Expired B1/B2 Visa-Need your advice

[Pune]

Hi all,

I am a pharmacist from India. I came to United States on B1-B2 Visa for a conference. I was given only 3 weeks stay on I-94 at the port of entry. Within this 3 weeks, I had a baby which made it impossible for me to leave United States before my visa could expire. My request for extension was denied. Don't ask me why. A long story. I used the opportunity to study and passed TOEFL, TSE, iBT and FPGEE certification with high scores staying with relatives. I am now seeking H1-B sponsorship. I found company willing to sponsor, but they declined when they found that my stay has expired. Schools could not admit me as International student either. I cannot get a job as Pharmacist Intern because I don't have paper to work. I am now depending on my relative for survival and my husband is planning to come over too.

It seems 'am stuck and it seems yjr whole world is downing on me.

What should I do? I don't want to go back because going back means that I will not be allowed entry until 5years or more. Must I go back to India even if I found a sponsorship?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Pune

 

[sgsnathan]

Hi all,

I am a pharmacist from India. I came to United States on B1-B2 Visa for a conference. I was given only 3 weeks stay on I-94 at the port of entry. Within this 3 weeks, I had a baby which made it impossible for me to leave United States before my visa could expire. My request for extension was denied. Don't ask me why. A long story. I used the opportunity to study and passed TOEFL, TSE, iBT and FPGEE certification with high scores staying with relatives. I am now seeking H1-B sponsorship. I found company willing to sponsor, but they declined when they found that my stay has expired. Schools could not admit me as International student either. I cannot get a job as Pharmacist Intern because I don't have paper to work. I am now depending on my relative for survival and my husband is planning to come over too.

It seems 'am stuck and it seems yjr whole world is downing on me.

What should I do? I don't want to go back because going back means that I will not be allowed entry until 5years or more. Must I go back to India even if I found a sponsorship?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Pune

It looks like you were travelling to the US for a conference in the 9th month of your pregnancy? That is a little weird if you ask me to travel around the world risking so much, no matter how important a conference you were attending. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but from what you have said, it does seem to me that your intention had always been to be an immigrant from whatever you have been doing and the fact that you don't want to risk going back to India in case you won't be able to come back for 5 years or more. How long did you overstay on your visa/I-94?

Now, even if you found someone who would sponsor your H1-B visa, there is a good chance your application may not be approved because of your overstaying on your B1 visa, as they will need to verify your current status if you are in the country already. But if you did get approved, you could continue to work and stay in the country for as long as your status is valid/renewed thereafter. The only problem with that is if you ever went to visit your family back in India, you will need to get the H1-B visa stamped on your passport to be able to re-enter the US and at the consulate, you maybe declined because of overstaying on a previous visa. So I think your best bet is to try to get an H1-B visa, while continuing to stay in the country, and leave the country only when you are willing to risk not being able to come back. The only exception to this would be if you had an adjustment of status application based on family and you maybe forgiven for overstaying if you paid more for that and filed a separate application . Good luck!

P.S. If the new law that legalizes all illegal aliens in the country who stayed here for over 5 years comes into effect, you might be able to try going that route if you have overstayed for over 5 years.

 

[Pune]

Well, the conference was important to me and if I had waited until I had my baby, I would not have had the opportunity to travel for my career. Also, I was will to take the risk for better change in US.

I have over stayed my I-94 by 2 years, which may not qualify me for upcoming immigration bill if passed.

The BIG QUESTION:

1) Can Immigration Services approve H1-B while candidate is here in USA with expired I-94 without requiring him/her to go back to his/her country of origin for consulate approval?

I found a company willing to sponsor H1-B, but declined because they fear that Immigration will not approve it because of my overstay. If they can approve H1-B while I am here in US, I should be okay until whenever I decide to visit India. But for now, I need to feed my child.

Pune

 

[sgsnathan]

Well, the conference was important to me and if I had waited until I had my baby, I would not have had the opportunity to travel for my career. Also, I was will to take the risk for better change in US.

I am not trying to argue with you on this, but you say if you had waited for your baby you wouldn't have had the chance to travel for your career. Yet, in your case, your career ended with having the baby in the US. Besides, you also had to live away from your husband and the rest of your family for the last 2 years. So I don't know if it is exactly a better change in the US. But to each her own!

I have over stayed my I-94 by 2 years, which may not qualify me for upcoming immigration bill if passed.

The BIG QUESTION:

1) Can Immigration Services approve H1-B while candidate is here in USA with expired I-94 without requiring him/her to go back to his/her country of origin for consulate approval?

Can USCIS approve your H1 visa application? Yeah. The approval process for your H1-B application is the same whether you are here or in a foreign country. The difference is that you will need to get the visa stamped at the consulate to enter US if you are outside the country. But in the case of visa approval, there is a good chance they would reject your application if they realize that you overstayed on your visa, whether you are in the US currently or back in India. So that way, I don't know if being here or back in India would make any difference when an employer files for your H1-B application. I guess you can give it a shot and see what happens. Even then, your illegal presence in the country is bound to come up sooner or later, especially if you file for GC later.

I found a company willing to sponsor H1-B, but declined because they fear that Immigration will not approve it because of my overstay. If they can approve H1-B while I am here in US, I should be okay until whenever I decide to visit India. But for now, I need to feed my child.

Pune

I guess the company doesn't want to waste their $2000 (more if they have a lawyer) in case your case is rejected after they file for it. But like I said, you could give it a shot if you find someone who is ready to file for you or maybe if you agree to pay for the expenses. But then again as you rightly mentioned, that is no guarantee that you are safe to travel to India. But then again, you never know unless you tried. Good luck with that!

If not, I am sure you could move back to India and find a good job, what with the economy growing like crazy.

 

[faith777]

It is hard to imagine that any company will be willing to take a risk simply because they would have to provide your current status on the actual application to USCIS. They would not want to compromise their future cases by trying to provide jobs for an illegal person (there is a question on the application asking the company if any of their previous cases were denied and if yes they need to provide an explanation). They do have to follow the rules and regulations set forth not only by the USCIS, but also the Labor Dept, etc.
Overstay of a few days (maybe a couple of weeks) due to pregnancy/delivery can be discussed, but two years. I don't like to assume, but as previously posted I have a feeling that you came in with the intention to stay.
Remember that even the H1 has its time limitations, so the H1 would expire at some point (and you would be required to be out of the country for a year before applying for another H1). GC applications based on employment would be hard (if not impossible) due to the overstay.

Hi all,

I am a pharmacist from India. I came to United States on B1-B2 Visa for a conference. I was given only 3 weeks stay on I-94 at the port of entry. Within this 3 weeks, I had a baby which made it impossible for me to leave United States before my visa could expire. My request for extension was denied. Don't ask me why. A long story. I used the opportunity to study and passed TOEFL, TSE, iBT and FPGEE certification with high scores staying with relatives. I am now seeking H1-B sponsorship. I found company willing to sponsor, but they declined when they found that my stay has expired. Schools could not admit me as International student either. I cannot get a job as Pharmacist Intern because I don't have paper to work. I am now depending on my relative for survival and my husband is planning to come over too.

It seems 'am stuck and it seems yjr whole world is downing on me.

What should I do? I don't want to go back because going back means that I will not be allowed entry until 5years or more. Must I go back to India even if I found a sponsorship?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Pune

 

[Theone]

Overstays are only forgiven on marriage to a USC, so they would be wasting their money.