HELP!! Am I out of status?

D

dangle

New Member
I was granted derivative asylum at the end of last year. I did not apply either the unrestricted SSC or EAD at that time, since my emplyer offered me an H1 visa several months after that. I asked my lawyer at that time. He said it's OK, it would not effect my asylum status. So I applied for the H1 and got it successfully.

I was laid off yesterday. So I went to local SSC office to apply the unrestricted SSC under my asylum. It turned out that the Alien number I got from the asylum was assigned to another person. I realized something is terribly wrong. The INS assigned me a wrong A# number? OR I lost my asylum status because of my H1 visa? If so how can I get the asylum status back? Is there any way to check my current status (maybe just call INS directly)? I just want to make sure I am still an asylum.

Am I in a really terrible situation here? HELP! Please somebody help me. Could you guys call your attoney or suggest me a good attoney? Thank you so much.
 
I personally think a person can only have one status. You are either a asylum or a H1 holder. I don't know if you applied your H1 means your gave up your asylum automatically. You'd better consult a immigration lawyer.
 
H1 status

Frankly, this is strange. I am sure somehow there is a way out of this. I am wondering for what conceivable purpose did you apply for H1 when you were already in asylum status????

Again, do not worry too much; the situation can probably be salvaged. I will post more after the weekend.
 
The reason I applied for H1is that it won¡¯t hurt and my employer sponsored every foreigner in his company the H1 visa. So when my employer talked to me about this. I said Yes. I don¡¯t have too much knowledge on this kind of thing. I don¡¯t know I can only be under one status until yesterday.

Thank you for your help. Please keep giving me advice.
 
dangle

You are not out of status nor have lost your asylum status because of your H1 visa.
Getting an H1 visa is not among the causals to revoke an asylum status; unless, of course, you used that visa to do something that might affect your asylum status (like going to your home country, for instance).
You said you have an asylum status approved, then you must have an asylum approval letter and also an I-94. Is the A# the same in both documents? Check that out
Based on the information provided, it seems that the INS made some type of mistake when assigning your A# or maybe the SS office did not take the right number.
Suggestions?
This is what I would do if I were you:
I would try again in a different SS office
I would call INS to verify if the number I have is the right one
I would consult with an experienced attorney on how to proceed
I would be preparing and getting information on all the paperwork required to adjust to PR status by the end of the year.

Good luck
 
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alanpero1, thank you very much. I really hope what you told me is correct because you think that’s just INS’s mistake. That’s best for me under such kind of situation.

The A# number on my I-94 card is exact same as it on the approval letter and I am pretty sure SS office did take the right number since I double checked it.

Can you suggest me any INS phone number since I don’t know where to call?

Gilbert, I wish you can give me some advice after the weekend. Thank you.
 
Dangle

How come can you have an immigrant visa (asylum) and a non-immigrant visa (H-1) at the same time??
Under my point of view it is not possible.

I know that you can have several visas at the same time, but the same type (Student, tourist, H-1...etc).

Where and when did they stamp your H-1?
 
Dangle

You should contact the INS office that issued your asylum approval letter. If you applied at NSC, the phone number is 402-323-7830. You have to be patient, to have your call go through and talk to somebody could take an hour or more.
Your lawyer was right when told you that H1 won't affect your asylum. Think about it, is perfectably understandable that an asylee can find a job opportunity and be offered a job and a work visa. There is nothing wrong with that and can not be unlawful.
Asylum status is not an immigrant visa stamped in the asylee's passport. Albeit is not an immigrant visa the asylum status leads to the PR through the adjustment process a year after the asylum is granted. Asylees are not immigrants, but they become immigrants when the adjustment process is completed.
Don't worry too much, but you have to get that issue with INS resolved asap.
Good luck
 
dangle

I do not think that your asylum status should be affected based on the information i personally got from INS (1-800-375-5283).I contacted INS and asked whether my wife whom i married a few months ago, an American citizen can file on my behalf as an immediate relative at the same time i filed I-485 in 1998.I was told that i can have as many petitions as i want,it is not illegal but it is advisable to inform each INS department(s)to cancel the process of those other petitions you filed.The only reason why it is advisable to cancel the petitions is,to minimise time since it takes too much time to process cases filed with INS.It is also redundant to have more than one petition since you already got what you wanted with one of them. You should be okay as long as you didn`t abuse the asylum status. The only problem that you might encounter is if you A# was given to another person but i believe that if you contact INS that can be corrected proving that you were granted asylum.At this time you shouldn`t be worried get an immigration attorney if you can to assist you in this matter.
 
I want to report to everyone who helped or willing to help me what I got so far:

I called Arlington Asylum office who granted me the asylum status and found out that this A# number is mine and is correctly shown in their database.

I went to the same SS office and typed in this A# number again. I had no luck at all. They sent a verification request to Charlotte INS office and ask me to wait 4-8 weeks. I suggested them to send the verification request to Arlington but Charlotte, but they refused to do so.

I remember that I applied H1 through Texas center and worried that Charlotte INS office is close to Texas and has different database of Arlington.

I live far away from Charlotte and could not find phone number of Charlotte INS office. What should I do? Try another SS office?

I want to apply EAD card as soon as possible through my Asylum status. Should I just go ahead do this or wait until this issue solved?

Thank you very much, everyone.
 
Dangle

The good new is that you are not out of status. This is what I would do if I were you:
Proceed to get the EAD through INS. Why wait until the issue with SS office be resolved?
Wait for answer from SS office. I also had to wait several weeks to get my unrestricted SS card in the mail.
Try another SS office if you don't get your unrestricted SS card
Check http://www.ins.usdoj.gov You should be able to find Charlotte INS office number and address in there.
Good luck
 
Charlotte Office Number

The number for the status verifier in Charlotte is 704-523-1704. If that number does not work, call the main line at 704-336-3366 and ask to be directed to an immigration status verifier. BUT REALIZE THAT THEY MAY DECLINE TO SPEAK TO YOU because the verification is an intergovernmental process.
 
Dangle,

It sounds like you reached a very very helpful person in the asylum office (which is quite rare). If I were you, I would try to call again and ask him/her to check the INS national database to see if your status is still coded as AS2 or AS3, as appropriate. If it is, then you should have nothing to worry about.
 
Gilbert

Could you please explain what you mean by "the verification is an intergovermental process"? Thanks
 
verification

Alanpero,

The SSA, like many government agencies, uses a secure interface to access an INS database and to confirm people's status. If the interface does not produce a match, the SSA asks the INS in writing to seach all of its databses and if necessary, paper records. Each INS district office has staff, called status verifiers, dedicated to interacting with agencies for this express purpose. They will report their results back in writing. After getting the reponse, the SSA will act accordingly. They strive to complete the process in less than 15 days.

This transaction is a matter bewteen the INS and the SSA. The person whose status is being checked has no legal standing to get involved. So I asked Dangle not to get upset if he calls the numbers I posted and gets no meaningful information.
 
Gilbert

That makes sense. Somehow by 'intergovernmental' I was thinking on two different nations (US and the asylee's country of origin) instead of government agencies. Thanks
 
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