Immigration QA

Did you know you can rent your own personal vault in an actual bank?  A young man called me today because he needs a new Social Security card, but can’t prove U.S. citizenship with merely a copy of the  certificate. He lamented the $500 application fee to replace it. I don’t blame him.  But the point remains: Lack of essential documentation is a frequent root cause of immigration (and life) problems.  Safe deposit boxes are a reliable way to store documents like birth certificates, naturalization certificates, passports, wills, family heirlooms, and Social Security cards. See link below. Non-citizens in particular should start to use them as well as fireproof safes that can be gotten for relatively cheap off Amazon and Walmart. This is particularly so in the initial stages of immigration when non-citizens tend to move frequently, increasing the chance for loss. I think it’s important to begin educating on documentation preservation. PS I don’t agree with some critici...

BREAKING: President Trump has just signed an executive order suspending all new, out of country, H1B visas (tech workers and some doctors), as well as H2B visas (seasonal agricultural workers), L visas (intracompany transfers, mainly tech), and J visas (doctors and hospitality/exchange students). At the moment it expires at the end of 2020, but will certainly go to court as with the prior refugee and “Muslim” bans. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-aliens-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-following-coronavirus-outbreak/

I WAS RECENTLY ASKED THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: I just got back EAD card yesterday for my Post Completion OPT and within 90 days, if I don't get a job, then I'll be deported. My boyfriend is a US citizen and we are planning to get married. I was wondering if I can still stay in the country if we get married since I'm not sure if I have to leave after 90 days if I can't find a job. How does this work? Can I still stay in the US and also can I work as well?  ANSWER: In the past there was little chance for deportation for such a simple violation. However recent memos from the administration have threatened issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA) in a Removal proceeding for even OPT and other student visa violations.  Please note, it shouldn’t be difficult to fulfill the 90-day job requirement, because unpaid internships and even self-employment count, as long as all other requirements are also met.  To your question of a marriage green card, you would simplify you...

The recent USCIS memo explaining unlawful presence rules in the context of F1 student status has reverberated through the legal community It has also posed many questions.  I posit here that the memo is aimed primarily at curbing Day 1 abuses. Attorneys across the country are reporting their clients are receiving RFEs investigating past maintenance of F1 status, including past enrollment of OPT, CPT and Day 1 CPT in particular.   Maintaining valid status is a requirement of changing to a new status such as work and most categories of permanent residence.  The H1B petitions submitted by Chaudhary Law Office are not in premium processing and thus early in the application process, so we have not gotten any RFEs  as yet.  We expect that we will and anticipate similar requests for proof of status during our clients’ student days. But, the increase in RFEs, plus the new unlawful presence memo, point to one thing: If you are not enrolled in CPT properly, for EXAMP...

Squeeze / skwēz/:    a state of forcing oneself or being forced into a small or restricted space. The government has started the squeeze on OPT.  It looks like 3rd party staffing as well as remote work situations for OPT trainees are either completely out, or, restricted enough to eliminate practical benefit to IT staffing "companies" using foreign IT students.   Now, this may not be too much of a disruption for entities following the spirit of OPT as a training program.  After all, it is called OP- T , not OP- W , because it is for training experience and not intended to serve as a back-door work program.  But some entities will see a major roadblock in the way they've been doing business, and it seems USCIS is concerned most with these companies in its  January 24, 2018 Update .  The IT staffing "consultancies," especially the one guy LLC who collects billable hours by passing Java and Sharepoint resumes, through his apartment...

USCIS completed its lottery. Well, they done did it.  USCIS completed a lottery to select which H1B visa petitions will be considered this year.  This year there was no prior indication that a lottery would be conducted, as there had in previous years.  We simply received the announcement this afternoon that it was done. Hopefully our office’s petitions will be selected.  Here's the announcement if you'd like to read it.   USCIS Completes H1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY19 . More later, but in honor of the lottery announcement, here's a song:

You Do Have Choices In Your Immigration Destiny Last year the USCIS announced new scrutiny for third party IT consultancies.  As part of the priority given to combating fraud in employment-based immigration programs, USCIS issued a policy targeting site visits in certain sectors that commonly receive H1B visas and have shown more than average propensities for fraud and abuse.  These included circumstances where an employer's basic business information could not easily verified, employers with a high ratio of H1B workers, and--the topic of this post--employers who send their H1B workers off-site to work for another company (i.e. "IT consultants"). See the announcement here:  USCIS: Combating Fraud And Abuse in the H-1B Visa Program . So then, almost a year later, what have been the results?  The answer is at the moment is hard to tell.  Today, the USCIS recycled their year-old announcement on Twitter, without amendment let alone report, on the succes...

Foreign students should carefully follow the rules for early program withdrawal, and understand implications. If you are a student on an F-1 visa, there is no penalty to withdraw from your program of study, as long a certain requirements are met. A designated school official (DSO) has the authority to permit "authorized early withdrawals" to a foreign student's F visa status in extenuating circumstances. This includes a temporary absence or withdrawal from school due to a family emergency, personal matter or another circumstance that calls for the student to leave the United States prior to their program’s completion.  If an F student is granted authorized early withdrawal, or a permitted temporary absence from their course of study, they are permitted a 15-day grace period to depart the United States. F students who are granted an authorized early withdrawal, but do not depart the country within the 15-day grace period, are in violation of their student vis...

Recently I received the following question:    "I am on F1 status, and I'm doing my masters. Recently, I checked that my I94 was expired. I have 4 years of my visa left." Answer:   As an F-1 student your original I-94 should have been marked "D/S" with no expiration date. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) either made a mistake or had concerns about your entry and wanted to review your status at a certain time. Discuss your specific situation with your DSO, including whether you should go to the CPB at your airport to correct the I-94, or whether simply departing and returning with a new I-94 would cure the problem. In addition to your visa you also need a current I-20 which the DSO provides. 

I recently answered the following question: "I had applied for my EAD in October, but yesterday received an update from USCIS on the website as Request For Initial Evidence Mailed. What could be the reason for this? And after responding, how much more time can it take for approval?"    ANSWER :    Pardon the corny humor, but RFE's can be "Naughty By Nature" (hey you know me). Sometimes they are issued just to give new USCIS employee experience! So it's important not to panic. It's first good to know what evidence it won't request. Whether or not you have secured the appropriate type of OPT employment will not yet be questioned. This is because securing an OPT job, or offer for job, is not required when submitting an initial application. As such, the RFE will likely focus on basic eligibility, such as questions about your education institution or whether you have enrolled in sufficient schooling. Timing is also an issue a...