Immigration QA

  Extensions can be beautiful yet complicated. Like hair extensions, H1B extensions can be a very good thing, but are complicated to achieve.  To be sure, both require particular attention. Recently I received some questions about extending an H1B visa. BACKGROUND An H1B, or "H1," visa is a temporary visa allowing a company to petition for a noncitizen with a bachelor's degree or higher to work for the business on specific project whose occupation requires such a degree. Most often it is used for S.T.E.M. occupations, but that is not required.  There is an annual cap on these visas and competition is high to just be allowed to apply for the H1.  Once approved, one can work on an H1B visa for up to six years before needing to go through the "cap" process again. However, an H1B is usually only approved for one to three years, requiring a company to apply for an extension that proves a project still exists for the noncitizen to work on. Also, if a company sponsors ...

I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING QUESTION TODAY:   My husband and father's cases have been in Administrative processing for over 9 months now. The Embassy is just delaying the process! ANSWER:   In general, there’s not much a lawyer can legally do to "unstuck" an application at an Embassy. An attorney can submit a letter, but Embassies are so bureaucratic it is doubtful the letter will reach the right person. An attorney can, however, sue the Department of State in U.S. federal court to force a decision one way or another, but this will cost thousands of dollars and the decision may go against you. One realistic course of action should be to contact your own Congressperson to write a letter to shake loose a decision. You should know, however, that if the application was problematic is some way, sometimes no answer is a good answer. Meaning, at least the application is not yet denied. To help determine your chances, a consultation with an attorney may help. But it will be essentia...

I recently answered the following question. Q:   I was working on H1b for 3.5 years, but for some personal reasons I resigned last week from the job.   Now my Employer is really mad and they are saying that they will report it to USCIS. I came back to my home country and then resigned. Can they still report something bad/suspicious to the USCIS? A: You didn't do anything illegal, but by resigning from your job you lost your H1B status. If you truly departed the country, and THEN resigned, then there is nothing about that particular action your employer can complain about. Of course they can try. If there were other issues going on (like fraud) then certainly the employer can submit a report.  It does not mean their reports will be found valid, but they can cause a headache nonetheless. If there's not fraud for them to report, then at most they can submit a "withdrawal" of your visa to make a difficult to reenter (but you'd need to be rehired by that particulary em...

I recently answered the following question: Q: What are the requirements if I need to remove the condition on my two-year green card.  When do i need to apply exactly? A:  If you received your marriage green card within two years of marriage, your permanent residency is "conditional." This means you must prove your prove that your marital relationship still exists and is bona fide after two years. Obviously this is meant to prevent fraudulent marriages for immigration purposes. I  tell my clients this process it is basically like applying for your green card again in terms of what documents you need to provide. The form is I-751. The documents should come primarily from the two-year time period since green card approval. You are showing that you still have a bonafide marital relationship and that it was entered into in good faith. Provide joint bank statements, residential lease/mortgage/deed, joint tax filings, photographs, receipts from notable events, joint insurance, ...

  I recently answered the following question: Q:   I am applying for a citizenship based on marriage. I was wondering when I am filling out the form do i base my answers on 3 years work, travel and residence history or do i still have to include 5 years worth of work, travel and residence history? Do I need to include an additional sheet explaining why i have submitted just 3 years worth of work, travel and residence history or should i just scratch the number 5 in the form wherever necessary and put the number 3 above that?   A:   Don't scratch anything out. I think your separate sheet idea is better. There is also space in some of the answers for explanations on the form itself, so use those whenever possible. Since you are only using three years it is important that you emphasize, In your supporting documentation that you are eligible for that timeline. This means demonstrating, almost like you did in your green card application, that you have continued to re...

I think most immigration advocates agree it's been a mixed bag.  There were immediate reversals of SOME of President Trump's most anti-immigration executive orders, but not all.  Suprising, given President Biden's pro-immigrant rhetoric. One example is the refugee moratorium, which the administration declined to lift until there was a public outcry.  Another is the many months it took the AG to recind the onerous Castro-Tum decision, which imposed procedural restrictions on immigration judges.   I myself had a client who grew up in the US but was deported under Castro-Tum rule, even though the immigration judge HERSELF ruled he was eligible for a U Visa. Before Castro-Tum, he could have stayed in America waiting for its approval. Under Castro-Tum, he was deported to a life in Mexico he's never known.  How many countless noncitizens were unfairly deported while Merrick Garland delayed this no-brainer move? Castro-Tum should have been rescinded the day he was conf...

The 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, has issued  immigration changes on his inaugural day .  His transition organization issued a fact sheet laying out many executive orders to sign as he steps into the White House for the first time as U.S. President, including several immigration policies.  UPDATE 01/21/21: Those executive orders and actions are now in effect and their language can be found on the White House web page or this link . Day-1 executive orders orders are commonly prepared and signed by all modern U.S. Presidents.  Some are meant to reinforce the new President's priorities, and some are to temporarily suspend the previous President's orders, especially prior agency regulations that have not yet been finalized and may be cancelled by the President/agency heads. President Biden's inaugural schedule includes primarily ceremonial visits.  But once he arrives at his new abode for the next four years, he will step into the oval office...