Why can't you leave the country while you are changing status?

J

jasmine7103

Registered Users (C)
I am on H1B but my GC holder husband just applied for USC. My future lawyer told me that once he becomes USC and petition for my GC, I would not be able to leave the country. He said that I'd lose my H1B status so I am basically stuck here for at least 5-6 months till I get my EAD (?)

That's crazy if you ask me. Why wouldn't they let you leave the country when you are in status?? Isn't there a way to leave the country while waiting for EAD? Some people have no choice but leaving the country for a week or two...for an emergency. What do they do?
 
Yeah, change the lawyer.
You can come back with H1 provided you have valid H1 stamp as well as valid employment by H1 sponsor.
 
Again, NO as long as you are employed by H1 sponsor.
I wouldn't go with that lawyer if s/he said so without any other condition considered.
 
jasmine7103 said:
wouldn't you lose the H1 status as soon as your spouse petition for your GC?
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H-1B is a dual intent visa, meaning it is compatible with filing for Adjustment off Status. The H-1B remains valid while you are waiting for your Green Card. You clearly have an ignorant lawyer if they weren't aware of this very basic part of Visa law.
 
jasmine7103 said:
I am on H1B but my GC holder husband just applied for USC. My future lawyer told me that once he becomes USC and petition for my GC, I would not be able to leave the country. He said that I'd lose my H1B status so I am basically stuck here for at least 5-6 months till I get my EAD (?)

That's crazy if you ask me. Why wouldn't they let you leave the country when you are in status?? Isn't there a way to leave the country while waiting for EAD? Some people have no choice but leaving the country for a week or two...for an emergency. What do they do?
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Your lawyer is wasting your time and you are wasting everybody else's time :)

No offence intended!! Most people who come on this forum are the ones who dont trust their lawyers. Lawyers dont know lot of things and to play it safe, they simply tell you to not to travell. My 20K corporate lawyer did that too.
 
Well I certainly hope that "I" am not wasting "everyone's" time here as people come here to get help and advice.

Thanks everyone for the input.
 
that's why we have a forum - to help people and to get help. You are not wasting our time, and we are glad you asked us for advice. Don't pay attention to trolls. :)
 
I know exactly how it feels to have a "play-it-safe" lawyer as I am on the same boat. Mine just keeps telling me to make infinite Infopass appointments to ask about my case, well, screw that, I need a kick ass lawyer who knows his/her stuff so I can get my lawsuit rolling. It's been more than 90 days since my interview, and I am taking every single mean to get an answer from USCIS.
 
AMG_Driver said:
I know exactly how it feels to have a "play-it-safe" lawyer as I am on the same boat. Mine just keeps telling me to make infinite Infopass appointments to ask about my case, well, screw that, I need a kick ass lawyer who knows his/her stuff so I can get my lawsuit rolling. It's been more than 90 days since my interview, and I am taking every single mean to get an answer from USCIS.
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Hi:

While the above advice by the attorney (if it was in fact so advised by the attorney) is clearly incorrect, this type of discussion always amuses me. The business of most attorneys is to help you "play it safe" ---- while every case has the potential to end up in the Supreme Court, most pass without fireworks. You should see your attorney as a type of insurance policy --- something you hope you don't need, but who would be there if something went wrong.

Incidentally, often many attorneys who "know their stuff" cannot do much more than make enquiries at a certain stage in the process, where litigation may not be viable for various reasons.

One last comment: someone else mentioned that they had a corporate attorney represent him/her. While people in the H1B process often have to deal with the company's legal representation, it is not surprising to me that the corporate attorney did not know the intricacies of immigration law. I wonder if he was certified.
 
Jasmine,

Your lawyer is wrong.
I was on H1B, filed for AOS and traveled out of the US while AOS pending.
Got re-admitted without any problem, had my interview 45 days later and got approved and my passport stamped. GC came in the mail 10 days later.

As long as you're in-status with your H1B (still employed, no second job even with EAD, visa stamp unexpired) you could leave the country as many times as you want.
 
pianoplayer said:
Hi:

While the above advice by the attorney (if it was in fact so advised by the attorney) is clearly incorrect, this type of discussion always amuses me. The business of most attorneys is to help you "play it safe" ---- while every case has the potential to end up in the Supreme Court, most pass without fireworks. You should see your attorney as a type of insurance policy --- something you hope you don't need, but who would be there if something went wrong.

Incidentally, often many attorneys who "know their stuff" cannot do much more than make enquiries at a certain stage in the process, where litigation may not be viable for various reasons.

One last comment: someone else mentioned that they had a corporate attorney represent him/her. While people in the H1B process often have to deal with the company's legal representation, it is not surprising to me that the corporate attorney did not know the intricacies of immigration law. I wonder if he was certified.
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I appreciate every word from you, but if you were in my shoe, you would probably do the same thing. All I was trying to say is that ditch my current lawyer, because she is too naive to take more actions, and hire a new one to follow up on the case. Of course, if that would screw up this whole thing, I have no other choice but to stick with her, but hopefully that's not the case.
 
pianoplayer said:
One last comment: someone else mentioned that they had a corporate attorney represent him/her. While people in the H1B process often have to deal with the company's legal representation, it is not surprising to me that the corporate attorney did not know the intricacies of immigration law. I wonder if he was certified.
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Most big companies have lawyers that represent them in many matters (Labor Law, Financial Law and lots of other things that we dont even know). Immigration happens to be just one of them. If you look at many top low firms, they say thay also do immigration but never "just" immigration. Law offices that exclusively deal with immigration often deal with consulting companies and individuals but not big corporates.

Companies pay lot of money to these corporate type lawyers because they feel comfortable that way.

Corporate imm lawyers know the law but they dont often know small details. For example my lawyer knew what was AC21 but never knew that 140 can be revoked and there is a memo that talks about effect of 140 revocation on 485. AILA has lot of information that lawyers often fall back on when they dont know something.
 
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AMG_Driver said:
I appreciate every word from you, but if you were in my shoe, you would probably do the same thing. All I was trying to say is that ditch my current lawyer, because she is too naive to take more actions, and hire a new one to follow up on the case. Of course, if that would screw up this whole thing, I have no other choice but to stick with her, but hopefully that's not the case.
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I understand your situation. And you are always free to retain the services of a new attorney ---- you need never put up with service you feel is inadequate. I was merely addressing the issue in general. Best of luck.
 
GreenCardVirus said:
Most big companies have lawyers that represent them in many matters (Labor Law, Financial Law and lots of other things that we dont even know). Immigration happens to be just one of them. If you look at many top low firms, they say thay also do immigration but never "just" immigration. Law offices that exclusively deal with immigration often deal with consulting companies and individuals but not big corporates.

Companies pay lot of money to these corporate type lawyers because they feel comfortable that way.

Corporate imm lawyers know the law but they dont often know small details. For example my lawyer knew what was AC21 but never knew that 140 can be revoked and there is a memo that talks about effect of 140 revocation on 485. AILA has lot of information that lawyers often fall back on when they dont know something.
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Exactly ---- and that was mainly what I was pointing out. Most corporate attorneys are really not immigration attorneys at all, but have to deal with a variety of matters. As you correctly stated, many fall back on information provided by AILA.

Incidentally, a corporate attorney for a good corporation will often consult a certified immigration attorney if the need arises and the case is very complex.
 
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