N400 question on Spouse status

G

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 and entered US on H1 visa in Nov 2006 through a IT consulting firm and we got married in Dec 2006 in US.
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.

Technically she is out of status once her I-94 expires or her H1 is canceled.
We are exploring ways of a possibility for her to Change Status to F1 or another H1 or leave the country immediately.

I am a Permanent resident and eligible to apply for Naturalization on May 29 2008.
- Suppose my wife just remains out of status without leaving the country what should I mention on the Visa status on the N400 form and also the Alien Number ?
- is I94 number the alien number for people on H1?
- Will it affect my Naturalization if she is out of Status? Heard someone saying its equivalent to harboring illegal immigrants.
- Suppose my Naturalization process goes through fine, will it affect her Family based Green card process(applied after i get citizenship) since she was married to me and became out of status before I obtained citizenship?
- is it safe for her to drive(license expires in Nov 2009), travel by air within US, use credit cards etc. during this time?
- If she leaves the country immediately how difficult and long is her Family based Green card process(applied after i get citizenship) if applied through consular processing at a Consulate abroad?
 
my advise would be:

if you can't find another H1 sponcership company, immidiately take admission in small college or university even she does not need GRE/TOEFL. This is my personal experience as I graduated from NJ

I know one of my friend applied for his wifer GC while he is in GC status, so you can try for that. Explorer this area. Talk to lawyer.

I don't think you have any impact on N 400 process, for this but I am not sure.

Travel should not be any problem. Just any ID is fine.

It could be difficult if she leaves country and try to get re-entery to the US. Without consulting expert I don't think it would be a wise decession to leave US.

"is I94 number the alien number for people on H1?" I don't think so. Its just a valid entry to US H1 people does not have any alien number. They have only SSN


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I am not a lawyer, this is just my personal opinion and feelings.
 
You'll be fine

I have to agree with qa90 here. If you find another company/firm to sponsor your H-1B visa or any school to give her a fresh I-20, nothing like it, but on the other hand, there is nothing to worry about. Once you become USC, you can immediately apply for your wife's adjustment of status and she will be fine.

You asked if what you should be writing on your N-400 form. Just write her current immigration status. If she holds an expired H-1 status, fine.....just go ahead and write that. The IO is there to interview you and not go in too much depth about your wife's legal status. He can ask you and just tell him/her your wife's status without being nervous or by giving the officer the impression that you are trying to hide something. You will be ok.

Like qa90 said before, if she has to travel, she should be able to take a flight and her driv license or any form of govt id would work, but it's always a good idea to maintain a low profile and stay out of trouble as much as you can.

That's pretty much it.
 
greyhairduetogc said:
Hi,

I am a Permanent resident and eligible to apply for Naturalization on May 29 2008.
Click to expand...
Are you using the 90 day earlier rule when calculating the May 29 date? If not, you are eligible to immediately to apply.

greyhairduetogc said:
- Suppose my wife just remains out of status without leaving the country what should I mention on the Visa status on the N400 form and also the Alien Number ?
Click to expand...
Provide all the information that is pertinent to her current Visa (H1B)
greyhairduetogc said:
- is I94 number the alien number for people on H1?
Click to expand...
Correct
greyhairduetogc said:
- Will it affect my Naturalization if she is out of Status? Heard someone saying its equivalent to harboring illegal immigrants.
Click to expand...
She's out of status, not illegal so it has no effect on your naturalization status.
greyhairduetogc said:
- Suppose my Naturalization process goes through fine, will it affect her Family based Green card process(applied after i get citizenship) since she was married to me and became out of status before I obtained citizenship?
Click to expand...
As long as she remains in the country during the entire process she should be fine. I've read that many many applied I-485 for spouse who have been out of status with success.
greyhairduetogc said:
- is it safe for her to drive(license expires in Nov 2009), travel by air within US, use credit cards etc. during this time?
Click to expand...
Yes, as long as she travels within the US only and doesn't get arrested for any serious crimes.
greyhairduetogc said:
- If she leaves the country immediately how difficult and long is her Family based Green card process(applied after i get citizenship) if applied through consular processing at a Consulate abroad?
Click to expand...
It's not a question of difficulty but rather of length and time apart. It would take longer to apply for a visa first for her and then wait till you become citizen before she can stay with you if she leaves the country immediately.
 
We live in NJ too. Do you know of schools which offer I-20 in between semesters?
I spoke with kaplan and Devry, they have courses in May(Gmat course) and July(associate degree) and they provide I-20 and we need to use a lawyer to file for change of status.

Do they ask for last 2 months paystubs for H1 to F1 transfer?
How likely is the change of status is going to be approved since H1 was canceled in Feb.

Thanks
 
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