Hi, Before I describe my case, here is a brief timeline of my stay in the US.
1998 Aug : came to US 5 yrs (1998) ago on F1.
2000 Jan : Switched to H1B (after getting my MS).
Towards the end of 2001: The last company that I was working for (say **Company X**) closed down.
2002 April : I got an offer for Ph.D from the same school (where I did my MS from) and got an offer starting Fall 2002 (Sept).
2002 May : went to India sometime in May 2002 to switch to F1 visa. I came back on last week of August 2002 with a new F1 visa.
2002 June to 2003 Aug : I Was on my new F1 till last summer (aug 2003) and quit the Ph.D program for some personal reason. Before that I got offer from another company and filed for H1B (receipt date was July 1, 2003).
Recently I received an RFE. In short INS asked for following info..
1. Names of all employers, dates of employment and places of employment for past 3 yrs along
with any I-94/approval notices (H or L classification) from my previous employers.
2. A letter from company X that indicates position title, dates of employment and date of
termination with company X.
Now these are my concerns:
1. There was a 4/5 months gap between the date **Company X** gave me a check and the date I left USA to switch to F1. **Company X** helped me by not revoking my visa. As far as I remember, the closing down came as a verbal anouncement and they never gave me a letter of termination. My I-94 through **Company X** was valid till June, 2004. However if If INS comes to know about that gap , could that be a big issue?
2. **Company X** closed down completely. I'm not even in touch with any of the employees and don't even have any of their personal contact info. There is no way I can provide any letter from **Company X** at this moment.
I've withdrawn from the Ph.D program completely, last summer. So if for some reason, INS deny my case I'm afraid that I'll be completely out of status. I prepared the documents by myself (well used my previous H1B petitions as a template.. so it looks professional) and my employer is representing me.
My questions are.
0. In general how should I proceed?
1. Can I get a lawyer involved at this stage?
2. Can I appeal if they deny it?
3. I've very strong educational credentials. I can get recommendations from some well known professors and fellows of Research labs. Do you think that would help?
4. Can anyone recommend me a lawyer in NYC area?
5. Is anyone familier with this kind of case and the end result?
Thanks.
nyctechie
1998 Aug : came to US 5 yrs (1998) ago on F1.
2000 Jan : Switched to H1B (after getting my MS).
Towards the end of 2001: The last company that I was working for (say **Company X**) closed down.
2002 April : I got an offer for Ph.D from the same school (where I did my MS from) and got an offer starting Fall 2002 (Sept).
2002 May : went to India sometime in May 2002 to switch to F1 visa. I came back on last week of August 2002 with a new F1 visa.
2002 June to 2003 Aug : I Was on my new F1 till last summer (aug 2003) and quit the Ph.D program for some personal reason. Before that I got offer from another company and filed for H1B (receipt date was July 1, 2003).
Recently I received an RFE. In short INS asked for following info..
1. Names of all employers, dates of employment and places of employment for past 3 yrs along
with any I-94/approval notices (H or L classification) from my previous employers.
2. A letter from company X that indicates position title, dates of employment and date of
termination with company X.
Now these are my concerns:
1. There was a 4/5 months gap between the date **Company X** gave me a check and the date I left USA to switch to F1. **Company X** helped me by not revoking my visa. As far as I remember, the closing down came as a verbal anouncement and they never gave me a letter of termination. My I-94 through **Company X** was valid till June, 2004. However if If INS comes to know about that gap , could that be a big issue?
2. **Company X** closed down completely. I'm not even in touch with any of the employees and don't even have any of their personal contact info. There is no way I can provide any letter from **Company X** at this moment.
I've withdrawn from the Ph.D program completely, last summer. So if for some reason, INS deny my case I'm afraid that I'll be completely out of status. I prepared the documents by myself (well used my previous H1B petitions as a template.. so it looks professional) and my employer is representing me.
My questions are.
0. In general how should I proceed?
1. Can I get a lawyer involved at this stage?
2. Can I appeal if they deny it?
3. I've very strong educational credentials. I can get recommendations from some well known professors and fellows of Research labs. Do you think that would help?
4. Can anyone recommend me a lawyer in NYC area?
5. Is anyone familier with this kind of case and the end result?
Thanks.
nyctechie