Check this out http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/adjustment-of-status-vs-consular-processing.html
scroll down until you reach the bottom of the page. I don't know how accurate this information is though
DV 2007 AOS only
- Thread starter Jugnu786
- Start date
Check this out http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/adjustment-of-status-vs-consular-processing.html
scroll down until you reach the bottom of the page. I don't know how accurate this information is though
Hi Ekmekchi,
Please see the part of my previous post concerning the 3-year bar on reentry and the 10-year bar on reentry.
I don't know enough to give you more specific advice. You really need a good lawyer.
rc2007
Please see the part of my previous post concerning the 3-year bar on reentry and the 10-year bar on reentry.
I don't know enough to give you more specific advice. You really need a good lawyer.
rc2007
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Ekmekchi,
plz consult a lawyer there may be an easy way out of this...hopefully this wont be that complicated!!
CP will still work fine only crucial point is from what date they will start considering yours presence out of status and that will determine if the 3 or 10 years bar would apply on you guys or not.I had my change of status denied back in Dec 2001 from J1 to H1 and that I kept fighting until I got a letter to leave the country in June 2002.They considered be out of status from the time that letter was issues so that went fine I left country within 30 days.In your case they may consider your unlawful presence occurance might very well be from the date they might deny your case......and that will put you guys stable situation for CP.
Time is crucial, you gotta act quickly!!Anytime someone leave country while AOS pending and with no other non immigrant status, that makes AOS abandoned.
Jugnu
plz consult a lawyer there may be an easy way out of this...hopefully this wont be that complicated!!
CP will still work fine only crucial point is from what date they will start considering yours presence out of status and that will determine if the 3 or 10 years bar would apply on you guys or not.I had my change of status denied back in Dec 2001 from J1 to H1 and that I kept fighting until I got a letter to leave the country in June 2002.They considered be out of status from the time that letter was issues so that went fine I left country within 30 days.In your case they may consider your unlawful presence occurance might very well be from the date they might deny your case......and that will put you guys stable situation for CP.
Time is crucial, you gotta act quickly!!Anytime someone leave country while AOS pending and with no other non immigrant status, that makes AOS abandoned.
Jugnu
hi again, thanks for your replies.
we've talked a couple of lawyers about our case. 2 of them were very good with student related cases. and they both told us that USCIS is right and the school immigration officer had advised us wrong.
the lawyer asked "how can she say something like that?" the student imm. officer still says the same thing but refuses to give any written or signed document. according to the lawyers there isn't so much to do.
at that point, i've thought about sueing the student imm.officer. one of the lawyers is searching the case for us. i hope she can help us.
tonight i've called my country's USA embassy. i've told them the situation. the person i'm talking was very knowledgable, and told me that i can do CP. i need to immediately have my case transferred to them by contacting KCC, and about OPT, she told me to have a legal paper of it, an official notice or something, this would show that we had OPT during those dates.
i gave her all the dates about the case, she might misunderstand the dates because she told me , at most you have been only 2-3 weeks out of status, and this is nothing. it won't be a problem. i think she thought that the OPT ended on Jan 31th and AOS opened on Jan 10th. instead, AOS opened on Jan 10th before the OPT even ended on Jan 31th.
we're gonna talk with USCIS about the case, and if they don't seem to approve we're gonna call KCC and change it to CP. if we leave US and then can't get the green card, we won't try again i think.
we've talked a couple of lawyers about our case. 2 of them were very good with student related cases. and they both told us that USCIS is right and the school immigration officer had advised us wrong.
the lawyer asked "how can she say something like that?" the student imm. officer still says the same thing but refuses to give any written or signed document. according to the lawyers there isn't so much to do.
at that point, i've thought about sueing the student imm.officer. one of the lawyers is searching the case for us. i hope she can help us.
tonight i've called my country's USA embassy. i've told them the situation. the person i'm talking was very knowledgable, and told me that i can do CP. i need to immediately have my case transferred to them by contacting KCC, and about OPT, she told me to have a legal paper of it, an official notice or something, this would show that we had OPT during those dates.
i gave her all the dates about the case, she might misunderstand the dates because she told me , at most you have been only 2-3 weeks out of status, and this is nothing. it won't be a problem. i think she thought that the OPT ended on Jan 31th and AOS opened on Jan 10th. instead, AOS opened on Jan 10th before the OPT even ended on Jan 31th.
we're gonna talk with USCIS about the case, and if they don't seem to approve we're gonna call KCC and change it to CP. if we leave US and then can't get the green card, we won't try again i think.
Sorry to hear about your case. First of all I don’t want to confuse you but I want to mention as it may be helpful for other users. I think your school official may be right too. When I was student and applied for OPT our school official told us same thing, almost 2 years ago. I also found same kind of info from the UC Berkeley website (http://ias.berkeley.edu/siss/immigration/f1students/f1opt.htm)
“Even if you are not able to secure employment, you may remain in the U.S. during the period of OPT, although the BCIS expects you to be actively searching for full-time employment. “
There are lots of people don’t get job with OPT then almost at the end of OPT they took admission for higher degree at same school as well as different school but I don’t think they apply for reinstatement. If they don’t work with OPT so they should become out of status according to the lawyer you talked, but how do all of these students go back to school without applying for reinstatement?
You can check some big schools website about OPT and ask your lawyer to show the documents to support his info. Then one more time go to USCIS and talk to them Or if you don’t want spend any single minute on this do CP!
“Even if you are not able to secure employment, you may remain in the U.S. during the period of OPT, although the BCIS expects you to be actively searching for full-time employment. “
There are lots of people don’t get job with OPT then almost at the end of OPT they took admission for higher degree at same school as well as different school but I don’t think they apply for reinstatement. If they don’t work with OPT so they should become out of status according to the lawyer you talked, but how do all of these students go back to school without applying for reinstatement?
You can check some big schools website about OPT and ask your lawyer to show the documents to support his info. Then one more time go to USCIS and talk to them Or if you don’t want spend any single minute on this do CP!
These lawyers may be wrong. There are many schools that state that you are in status as long as you are looking for a job. You should investigate this further.
She may be afraid that you will sue the school or sue her personally. Also, she may be not authorized to issue official documents by herself.
Bad idea. Suing the shool or the immigration officer will not help you get a greencard. On the other hand, once you sue them, the school's lawyers will become involved, and the school may become uncooperative towards you. You want the school to be your friend.
If the embassy official misunderstood the dates involved in your case, then you can't rely on her opinion.
we're gonna talk with USCIS about the case, and if they don't seem to approve we're gonna call KCC and change it to CP. if we leave US and then can't get the green card, we won't try again i think.
Your main problem is that USCIS thinks you've been out of status during your OPT. This is a problem whether you are in the US (may be ineligible for AOS) or outside (may be barred from re-entry for 3 or 10 years).
I suggest that you talk to your school immigration official again, very politely. Make it clear that you have no quarrel with them and do not intend to take any action against them. Then ask them why they think that you are in status when you are looking for a job on OPT.
The schools do not just invent rules. They usually learn of them from a handbook for international student advisers, or from the Federal Register. If she gives you a reference to a law or publication in the Federal Register, you can print out those pages and take it to USCIS and your lawyer. If she gives you a handbook, the handbook itself will contain a reference to the relevant law or publication in the Federal Register. You can then print those out and take them to the USCIS and your lawyer.
If your school adviser will not tell you why they think this, then you can try to call (again very politely) the international student offices at the other schools mentioned in this thread (e.g. UC Berkeley or Lousiana State) and ask them why they think that one is in status when one is looking for a job on OPT, and if they can point you to the relevant law or regulation.
Normally, this research is done by a lawyer. But since the lawyers you talked to were not aware of these rules, you need to do this yourself. Then you will know if the lawyers were right, or if you need to look for a more knowledgeable lawyer.
Good luck! The rules that you are in status when looking for a job are mentioned in multiple places, so I think you have a good chance of finding the relevant law or regulation, and proving that you have been in status.
rc2007
hi all, and thanks so so so much for your replies.
since my last message, one of the lawyers called me and this was the lawyer our student imm. officer recommended. she said that he is a great lawyer. i've read his information, he's been in immigration laws for so long. anyway, he told me that USCIS is wrong. we're in status as long as we're actively seeking jobs. he said urgently call one of his lawyers (who is a great imm. lawyer in his firm) and get an appointment. he said the case would cost $2000 which is really low i only could get an appointment for next week Tuesday, June 19th. his office is a couple streets below the USCIS office. we decided to hire the lawyer because he was really sure about it's a mistake.
today, another lawyer who's turkish like us, and he's in New york. he wrote us, that we're right and USCIS wrong. he says he can write a letter to them and explain them why they're wrong, and it would be solved with %90 chance he's a very good lawyer too. we wrote him back and asked him if it's possible to do this with letters or etc, and if he doesn't have to be here with us, we'd like him to write the letter.
i don't wanna be too hopefull but it seems like we can get this green card. the CP option seems risky. if we can solve this here, it's gonna be neat. if we can't we're gonna pack our luggages, leave our home and go back to Turkey, and try CP but it seems a little far now.
i hope the lawyers can solve this. i'll let you know about the case later again. thanks so much for your good wishes and help.
since my last message, one of the lawyers called me and this was the lawyer our student imm. officer recommended. she said that he is a great lawyer. i've read his information, he's been in immigration laws for so long. anyway, he told me that USCIS is wrong. we're in status as long as we're actively seeking jobs. he said urgently call one of his lawyers (who is a great imm. lawyer in his firm) and get an appointment. he said the case would cost $2000 which is really low
i only could get an appointment for next week Tuesday, June 19th. his office is a couple streets below the USCIS office. we decided to hire the lawyer because he was really sure about it's a mistake. today, another lawyer who's turkish like us, and he's in New york. he wrote us, that we're right and USCIS wrong. he says he can write a letter to them and explain them why they're wrong, and it would be solved with %90 chance
he's a very good lawyer too. we wrote him back and asked him if it's possible to do this with letters or etc, and if he doesn't have to be here with us, we'd like him to write the letter. i don't wanna be too hopefull but it seems like we can get this green card. the CP option seems risky. if we can solve this here, it's gonna be neat. if we can't we're gonna pack our luggages, leave our home and go back to Turkey, and try CP but it seems a little far now.
i hope the lawyers can solve this. i'll let you know about the case later again. thanks so much for your good wishes and help.
Ekmekchi,
Lawyer sitting couple of streets from immigration office will be a better choice.USCIS may never act timely just on the basics of letters.Hopefully that lawyer can make case ready and submit that personally after taking an info pass.A good lawyer can always convince the interview officer when that would come down to explaining the law.
Good Luck!!!
Jugnu
Lawyer sitting couple of streets from immigration office will be a better choice.USCIS may never act timely just on the basics of letters.Hopefully that lawyer can make case ready and submit that personally after taking an info pass.A good lawyer can always convince the interview officer when that would come down to explaining the law.
Good Luck!!!
Jugnu
hi jugnu,
i agree with you about the lawyer. the New York lawyer asked about the lawyer in Metairie, and i've told him who he was. this morning he wrote me that he knows the lawyers here and that they're good friends. he said he was with them at a meeting just last week. he said that he trust them %100 and they're very good imm. lawyers, especially the one near the USCIS is very good in student matters. i told him we're gonna meet with them on Tuesday (June 19th) and then let him know about our decision.
the fact that both of them say we're right and also they're good friends made me feel so great. i hope this nightmare ends very very soon
i agree with you about the lawyer. the New York lawyer asked about the lawyer in Metairie, and i've told him who he was. this morning he wrote me that he knows the lawyers here and that they're good friends. he said he was with them at a meeting just last week. he said that he trust them %100 and they're very good imm. lawyers, especially the one near the USCIS is very good in student matters. i told him we're gonna meet with them on Tuesday (June 19th) and then let him know about our decision.
the fact that both of them say we're right and also they're good friends made me feel so great. i hope this nightmare ends very very soon
Hi Ekmekchi,
Thanks for sharing your good news with us! It looks like you'll be able to prove to USCIS that you've been in status.
One thing to keep in mind is that USCIS gave you 30 days to respond. I would double-check the date on the USCIS letter. Be sure to submit a written response with the additional evidence attached within 30 days. Otherwise USCIS could deny your application just for missing the deadline.
Good luck!
rc2007
Thanks for sharing your good news with us! It looks like you'll be able to prove to USCIS that you've been in status.
One thing to keep in mind is that USCIS gave you 30 days to respond. I would double-check the date on the USCIS letter. Be sure to submit a written response with the additional evidence attached within 30 days. Otherwise USCIS could deny your application just for missing the deadline.
Good luck!
rc2007
i've just got an email from Turkish lawyer in New York. he says he can work with the other lawyer here, they can work as co-counsel, so that we can get both of their help.
i hope this weekend goes by really fast
Hi,
i have finally got my fingerprint notice and went the next day and had them done.now, i guess, all i have to do is wait.can somebody tell me(Jugnu!) how do i find out if my fingerprints and name check have been cleared and my case has been sent to the local USCIS office.
thanks
i have finally got my fingerprint notice and went the next day and had them done.now, i guess, all i have to do is wait.can somebody tell me(Jugnu!) how do i find out if my fingerprints and name check have been cleared and my case has been sent to the local USCIS office.
thanks
Hi Adirom,
Name Check:Only way to find out is by taking an info pass to local office but give atleast 2 weeks.
FP's Checks:304-625-5590, this FBI number,you can tell operator why you are calling.
I guess you should expect interview letter from your local office in about month n half after FP's.
Hope this helps!!!
Jugnu
Name Check:Only way to find out is by taking an info pass to local office but give atleast 2 weeks.
FP's Checks:304-625-5590, this FBI number,you can tell operator why you are calling.
I guess you should expect interview letter from your local office in about month n half after FP's.
Hope this helps!!!
Jugnu
Thanks Jugnu,
i hope everything will go smooth so i get my interview as soon as possible.
USCIS won`t tell you over the phone if your name check has been cleared,will they?
i guess,since i`ve already been checked out when i had my asylum case pending,it shouldn`t be a problem this time.
i hope everything will go smooth so i get my interview as soon as possible.
USCIS won`t tell you over the phone if your name check has been cleared,will they?
i guess,since i`ve already been checked out when i had my asylum case pending,it shouldn`t be a problem this time.
Hi everybody,
I'm a DV2008 winner with EU45** and opted for AOS. I have a small issue though. After I got my OPT I didn't work for 2 months because I had to get ready for the Physical Therapy board exam. After that I got a full time job in the field. Does that mean I was still in status? Should I contact an attorney before even starting to apply?
I'm a DV2008 winner with EU45** and opted for AOS. I have a small issue though. After I got my OPT I didn't work for 2 months because I had to get ready for the Physical Therapy board exam. After that I got a full time job in the field. Does that mean I was still in status? Should I contact an attorney before even starting to apply?
hello amazing people of the forum,
If you guys remember my story about the TB skin test after I went to my interview beginning of April. Anyway, I did an infor pass on May 10th and went talked to the officers downstairs, she didn't even want to take my new medical exam and wanted me to mail it.. What the!!?? so I went to the second floor and tried to talk to my immigration officer (that's Atlanta office). Finally I got to talk to her but unfortunately, my doctor back in CA did the same thing of checking (NOT DONE) on the skin test. I showed her that I have done it again (positive because of vaccination) and showed her my x-ray. I talked to their supervisor, she was really nice and decided to contact my doctor. So I had around 5-6 hours to burn because of the time difference but finally I went back and found everything was cleared. I asked her to print me a paper that my case was approve. She did and it said to wait for the GC to come in the mail within the next 90 days. on June 7th my online status changed to card production, June 12th Welcome notice mailed, June 12th again card production order (I called to change my address because I'm doing internship) and on june 15 the approval notice was mailed so hpefully by tomorrow or the day after I will recieve it!!!! Hurray!!! I want to thank everysingle person who wrote in the forum, you guys were really fantastic help and support! GOOD LUCK to those who are still having delays, just keep it up and everything will get sloved.
THANKS again
If you guys remember my story about the TB skin test after I went to my interview beginning of April. Anyway, I did an infor pass on May 10th and went talked to the officers downstairs, she didn't even want to take my new medical exam and wanted me to mail it.. What the!!?? so I went to the second floor and tried to talk to my immigration officer (that's Atlanta office). Finally I got to talk to her but unfortunately, my doctor back in CA did the same thing of checking (NOT DONE) on the skin test. I showed her that I have done it again (positive because of vaccination) and showed her my x-ray. I talked to their supervisor, she was really nice and decided to contact my doctor. So I had around 5-6 hours to burn because of the time difference but finally I went back and found everything was cleared. I asked her to print me a paper that my case was approve. She did and it said to wait for the GC to come in the mail within the next 90 days. on June 7th my online status changed to card production, June 12th Welcome notice mailed, June 12th again card production order (I called to change my address because I'm doing internship) and on june 15 the approval notice was mailed
so hpefully by tomorrow or the day after I will recieve it!!!! Hurray!!! I want to thank everysingle person who wrote in the forum, you guys were really fantastic help and support! GOOD LUCK to those who are still having delays, just keep it up and everything will get sloved.THANKS again
Hi PTA,
You should be fine.When you submit your case please include your current paystubs with other proof of non immigrant status and that question will never arise.Everyone waste sometime when they look for a job while on OPT so no worries as long as you get in time....
Jugnu
You should be fine.When you submit your case please include your current paystubs with other proof of non immigrant status and that question will never arise.Everyone waste sometime when they look for a job while on OPT so no worries as long as you get in time....
Jugnu