Recording Available, November 02, 2017 Community Conference Call with Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna

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DEEPAMENON

Team Member, Immigration.Com
Staff member

Rajiv S. 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: 12:30 PM, EST
End Time: 1:30 PM, EST
NEXT CALL DATE: November 16, 2017
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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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I have received my Re-entry permit which will expire in Feb 2019

I have plans to get married to a bride from India and I will be visiting India in December 2017.
I know that to process Family based second category GC (F2A) for my wife in India can take minimum of 2 years and I will be separated from my wife during this this time

Bride is a 33 year old works in India for a German Auto company.

Here is my plan to live together (with my wife close to Day 1 in the USA) after getting married in India.

1) After my marriage, ask my wife to apply for a tourist visa and I will send the sponsorship letter required by US consulate.

[****Please note at this time I have not filed F2A for my wife***]

Do you see any challenges in my wife's tourist visa application getting approved if my wife states that she is visiting USA to see her husband if the Visa officer asks any question?

(My wife can further say to the visa officer that my husband is not applying for F2A as it will take more than 2 years and entering the USA through tourist visa is the fastest method)

2) Or Instead of step 1, Should my wife apply for Tourist visa before the marriage?

I will ask her cousin to send her a sponsorship letter.

Which one do you recommend? Applying tourist visa BEFORE the marriage or AFTER THE MARRIAGE?

3) Wife travels to US with approved tourist visa and lives me with me for 6 months. As with tourist visa my wife can only stay maximum of 6 months, then she goes back to India and re-enter US through tourist visa to stay for another 6 months.
This completes 1 year of my wife stay with me in the USA.

4) After 1 year, I would get a job in India and relocate to India with my wife.

5) ***Only after my wife and myself reaches India after living together in the USA for 1 year, I would apply for Family based second category GC (F2A)****

Do you see any challenges in my petition for my wife's F2A GC get approved?

6) Until F2A gets approved (expecting it will take 2 to 3 years), myself and my wife would live in India and then move together to the US.

How does above plan look?

Thanks,

Arjun
 
Hello Rajiv Sir - Hope you are doing good .
My question is :

1). I 140 in EB3 category filed by my employer on Jan 9 2017 to Texas Service Center.
2). Receipt number was generated on Jan 12th and received it on Jan 23rd.
3). Initially the status on USCIS website was showing the usual message ... case was received ....
4). Then the status changed to
Case Was Received At My Local Office
On March 9, 2017, we received your Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker , Receipt Number XXXXXXXXX , at your local office

There is no decision on the case till now. USCIS website page on processing times for Texas Service Center shows they are processing cases as of May 1 2017. This was last updated on Aug 31st.

Do you think the case is taking too long ? Do you suggest submitting a case inquiry and who can submit that ? Can i do it or my employer needs to do it ?

P.S : some of my colleagues whose cases were filed around the same time to Texas Service Center have got decision on the case.
 
Hello Rajiv:

My employer started my green card (GC) process sometime back. However, LCA was denied twice due to errors made by employer's attorney. Employer started working on GC process for the third time. Meanwhile, I applied for National Interest Weaver and it got approved. The third attempt by my employer worked and I140 got approved. I advised employer's attorney to apply for H1B extension using NIW I-140, but the attorney decided to apply for H1B extension using employer's I140. The question I have is - if I don't use NIW I140, will it expire?
 
H1B Amendment Approved without I94 attached

Dear Rajiv Ji,
Thanks always to your services to the Community.

1. I transferred my H1B from Employer A to Employer B.
2. During the transfer process (October 2016) Employer B filed LCA for Location A.
3. When H1B Transfer was approved they put me in work in Location B (More than 1000 miles different from Location A). Employer B forgot to file LCA for Location B.
4. In February 2017 Employer B realized their mistake and asked me to exit USA and go to any of the nearby Islands (British Virgin Islands OR Dominica OR Honduras)
5. I exited USA in February 2017 and went to British Virgin Islands (Was staying there for a week's time).
6. Once I was in British Virgin Islands Employer B filed the H1B Amendment and they sent me the receipt of the request to me.
7. I entered USA with this Receipt Notice
8. In May 2017 I received the Approved Notice of H1B Amendment without a I94 attached to it. It mentions the Consulate as Mumbai.

What does this mean?

1. Am I Out of Status?
2. Should I be visiting a US Consulate outside USA to get my Passport Stamped?

Please advise

Thanks
Prakash
 
Changing from Non-Profit (Cap-Exempt) H1 to Profit (Cap-Subject) H1 and GC filing

Hello Rajeev, I have two questions:

1. This questions should have been asked multiple times earlier. But I am here asking it again to see if there's any new news or ways how can we do it differently other than looking for an employer who can file my Cap-Subject H1 during April and waiting until October for it to be active and then changing employment.

2. My current employer, who is a large non-profit organization is willing to do my GC processing. However, they are quite new to this process. Their main stopping point is about the interview and hiring process. It was mentioned in the GC filing workflow given by our Legal department that my manager needs to advertise and interview the applicants in the process of finding a US citizen and if not found, they can go ahead with my GC filing. My manager is worried if there's a candidate with similar expertise, should she let me go and hire the new one? Is this the case? How can we deal with it?

Thanks much for help !
 
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Hello Rajeev,

Thank you for the community service!

"
I am here on J1 visa, working as a 'Special education teacher'.
Can I move to another employer in USA and transfer my visa?
"

Regards,
 
Hello Rajiv,

I have a few things to tell, please take time to understand the situation.

I have a Green Card issued in 1986, it does not have any expiry date. The Name is my nick name and my mom had entered the DOB in DD/MM/YYYY format instead of MM/DD/YYYY format. This card does not have my fingerprints as it's written waived. In this timeframe , I never had any passport and was travelling on Mother's Passport as was the norm for children below a certain age during that time. My birth certificate carries both names in format : Formal Nick Sirname, eg. John 'Doe' Smith, Doe being Nick name.

All of us my Mom ,Dad and I left US and never came back on GC status.

We visited US in 2000 on B1/B2 and that time , I had gone to INS to find my GC was still working and they advised to get a SS number (as I never had got any) in order to renew the card.
I had got my SS number in my formal name in same timeframe, but we left US before my appointment with INS, so basically it never got renewed.

Now I visited again in 2010 and found that my SSN was active. I did visit the SSN office to get my card renamed to nick name, so I have consistency in GC name and SSN name, this card was reissued successfully. Again, I went back.

Now I am in US on H status and would like to understand if I can still avail of my GC status and get the formal things done:
a. Get my name changed from Nick Name to Formal Name
b. Get the correct DOB
c. Get my GC Renewed
d. Get a change of Status from H to GC
d. Get my Family moved from H to GC.

Please advise if this makes any sense and if this does then hope to connect with you soon on your advise on Concall.
 
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Hello Rajivji

I was on H1b until 2015 with an approved I140 since 2014. The I140 has not been revoked and I had 1 month left on my H1B when my COS to H4 and H4EAD were approved. My I140 was filed by previous employer in a different field. Can I use the same H1B that I had, even though now I am in a different field (moved from engineering to finance). I completed MBA from top 20 school in 2014 and it was easier to move to a different field using H4 EAD. Can I use the same H1B that I earlier had so that I am cap exempt even though it is in a different field (I have a degree related to the new job, my position requires MBA, and it is a specialized job). I may not be able to use I140 for AOS but my spouse also has an approved I140 with a PD that is earlier than mine so my I140 is solely for extension.

Thank you for your help.
 
Thank you for taking time to reply

Below is my scenario
1. Job Changed from Employer A to Employer B 3 years ago
2. Employer B Filed the GC under EB 2 category and my I-140 was approved last year May 2016
3. I am planning to change the Job from Employer B to Employer C

I have a question here. If Employer C has to file my GC and requires the experience letter that has all detailed description of my role with Employer B and Employer B does not provide me the experience letter, then will Employer C still be able to file my GC under EB 2 category?

PS: I have the experience letter from Employer A but not employer B.


Another Question:
1. My employer B has filed my GC with a role as Software Programmer and after I change the job to Employer C and if they file my GC with my role as Senior Devops Engineer will that be a concern for my GC processing and the name of the role has changed and few duties may change?
 
Hello. Here are my details and question:

BackGround: Greencard holder since 2004. Eligible to apply for citizenship since 2009. Recently got married to India citizen so decided to apply. Extensive international travel last 5 years predominantly driven by business needs of my US employer(software firm). Was always away for less than six months. Last five years travel schedule shows about 950+ days outside of us and violates the 30 month rule.

Question: Being told i cant claim any exemptions and must wait to file N-400 until some of the trips previously taken can come off the travel schedule. Wanted to know if there are other options to expedite filing the application.
 
Hi Rajiv Ji.

Thanks for your service to the larger community. I was in conference call 2 weeks back but could not hear anything. I tried dialing multiple times but every time I got message, conference is in presentation mode but there was no voice coming. Not sure if I only faced issue or there was some technical glitch.

I am on L1A and my petition is valid till 15 April. My wife has H1B and her I-140 is approved.

We are going to India for vacation and will be back in US around 15 Dec after stamping (L1A for me, H1B for my wife). I will get Visa till 15 April only as I will complete my 7 years on L1A.

After coming from India on Dec 15, we are planning to request my wife employer to file my Changes of Status along with H4-EAD with future date ( 01 Apr 2018, before my L1A maxed out).

1. Will it create any issue because just after getting L1A visa stamping in India, I am applying for COS?
2. If my company decide to send me back India before my visa expiry say in 15 Feb (but I have applied for COS from 01 Apr ), can I continue be here without working until my COS approved? If I got to India will it affect my H4/ EAD?
3. Can I come back from India with H1B stamping for a few days, apply H4 EAD here, and return back to India to serve my notice period with current employer. Will it affect my EAD processing if I am out of US? I read in USCIS website that they can issue notice of denial.
4. I will apply COS from April 1, but if USCIS does not approve H4 (COS + EAD) by then can I continue to work with my present employer till April 15 (my current visa expiry date), And after April 15, I will wait for COS + EAD to be approved or I cant as I requested COS from April 01?

Thanks,
Deep
 
Dear Rajiv,

I am currently on an H-1B Visa and my I-140 was approved in May this year for EB2. Our firm’s attorney had applied for an H-1B extension of stay in June and it was approved in August.

My H-1B visa expires in January 2018.

My question is about the visa renewal process.

According to the information on the US travel docs website, I fit all the criteria for an interview waiver or drop box option. The last time I renewed my visa I did it through the drop box. I am given to understand that the drop box option is only available in India.
  1. I have been told that currently they are interviewing almost everyone who has not had an interview within the past 12 months. Is that a blanket rule being applied or have there been exceptions?
  1. At what point in the renewal process would I be able to know for certain whether I would be offered the drop box option or not?
  1. Would the chances of getting the drop box option be higher if I applied for the renewal process before my visa expires? (Although according to the criteria one is eligible up to 12 months after the visa has expired.)
  1. What risks/implications would I need to consider if I was to consider renewal in Canada?
  1. Are there specific implications for the renewal that I should be aware of with the new H1-B visa policy guidance around burden of proof for visa extension petition?
Greatly appreciate your insight and guidance.

Warm regards,
JP
 
Hello Rajivji,

USCIS has updated their policy to ensure that petitioners meet burden of proof for non-immigrant worker extension petitions. We were under the impression that regardless of whether USCIS previously approved a petition; their determination of the extension petition was based on the merits of each case and they issued RFE's if they had any concerns, so what has changed?, what additional burden proof do the petitioner need to submit now for extension petitions?

Thanking you.
 
Hello Rajiv,

I am a foreign student on an F1 visa doing a full time MBA in the US. This is my 2nd year of studies and I still have 1 year. I have received an offer from a United Nations agency in Europe to do some consultancy work where I will be paid on a daily basis upon submission of deliverables. This will be a home based consultancy contract which is not full time. I will not use OPT or CPT for this contract as it is outside the US. I have the following questions:
a) Will this freelance contract violate my F1 visa status?
b) UN doesn't deduct income taxes due to tax treaties. Is the contract considered US income for tax purposes since I am residing in the US? Should I declare taxes to US authorities?

On another note, am I allowed to start my own online startup company? would that be eligible under F1? ( even if the startup did not start incurring revenues?) . What happens afterwards, if it starts incurring revenues? should I report OPT/ CPT? what is the rule?

Many thanks
 
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Hi Rajiv ji,

I am on H1B. My wife came to USA on 03/05/2015 having valid H4 visa until 03/23/2018 but received the I-94 at POE until 03/05/2018 only.

Recently we got H1 and H4 Extension approvals with valid I-94's from 03/24/2018 to 03/23/2021.

Now she has the gap of 19 days between the old and new I-94.

Is it legal to stay in this gap? Or She should consult USCIS or CBP office to correct it?


Thanks in advance for taking up the call.
 
I agree with Deep on the conference call issue. Even I encountered same issue. I was not able to hear anything from the conference call.
 
Hi Rajiv,
(Sorry as there is no option to edit the post I am replying to same post that I wrote before).

Question 3:
Recently USCIS made changed to the H1b Renewal process. Please search this 'U.S. Tightens Renewal Requirements for Nonimmigrant Worker Visas' in google. As per the article there will be more stringent process for H1b renewal. Can you please give us the idea on what will be the change so that we are prepare for it?
 
Hello Rajiv, Yours is a great service to the community. I applied for citizenship along with my wife on Fe.15,2017 and we both had bio-metric done on March10,2017. I received interview call for Aug.18,2017 and took oath in NJ office same day after interview. My wife did not get interview call as on date. After checking through congressman she got reply that she is under back ground check and they cant give any time limit. Can you please advise further course of action now as 3 months have already passed since she got reply through congressman.
 
Hi Sirji,

Question : My H1B transferred got approved and after a month received RFE .
Trying to upgrade to premium processing for RFE reply - Does premium processing cases handled by different officers ?
 
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