greyhairduetogc
Registered Users (C)
Hi,
I have asked too many questions, Thanks for your time and reply in advance.
My girlfriend(now wife) has a bachelor's in Engineering and has worked in India for about 4 yrs after graduation in a reputed IT firm. She came to US on H1 visa in Nov 2006 through a IT consulting firm and we got married in Dec 2006 in US.
The last paystubs she has is for Dec 2007 and Jan 2008. The employer at the end of Jan 2008 had verbally promised to maintain her H1 while looking for another consulting project.
This week(Apr 14th) she found out that her employer has sent a letter to USCIS to cancel her H1 on Feb 13th. They did not inform her of the termination and did not provide any official communication. She also found out that they have canceled the H1's of few other consultants who were on bench around the same time.
I am contemplating few options to maintain the status of my wife and request your thoughts on these.
1> File for a H1 Transfer with another consulting firm using the Dec, Jan paystubs through premium processing and hope it goes through unnoticed. If an RFE is sent out then explain the actual situation.
- How long will it take for the cancellation to take effect once they send a letter? I heard from few folks that under the current work load its taking 2-3 months for the USCIS to act on it
- If we request the consulting firm(current employer) to reinstate the H1, what paper work do they need to provide and what is the procedure?
- If the H1 transfer/Reinstatement is not approved then what are the consequences? Would she be put under deportation proceedings?
2> Leave the country immediately and hence by not incurring the 180 day overstay she does not come under 3 yr entry ban. Once She is in India we can file for new H1 through another consulting firm and then opt for Consular processing for the Visa.
- But will she come under the Quota restrictions for a new H1?
- Will she face problems at the consulate in India?
3> Change to F1 visa immediately. Since its Apr and the next admissions in Univ for International students is for fall semester she will be out of status for more than 180 days. Some institutions like Kaplan, Devry, Computer tech schools etc. which offer Associate/Bachelor's/Training courses have sessions starting every 2 months and they do accept International students and provide I-20. However we will have to change status with USCIS once they give I-20.
- What are the paper work that we need to file for changing from H1 to F1?
- Does having a valid I-94(exp oct 2009) and I-20 sufficient or do they also need the recent paystubs?
- Do you know other schools/institutes that have sessions starting through out the year and accept International students?
- How long does it take for change of status?
- If the change of status to F1 is not approved then what are the consequences? Would she be put under deportation proceedings?
4> I will be applying for my Naturalization In june 2008 and hopefully with the current processing times and if I don't get stuck in the name check backlog I should receive my US Citizenship by Jan 2009. Also there is rule which allows for Spouses of US citizens to obtain Green card even if they are out of status as long as they have entered the country legally.
- Should I consider this option and ask my wife just stay here in US out of status until I get my Citizenship?
- Since we got married after 1 month of her entry to US will it be a issue during her Green card interview?
- is it safe for her to drive(license expires in Nov 2009), travel by air within US, use credit cards etc. during this time?
- In my Naturalization application N400 I have to mention my Spouse details(visa type, Alien number). If I mention as OutofStatus Or H1 Will it affect my citizenship process?
I have asked too many questions, Thanks for your time and reply in advance.
My girlfriend(now wife) has a bachelor's in Engineering and has worked in India for about 4 yrs after graduation in a reputed IT firm. She came to US on H1 visa in Nov 2006 through a IT consulting firm and we got married in Dec 2006 in US.
The last paystubs she has is for Dec 2007 and Jan 2008. The employer at the end of Jan 2008 had verbally promised to maintain her H1 while looking for another consulting project.
This week(Apr 14th) she found out that her employer has sent a letter to USCIS to cancel her H1 on Feb 13th. They did not inform her of the termination and did not provide any official communication. She also found out that they have canceled the H1's of few other consultants who were on bench around the same time.
I am contemplating few options to maintain the status of my wife and request your thoughts on these.
1> File for a H1 Transfer with another consulting firm using the Dec, Jan paystubs through premium processing and hope it goes through unnoticed. If an RFE is sent out then explain the actual situation.
- How long will it take for the cancellation to take effect once they send a letter? I heard from few folks that under the current work load its taking 2-3 months for the USCIS to act on it
- If we request the consulting firm(current employer) to reinstate the H1, what paper work do they need to provide and what is the procedure?
- If the H1 transfer/Reinstatement is not approved then what are the consequences? Would she be put under deportation proceedings?
2> Leave the country immediately and hence by not incurring the 180 day overstay she does not come under 3 yr entry ban. Once She is in India we can file for new H1 through another consulting firm and then opt for Consular processing for the Visa.
- But will she come under the Quota restrictions for a new H1?
- Will she face problems at the consulate in India?
3> Change to F1 visa immediately. Since its Apr and the next admissions in Univ for International students is for fall semester she will be out of status for more than 180 days. Some institutions like Kaplan, Devry, Computer tech schools etc. which offer Associate/Bachelor's/Training courses have sessions starting every 2 months and they do accept International students and provide I-20. However we will have to change status with USCIS once they give I-20.
- What are the paper work that we need to file for changing from H1 to F1?
- Does having a valid I-94(exp oct 2009) and I-20 sufficient or do they also need the recent paystubs?
- Do you know other schools/institutes that have sessions starting through out the year and accept International students?
- How long does it take for change of status?
- If the change of status to F1 is not approved then what are the consequences? Would she be put under deportation proceedings?
4> I will be applying for my Naturalization In june 2008 and hopefully with the current processing times and if I don't get stuck in the name check backlog I should receive my US Citizenship by Jan 2009. Also there is rule which allows for Spouses of US citizens to obtain Green card even if they are out of status as long as they have entered the country legally.
- Should I consider this option and ask my wife just stay here in US out of status until I get my Citizenship?
- Since we got married after 1 month of her entry to US will it be a issue during her Green card interview?
- is it safe for her to drive(license expires in Nov 2009), travel by air within US, use credit cards etc. during this time?
- In my Naturalization application N400 I have to mention my Spouse details(visa type, Alien number). If I mention as OutofStatus Or H1 Will it affect my citizenship process?