Jan 08, 2015 Video Recording Available For Community Conference Call With Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna

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DEEPAMENON

DEEPAMENON

Team Member, Immigration.Com
Staff member

Rajiv Khanna, US Immigration Attorney, hosts a Free Community Conference Call for all of you, every other Thursday at 12:30 PM Eastern Standard Time to answer US immigration related questions, Dial in No: (202)800-8394. Everyone, whether or not a member of discussion forums, is welcome to call in and ask questions or just listen live or listen to the recording for the call posted at the end of the day. Note that we answer posted questions and follow ups first.

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Conference Dial-in: : (202)800-8394
Topic: General Immigration Related Questions
Start Time: 12:30PM, EST
End Time: 1:30 PM, EST
CALL DATE: Jan 08, 2015
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NOTE: This call does not mean that we have agreed to represent you or that there is an attorney-client relationship between us. This is merely a community service. You should discuss the specifics of your case with the attorney representing you.
 
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Hi Rajiv
This is in continuation to the question raised by me on last call (in regards to travel after applying for H1B from H4).
Brief overview of situation - I am going to file my H1b on 1st April 2015 and then, I have to travel to India (3rd Apr - 26th Apr).
1. Once my H1B approval comes, I understand that I will have to go for H1B COS. Will it involve full fees again and approx how much? i.e. approx $3000?
2. What is the risk associated with Consular processing in the first place itself?
3. Is it advisable to go for Consular processing once I have H1B approval instead of COS?
Thanks in advance.
Shikha
 
Hello Rajeev,

I am on H1-B, started my GC process (EB3) and got my I-140 approved for me and my 2 children aged 18 & 15 years who are on H4 Visa and living with me in US.
So my question for you is -
Is there a chance for my son (18 years old) to get the Green card before my priority date becomes current?
I really appreciate any advice I can get on this issue.
 
Hi Rajiv,
Need your esteemed advice for my situation. I am working on L2 EAD for employer A. In 2014 I got my H1 approved from an employer B. But I went to India and came back to US after Oct 1 on L2, so I am still on L2.
My question is:
1. Since I have never been on H1, if my employer B withdraws H1, do I need to go through cap again ?
2. Since I have never been on H1, what will the processing fee if I file COS (from L2 to H1)and work with employer B. My employer is saying about 4500$ (in premium processing) which seems too high.
3. If I get a job offer from employer C, can I file COS to H1 and H1 transfer to the new employer. And how much time it can take (for both these steps) with premium processing ?

Thank you in advance
Priti
 
FAQ: Green card for spouse of permanent resident
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Hi Rajiv,

Greencard process for Spouse of US Permanent Resident

I am a US Permant Resident from Nepal.
My girlfriend (soon to be wife) is a student doing her MBA and is in F1 visa (student).
She is gratuating in May 2015 and will start her OPT soon after that.
We are planning to get court married real soon (within a month) and file for her greencard soon after that. Once she gets her greencard, we'll go home and get married with all the religious ceremonies.

I had few questions about the greencard process for my wife. I looked through various threads of various forums and I am more confused than before on how exactly this process works. I got conflicting answers for these questions. So, I am posting these questions so that I could get the correct answers from the expect himself.

Thanks for your help in advance.

I understand that for my wife's GC, first I need to petition I-130 and she needs to wait until her priority date becomes current (which the people say can take several years to be current), then she needs to apply for Adjustment of Status.
  1. Could you go briefly on the whole process from start to finish?

  2. Some of the threads on the other forums said that the Congress changed the law so that there is no wait time for Spouse of Permanent Resident to apply for her greencard. How much truth is in this statement?

  3. Some people who applied about a year or two ago said that they got their GC on hand within 6 months. How is that even possible when the waittime to just apply for GC under this category is several years?

  4. What happens if she applies before her priority date becomes current? Will her application be denied or will it just sit in a queue (first come first serve) until the priority date becomes current and then it will get processed?

  5. If she starts her OPT in May 2015 and the OPT lasts for 1 year (till May 2016), would that be enough time for her to apply for GC through my petition?

  6. If the priority date is not current by May 2016, what are our options so that she doesn't go out of status?

  7. Does her status change based on this application process? What status will she be in when the I-130 gets apporoved? What status when she applies for Adjustment of Status and before she gets her greencard?

  8. I still have 3.5 more years until I become a US citizen. So waiting to apply for GC until I become a US citizen is out of the question. Is there any other visa type that she can apply for based on being married to US permanet resident?

  9. Does the speed of this process depend on the processing center also? I live in California, and some forums thread said that currently the California Service Center (CSC) is really quick on approving I-130. Does that affect how soon she gets her GC?

  10. What is the total time that would take between me applying the I-130 petition and she receiving her GC in hand. I understand that it depends on case to case basis but is there like an average or a minimum time based on your experience?

  11. Do you think we need a lawyer for this Greencard process?
Thanks for you help in advance and Happy New Year!

- Niranjan
 
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FAQ: Parent of a green card holder -- options
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Hi Rajiv,

Need your esteemed advice for my mother (75 years old, sick and disabled). We are only two sons and our father passed away last year. We have nobody back in Pakistan who can keep her and look after her. My brother lives in UK. I am living and working in USA (on EB-2 green card). My mother had been refused UK visa twice as she have no sufficient family ties to home country (Pakistan). I received my green card in April 2011 therefore I have some time still remaining to apply for my US Citizenship (January 2016) and then sponsor her.

My mother B1/B2 visa is expiring in August 2015 and keeping in view her long frequent trips to US (she always departed befor I-94 expiry, no overstays) and insufficient family ties to home country (Pakistan) her B1/B2 re-stamping seems very very hard.

Can you please advice what can be done here?What are the options to keep her with us in US?

Thanks for you help in advance and Happy New Year!

- Syed
 
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Hi Rajiv,

Subject: Applying for an H1B visa while F1 visa is still being processed

My sister came to the US 6 months ago on an H4 visa. She applied to a few business schools here and got admitted to an MBA course here. So she applied for her F1 visa around 10 days ago. It is still under process and she hasn't converted from H4 to F1 yet. Meanwhile, she has also received a job offer - and the employer is willing to sponsor her H1B.

QUESTION: Can she apply for an H1B this April while the F1 is still being processed? I don't think she'll get her F1 before April because the University said it normally takes around 3 to 4 months. So we were wondering if she needs to get her F1 application cancelled first. Would applying for 2 kinds of visas simultaneously create an issue for her?

Regards,
Jerrica
 
Hi Rajiv,

My company filed for I-485 for me and my wife. We haven't registered our marriage in India and I cannot go to India any time soon to get the marriage certificate. We provided marriage affidavits by both parents instead. We got an RFE asking to provide memorandum of marriage. What is memorandum of marriage(We got married in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, now it is Hyderabad, Telangana)? Could you advise me on what I could do without going to India?

Thanks.
 
Hi Rajiv,

Iam a Indian National married to LPR one year back . My wife could stay only 5 months after our marriage as she had to maintain her Green card.It has been now 9 months
that she is in USA and we didn't meet .
My Wife has now become a US Citizen. My I-130 was already approved and we have already applied to Upgrade our Petition from F2A to IR-1.
My Wife plans to make a trip to India shortly .
While my Visa Processing is over , it might be 6-12 months and my wife would like to stay in India all this while.
I have the following questions.

1) Does she have to be domiciled in the USA meaning does she have to stay in the US and she cant go for longer trips(like 6 months or more)?

2) As my wife plans to make a trip to India shortly would it make a negative impact or send wrong signals to the VISA Officer(VO) during my Visa Interview that the

only reason I would be granted a VISA(green card) is that I would be joining her in USA but VO questions & knows that she is in India

3) or would it make a negative impact or send wrong signal if she doesn't jon me now that the VO might question me during my Visa Interview that we stayed only 5

months after our marriage and she could have come to India after she getting her US Citizenship ?

She would like to come to India and stay here untill Iam granted a visa(likely to be 6-12 months) and we return back together.
Which option among 2 & 3 above do u suggest me to do?

Your answers are greatly appreciated

Thanks,

Sameer
 
Hi Rajiv,
I am in US on H1B Visa. I hold an Indian passport. There is a mistake in place of birth column in the Passport. My original place of birth is ABC but in the passport it’s mentioned as XYZ and the passport was issued for the 1st time in 2001. That time I didn’t pay much attention to this mistake. I don’t have a birth certificate and my year of birth is 1976. While applying for the passport I gave a photocopy of my class X certificate as a supporting document for DOB.
My passport is renewed in 2011 and that time I was in US. Even though I mentioned my place of birth as ABC in the passport renewal application form, Indian Consulate issued passport with XYZ as place of birth. My H1B extensions/transfer have been filed couple of times and all the time I mentioned my place of birth as XYZ as I was asked to mention the place of birth in accordance with Passport. My company has filed PERM in 2013 and its still “In Progress” status. My parents are no more and I sent my close friends/relatives to the municipality office but the office said we don’t have any record as the case is very old.

Q1. How can I get my place of Birth corrected in the passport? And what will be the impact on future H1B extension and GC process if the place of Birth is get corrected in the Passport? Do I need to notify USCIS or DOL with this correction?

Q2. My perm is filed 15 months back through my current employer and it’s in “in progress status” Interestingly none of the cases filed through this employer in last 15th months have either approved, Audited or Rejected whereas the current PERM processing time is July 2014. This is a very reputed US company. What could be the reason for PERM not getting moved further? We get a standard reply form our employer saying “you will be notified when we hear anything from DOL”. This is my 6th year of H1B.
 
Hello Mr. Rajiv,
I have been listening to your conference calls for a long time and I must say I appreciate the way you answer the questions. There have been very few lawyers that I have interacted with who have given me straight to the point answers. So, I wanted to start my question with a big thanks to you :)

This is my first post on this forum and I have the following questions. Hopefully this won't eat much into the time of the call and would allow everyone a fair chance.

1. What are the documents needed for filing H4 visa in case of a court marriage in India? (My boy friend and I are planning to do a registered marriage. We have already submitted all the documents in the registrar office at my birth place for complying with the 30 day notice period and getting a marriage certificate. I am worried about having a small gathering of close relatives to attend the ceremony as we plan to have a social wedding later in the year. I saw on many forums that they ask for wedding album during the interview)

2. How many days after the registered marriage can I go in for the visa interview?

3. I have a masters degree from US and my H1 visa lottery didn't work out in 2014. Will that have an adverse impact on my H4 approval? I am not planning to accept any of the job offers in India when I go in for my H4 interview. So, I am hoping I won't need any work related no objection certificate .

Appreciate all your help. Many thanks!

Best,
Shweta
 
Hi Rajiv,
Clarification for Post #10. ABC is a town in District XYZ. In the passport place of Birth is mentioned as District name instead of town name.
 
Hi Rajiv,
I will be completing 3 years of residency after my Green card via
Employment. I am engaged and my fiancé had to leave out of country due to
his job situation and 6 years on H1 completed and does not have green card.
He is out of USA now. We are getting married in couple of months. Due to
high cost of medical insurance and high medical needs of a family member, I
need to take turns with my sister to take care of them in their old age. I
plan to stay in US for 6 months and stay outside for another 6 six months
for the next couple of years till the circumstances get better. My fiancé
plans to stay outside USA for a couple of years due to his needs of taking
care of old family member too. Meanwhile I plan to apply sponsorship for
his green card after our marriage. My question is will this plan work or
will I have problems during my naturalization ?. Should I file for re-entry
permit before I leave ?. Someone said I may loose my GC itself, if I don't
file for re-entry permit. Can I take temporary employment while abroad ?.

Are there any other options ?.

Thank you very much for your service.
 
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FAQ: Using Obama's Immigration Action to apply for AOS/EAD
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Hello Rajiv ji,

Firstly, Thank you for offering your service to people like me with questions in Immigration.

I am in L2 Visa with an approved I-140 from my employer with a priority date of August 2012. My H1B applications never got picked up in the lottery.
My husband's 7 years of L1A comes to an end in March 2015. So we have to go back to India.
My question is, If with Obama's immigration action develops and a possibility occurs for allowing approved I-140 petitioners to apply for I-485 and EAD, what is the process for me to get an EAD while I am in India and how can I come back to US using the approved I-140?

Thank you,
 
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Can one apply for H1B Cap exempt Visa with a new employer while H1B Non Cap Exempt Visa is in process?

1. While the USCIS processes a non Cap Exempt H1B Visa (not a transfer), can one apply for a new job and work in H1B Cap Exempt field like a University or Medical Institution? Is this possible?

2. Can both get approved? If so do they have to keep one and not the other? What would be your recommendation? Thank you.
 
Dear Sir,

Thank you for your services to immigration community and Happy New Year!

I am on H1b status (renewed in Sep 2014 for three years after six year limit) and recently received my EAD/AP combo card. Following are my questions -

1. If I plan to go out of country, do I need to go for H1b visa stamping or can I use AP to come back and continue on H1b status?

2. Alternately, can one use EAD/AP and don't go for visa stamping? If so, is it also possible to change back to H1b status again after coming back and what is the procedure?

Appreciate your time and consideration.

Thanks again.
 
Hi Rajiv,

I have a question for my relative who is a green card holder taking health treatment right now in India .

Green Card Exp Date : Feb 24 2015
Reentry permit Exp Date : Jan 30 2015

Date of Last entry in USA : June 24 2014
Date of Exit from USA : June 24 2014 (Same day departure. He came only for transit)

Out of Country : More than 6 months
Renewal finger print appointment date: 1st week of Feb 2015



Questions:

1) Whether he has to stay in USA until he gets the green card after the finger print appointment?

2) Whether he can come only for finger print and leave USA within a day or two ? When we get the green card in USA we will ship it to India after that is it possible to reenter in USA?

3) How long it will take to get the green card after the finger prints ?

Thanks
Sathish
 
Hi Rajiv,

I would appreciate your suggestion on my pending case

EB1C, TSC
PD: 02 May 2014
I140- Pending
I485- Pending
filed concurrently, no RFE

looking at approval rate seen on websites like *****, it's fair to assume that my case has been delayed. I tried speaking to L2 officer couple of times but they were not able to give any concrete information.

How would my case be different? will infopass appt. help?
 
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From a forum user
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Following are some of the points for visa modernization which i think can be helpful...

1) PERM & I-140 (non immigrants visa) once filed with the employer it can be transferred in the same way as H1B visa rather then filling entire GC process again with the new employer i.e. PERM & I-140 . Amendment can be provided to alter new job role /position/profile.

2) Person with I-140 approved (for GC) & having US citizen kids be given preference to get GC faster ...since it would help a family to plan & focus on KIDS stability , growth & future.

3) Person with I-140 (GC) should get EAD (pre-registration) & be allowed to switch job to increase employee flexibility rather then stuck with same employer. It would help Employers as well to get better & competitive resources in market.

Appreciate your Time...
 
From a forum user
-----------------------------
I have a stamped H-4 which was till sept 2012 and then
i went on F1, OPT and H1 fulltime.
October (2013) I started to work for an employer who did my H1 (full time). I have that H1 approval but it is not stamped.
Feb 2014 i went on maternity leave till Nov 2014 and when i joined back the same employer In Dec(2014), he converted me to a part time and has filed an amendment for the part time H1. The amendment petition is still under process. I know I need to get H1 stamped. I have 1 petty offense in 2013.

So with 9 month maternity leave, 1 petty offense (shoplifting), h1 part time amendment in process, what are my chances to get stamping done? What documents ( i have case disposition document and a letter from criminal attorney) other than these, will i need from immigration point of view in respect of my petty offense case at the time of stamping? What do i have to put in the maternity leave letter to show it to the VO at stamping? My employer is ready to give me one agreeing that there was employer-employee consent for the extended maternity leaves.

Can I use the full time approval for the stamping or do I need the new amendment approval? I am leaving for India early Feb 2015. If the new H1 amendment is still in process, can i come back to the states?.

Thank you so much
Neepa
 
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