Watch the Video on this FAQ: Porting priority date from EB-2 to EB-1
Video Transcript
The answer is Yes. The main thing is priority dates for EB-2 and EB-1 can be ported and there is no particular format for this. This is supposed to be automatic. The government is supposed to keep a track of that. More...
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Video Transcript:
Under the current regulations the prohibited benefits are:
1. they have to be means-tested benefits which means they are based upon how much money you make.
2. either they must be used to supplement your income like receiving some kind of a cash or cash equivalent or they should be giving you a long term medical facility residence. You can look up for the particular policy at the USCIS website.
You should have a lawyer research this issue for you specifically, but there is no need for you to hold back your naturalization. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Green card based upon investment – EB-5
Video Transcript:
When you are doing an investment based green card first of all you have to look at these moving parts:
One set of moving parts is, do you want to invest half a million dollars or a million. Second moving part is do you want to run the business yourself or let somebody else run the business.
So when you invest 500,000 dollars in an approved investment scheme remember it is only approved for immigration compliance expectedly. They can still mess up and they do. There is no guarantee that this scheme will be successful or your money is safe. So don't think that just because the investment scheme has been approved by the government it is either safe or even honest. Nobody can tell you that. You have to assess that. There are some services out there who help you make those decisions. I don't recommend any. I have never used any. We have dealt with EB-5's through investment centers as well as individual businesses.
So if you want to start your own business what you have to do is invest either half a million in some of the areas that are considered to be rural or targeted employment areas where the unemployment is about 50 percent higher than the national average.
The way the process of the green card works is once you make the investment, whether it is an investment center or your own particular business, you can then file the first set of forms which almost take two years to complete then add to it another six to eight months then you get your conditional green card. Therefore, it takes between two - three years under the current environment.
Once you get the conditional green card you can come to the USA, you can start living here, your son can start going to school. 90 days before the end of the two years another set of forms is filed to remove the condition that shows that ten American jobs have been created and that the investment is on track, that's when you get your permanent green card. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Can I join my old employer if the H-1B transfer is denied?
Video Transcript:
1. The answer is No. A prior approved H-1B is not overruled by a subsequent H-1B through another employer. If you have signed any contracts that's a different issue, but as far as immigration law is concerned, having one, two, three or even twenty subsequent H-1B approvals have no effect on a previously approved H-1B.
2. The answer is Yes.
3. Not at all. As long as your employer A has not been revoked and employer B/A still maintains your status you are fine.
4. Any employer or any number of employers can file for your green card as there is no limit. The only issue is are you doing it in good faith. Is it an honest intention to join them upon approval of the green card. These are issues that you should discuss with your lawyers who are processing your green card. More...
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Video Transcript:
1. Yes, you can apply both change to H-4 and H-4 EAD concurrently. Therefore even though you are working for employer B your wife can derive the same benefit as you would from the earlier I-140 approval.
2. No. Even though the I-140 was from the previous employer.
3. You can change employers as many times as you like and once your I-140 has been approved 180 days there is no limit to how many employers you can change and how long you can keep getting extensions of your H-1B as long as the dates are not current. If the dates become current then you can get only one year extension as far as I recall.
4. The answer is No. Both remain valid in their own right and you can derive the maximum benefit whichever is better for you out of the two. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: The impact of the NTA memo
Video Script
Green card renewals have been pretty much an administrative process. It is like renewing your drivers licence. If your green card is denied due to a minor administrative process can you be deported? Well, even under NTA if they put you in deportation your lawyers can walk over the evidence of the error to the court. Right now USCIS has postponed implementing its NTA policy until further notice. Even if it gets implemented chances are that as and when the NTA policy get implemented, it would be more reasonable than the way they had announced. More...
Visit the blog section to read more about this policy: https://www.immigration.com/blogs/deportation-and-denial-policy-2018-jul...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Travel outside the USA when a case is pending
Video Transcript
1. Yes, you can travel.
2. I don't know the exact local rules, but you have to go for visa stamping.
3. You should not go until the amendment is actually approved. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: What are different wage levels for H-1B and green card jobs?
Video Transcript
The only difference between wage levels for H-1B and green cards in terms of logistics is, when we file for an H-1 we are using our best judgment to decide which level wage will be given. When we file a green card it is the government who decides what the wage should be. The wages are received in most cases from Foreign Labor Certification Data Center and there each occupation is based upon the county and the state in which the occupation is located and is covered under four different levels. What distinguishes the levels is the complexity of the job, the requirement that the employer has and how many years of experience, etc... Level 1 is usually for entry-level people right out of school doing formative chance, so they are still learning. Level 2 is people who are doing professional level jobs, but they are moderately complex at level 3 you become technically advanced. At level 4 you become more advanced but perhaps in terms of leadership. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Specific issues in the Trump NTA policy for denials
Video Transcript
If the RFE looks like it is really difficult to win, maybe leave USA while it is pending and wait outside if the case gets approved, get a visa and come back, but there you could have a problem. The visa stamping can take a long time, but of course if you have an existing visa you can return on that but if you don't have an existing visa for eg: H-1B visa and you have to apply for a new one, then be prepared for delays and I would always prepare clients or employers to send the work to your home country wherever you are because it is perfectly legal to be working outside USA while you wait for the visa stamping.
On the other hand the NTA does not say you cannot file appeal. Hence it is a really bad policy created by Trump. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Section 245(K) protection during AOS/I-485
Video Transcript
This is a very important protection given to employment based applicants and their dependents when they apply for adjustment of status. What it says is that under Section 245(k) USCIS will forgive your being out of status or having worked without authorization for upto 180 days from the date of your last entry into the US immediately before you filed the I-485. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Applying for H-4 status while on parole
Video Transcript
You cannot really get a change of status because parole is not really status. It is just authorized stay which is legal, but not full status. So basically if you want to convert back to H-4 , it does not require any prior approval from the USCIS. You can just take the spouses H-1 approval and go outside USA get your visa stamped and come back. When you enter using your H-4 visa you are back on being on H-4 instead of being on parole and if the I-140 or I-485 etc., is still pending you can of course keep extending your advance parole. You can apply six months ahead of time before the expiration of the parole. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: H-1B petition revocation during visa process/reaffirmation
In a case where you got your H-1B approval but you have travelled outside the USA and you need a visa, you go to the US consulate for visa stamping. They put you in administrative processing and discover something which often is unjustified frankly and sometimes can be justified, gives them some reason to send the case back to the USCIS saying that the case needs to be revoked and that can take a few months (5-6 months). Then USCIS will issue a notice of intent to revoke which would be sent to your lawyers as well as to your employer that says we found out this information through the consulate and it looks like this case needs to be revoked. You have 33 days to respond to USCIS and justify why they shouldn't revoke it. Once the employer responds to it and if USCIS finds out that the case is really approvable and the consulate is mistaken, they reaffirm the case and send it back to the consulate. This whole thing can take months and even a year.
The option would be to file another H-1 through another employer or with the same company that is if this was not a quota H-1 and there is no fraud, etc., involved. More...
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Video Transcript
If we are speaking of a green card filed through PERM it is complicated because any substantial change in the job requires you to refile the green card unless you have the intention to go back to the old job when you get the green card.
One point at which you can change jobs, whether job descriptions or job titles or even employers is when your I-140 is approved and your I-485 has been pending 180 days, that's the AC21 portability. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Applying for H-1B transfer while an extension request is under RFE
Video Transcript
Yes, but you probably will have to go outside USA unless the case is already decided in your favor when the transfer application is decided. Unless you have a genuine case you should not apply for political asylum and I am not sure that any kind of relief from deportation would apply to you just because you lived here for 11 plus years. I am not quite sure how in your case that the law would help you out. More...
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Video Transcript
The new regulations that became effective on Jan 17, 2017 now clearly says that if you were working for Employer A and Employer B filed your H-1B transfer and you joined Employer B using the receipt they got an RFE further along the line, the H-1B transfer got denied, government says you can go back and join Employer A as long as you never work without authorization and as long as the employer A has not revoked your H-1B and lastly the job that they had gotten approved for you is still in existence. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Changing jobs while H-1B RFE is pending
Video Transcript
A possible situation is that your original approved H-1B still has time left on it. So let's say you got the H-1B approval till December of this year and you have an RFE pending so technically you still have the old petition alive and well almost. If you file for a transfer, chances are as long as your pending filing was not inappropriate government will accommodate and will allow you to go on to employer B, C, D or E as you please even with the pending case. More...
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Video Transcript
The first thing you should do is contact the customer service. Let them know you got this issue and make a note of the date and time you called and to whom you spoke so that you have a record that you tried to correct the situation as soon you discovered the omission. The second thing you do is put it in writing, send it to the government, whichever address you filed the N-400 or whichever address you received the last response from the government and inform them what the issue is and the third thing you do is when you go for the interview bring it up yourself, let the officer know that there is some information missing and you would like that to be corrected. If you do all of these things I think you should be fine. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Can an employee withdraw an H-1B petition?
Video Transcript
You should send a letter to the government in writing, certainly, even get it maybe notarized to assure the government that these are your signatures and say that you no longer wish to apply for a change of status and you are not going to take up that job. So you hereby withdraw from the change of status request under the H-1B. After you send a notarized letter give them a call as well and just tell them you have written and this is what you want to be noted and that you are not going to go through the change of status. There is no actual procedure for it, but this can be as secure as you can be to ensure that the government will not give you a change of status even though you don't want one. More...
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Video Transcript
Yes. A green card can be filed while you are on any status. But while filing a green card for visas like F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2 can be complicated in some ways. Consult your lawyers. Make sure you got every part covered. If you are born in countries like India or China or any other countries that are very backed up you will have to be very careful and make proper plans before you file for a green card directly from any of the other statuses but there is no law that says you cannot do that. More...
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Watch the Video on this FAQ: Changing jobs after I-140 approval
Video Transcript
When your I-140 is approved your priority date is yours to keep even if you leave that employer the very next day and go and join a totally different job. It does not matter if the job gives you a higher salary or a lower salary or has a completely different job profile because all you are carrying forward is your priority date. So when you want to carry forward your priority date what you do is you take your I-140 with you. In addition to that once the I-140 is approved and stays approved for 180 days not only you carry on your priority date, you also carry the right to extend your H-1 through any employer and there is no limitation on that. More...
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