proction
4. Which means he never worked for the green card processed company "B"
5. Now he is willing to work for company "B" also as he got GC from that company. And at the same time he would like to work for company "C" as he commited recently.

Is is possible to work for both companies "B" and "C" ???

I heard if he doesn't work for the green card processed company for atleast minnimun 6 months, there may be some issues while naturalization.
Is there any issue while naturalization?

Please suggest me what best for him, as he commited for "C" just now assuming he will work in featuer for the company "B"

Thanks a lot for your help
 
Accepted I-130 for permanent residency how much does J1 and J2 affect process?

Hello, I am so happy to have found this website!! Well, my case is the following. After 7 years of waiting, the I-130 petitioned by my father in Sept.2001, who is a U.S citizen, was approved. I was 22 years old when it was filed, and I got married before it was approved. So now my husband and I are waiting for the visa number to be available, but now I am third priority so who knows when it will be available. My husband is a physician and we are in the U.S with F-1 and F-2 visas as of now, but are planning on applying for the J-1 visa for his medical residency program. I understand that we will have to go back to our country for at least 2 years, but if in the time we are here on the J-1 visa, the visa number becomes available, what happens then? Will I lose that visa number or will the NVC wait with that number until the 2 years are up and I can fill out the change of status papers? What I don't want is to start the process of petitioning for a permanent visa all over again. Thank you very much.
 
Company office closed - what about H-1B & I-485

Thanks for this excellent service.

I-485 filed in july 2007, EAD & AP valid until Jan 2009. Currently on H1-B. Wish to keep H1 alive. Everything with the same employer.

Employer had two locations: One in miami FL other in orlando, FL

My LCA & H1 was filed 2 yrs back from miami office.

Now, miami office has been closed and almost everything has been transferred to the Orlando office. I have been working from home in miami.


what do I need to do to keep my H1b in status while i am working from home for the next 3-4 months?
What do I need to do for my pending i-485 while i am working from home?

what doI need to do to keep my H1b in status when i move to orlando office after 3-4 months?
What do I need to do for my pending i-485 when i move to orlando office after 3-4 months?
 
Hi Rajiv,
Thank you somuch for the invaluable service thru your conference calls.
I have few questions rerading the I-140, EAD.

1. My I-140 was applied on 11th July 2007 an it is with TSC since then showing pending. I renewed my wife's EAD(dependent applicant) and she got EAD approved from TSC valid for 2 years. As my I-140 pending (status showing on uscis website) I beleive my wife should get only 1 year valid EAD. Is there any issue in using this 2 year valid EAD for her employment?

2. My GC filed from Dallas, TX. Now my wife got job in MICHIGUN. She wanted to use her EAD for her JOB. Is there any restriction that she should work on EAD only in the area where the primary applicant's GC filed?

3. My wife's new employer willing to do H1B and also willing to file GC seperately for her. I filed I-485 for my wife and daughter along with my I-485. Is it posible to withdraw my wife I-485 now from my GC and let her new employer file(start processing) seperate her own GC.

Thank you somuch.
Best regards,
Mohamed.
 
Does Canada PR affect US GC?

I am currently on H1-B status; EB3 I-485 pending with 04 PD. My question is does applying for Canadian permanent residency as a backup hinder my current 485 application? Will having Canadian PR cause any problems if my PD becomes current?

Thanks
 
COS & GC related..

Hi Rajeev,

I am here on H4 status and applied for H1 (while I was in India) which got approved. Now I have applied for COS from H4 to H1 (as my I 129 came w/o the new I94) thru premium process on 01 Oct, 2008. My questions:-

1) When I speak to my lawyer he says neither does he have the APPLICATION RECEIPT NO nor did he hear anything from the USCIS as yet. Can this be true? Does this take so long?

2) Generally will there be any problem in COS when the H1 is already approved?

Also a different question:

My wife who is already on H1 planning to apply for GC thru her current company /consultancy. But the issue is she is not likely to stay with this company for long. Now:-

a) Does changing companies affect GC process? Can the employer play mean in any ways during the process if she quits the company?

b) Are there any DOs and DON’Ts when filing for GC?

Thx & Regards
 
question from a member

I applied for my I-485 last june in eb3. After I applied for my I-485 I got my eb2 I-140 approved. The priority date in my eb3 I-140 is april 2003. My lawyer sent several letters to USCIS to use my eb2 I140 and port the PD from eb3 to eb2. So far it didn't help. I requested Senators office to make an enquiry, USCIS got back to senators office and told them that mine will be adjudicated using eb2 I-140 and older priority date of April 2003. USCIS got back to senators office in August last week. USCIS also told that it will take 45 to 120 days to adjudicate and notify the decison. So far there is no updates in my case. I called up USCIS and checked if my case is assigned to an officer, they said no. Some people in internet forums say that it is a standard reply to senator office enquiry and some say that going through senators office helps.

Can I go to my senators office and ask them to followup now or should I wait for 2 more months before I request them to followup.

Can I make an enquiry through AILA liaison will that help in this situation.

Can filing I824 help in situations like this. I know processing time for I824 is 8-10 months

If I dont get GC by next 2009 may, if my employer agrees, can I take an unpaid vacation, go for internship for 10 weeks with other employer using EAD.
 
H1-B stamping and Green Card question

I have a couple of questions below:

Question #1
--------------
I am currently a resident of Seattle WA. I plan to go to India in the last week of Dec'08 and return in the second week of Jan'09. I have completed 3 years on the H1-B and my current H1-B stamp (which I got at Vancouver BC in Sep'06) expires on 1st Jan'09. My original plan was to drive across the border to Vancouver BC, get the stamp at the US consulate and then drive back across the border to Seattle. I booked a Consulate appointment in the 4th week of Nov'08.

I noticed that they are asking all applicants whose appointment falls after 22nd October 2008 to fill a form DS160 online. In this form they ask for an address where they will send the passport and that's where my problem is. I don't have an address in Canada and was told by a friend that for a passport to be delivered to an applicant, the delivery address must have the applicant as one of the people registered as living there otherwise it wont get delivered.

It seems like the Vancouver BC consulate has changed the process and I am guessing that they are trying to plug some loophole. I was wondering what the safest thing to do would be.

Also, if during the interview I am asked whether my company has filed for a Green Card for me, what should I say?



Question #2
--------------
2. My current employer has started my Green Card Process and I was wondering what the timeline is like, what papers do I need to sign or what documents should I expect to receive before/after/during each step in the process. I was also wondering if Premium Processing applies to any of the processes.
 
Internship while on EAD

Hi,

I'm currently studying part-time while being employed full-time. My GC application is stuck in the I-485 stage but I have received my EAD which is currently valid till 2010. My question is: can I do an Internship next summer with another firm in a totally different field from my GC Labor filing? During the internship, I will not be working for my current firm.

Thanks
kartb
 
L1B Denied, Next steps

Rajiv,

I work for a reputed IT firm. I applied for L1B individual and it got a RFE initially and then got denied. THe RFE questions

from USCIS were more around asking my company to substantiate by comparing my skills with those that already present in US

via my company. They also were asking for probative evidence for the specialized knowledge I possesed. I understand due to

lack of enough detail to be able to put back a strong case it got denied.

As per my company guidelines I can reapply only after 6 months. Here are my questions.

0) Are there any recent changes in L1 guidelines/rules?
1) I want to know if I stand a chance if I do L1B again?
2) Is it better for me to go L1A - since I have over 5 years of managerial experience?.
3) Since I do not have any VISA - is it worth going the route of GC with CP from India itself, since my attorney feels that I

fit well into EB-1 category.

Pls advice.
 
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