Immigration Under Trump, November 7, 2024
Green Card
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mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
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mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
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mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
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mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
FAQs:
1. Can I volunteer with a Non-Profit while on any temporary visa (for example, F-1 OPT)?
2. Options after layoff on approved EB-1 - Compelling circumstances EAD and GC EAD conversion
3. NIW I-485 rejected: Refiling options and priority date usage?
We primarily have questions on relocation to India and possibilities.
My wife and I want to retain our Green Cards and eventually get US citizenship. We are just 3 years away from getting our US citizenship.
However, we want to relocate to India for our aging parents. We want to be able to relocate to India now for a few years (5 years), but we also don’t want to miss out on the citizenship opportunity when we are this close to getting our US citizenship. Is this even possible without the hassle of staying 6 months in the US and 6 months in India, and would there be any tax implications if one of us continues to work for the same employer in the US remotely from India?
We are aware that we can take 2 years' permission by filing Form I-131 and staying outside the US for 2 years. However, we need more than 2 years to stay outside the US. Also, the citizenship clock resets if we take this option. Is there a way to avoid this?
If you plan to relocate to India with a green card before obtaining U.S. citizenship, it can significantly complicate the naturalization process. To apply for U.S. citizenship, you must meet physical presence requirements: at least 2.5 years in the U.S. over the last five years and no single absence of a year or more. If you stay outside the U.S. for over six months but less than a year, you may need to provide an explanation.
A re-entry permit (Form I-131) allows you to stay outside the U.S. for up to two years without losing your green card, but it does not help with citizenship requirements. Form N-470 can protect your eligibility in limited cases, such as working for a U.S. company’s foreign branch, but it does not guarantee naturalization.
If you stay abroad for more than a year, you will likely need to restart your five-year residency requirement (or four years and one day if a re-entry permit was used). While re-entry permits can be renewed in certain cases, they do not protect your citizenship timeline.
Best advice: Obtain U.S. citizenship first and then relocate, as naturalized citizens can live abroad indefinitely without affecting their status. Please consult your lawyer regarding this.
First of all, thank you very much Rajiv for all your advise during this greencard journey, especially during this last 2 weeks. Every time we have relied on your advice blindly.
FAQs:
Others:
Mother's I-485 pending: Advance parole for travel to India - Will it affect filing? || Cap-exempt H-1B I-140/PERM, OPT employer (Upwork), STEM OPT use, and F-1 travel to Canada || Employer-sponsored NIW I-140, FOIA request, self-petitioning, and petition validity || F-1 OPT, cap-exempt H-1B, changing to cap-subject H-1B, and H-4 EAD timing || Can I get a new H-1B visa stamp after extension approval? Travel with two valid visas? || K-1 visa for Indian fiancé: Required documents, marriage after entry, and filing for green card/EAD/advance parole || K-1 visa processing, B-1 visa travel risks, timeline, and relationship evidence ||H-1B transfer approved - How long until payroll must start? What are my options?
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I have not gotten to the stage of I-485 filing, but I had a general question. Let's say I accidentally put some wrong information in my tax returns, then I assume IRS will contact me about it. As long as I am on a payment plan with them, and pay everything I owe properly, would it still affect my I-485 approval chance? I am just worried about any unintentional errors from my end.
Dealing with IRS issues, such as a payment plan due to errors in tax returns, should generally not negatively impact your I-485 application as long as you are actively in the process of correcting the situation.
I had a green card and worked for two remote employers simultaneously for two years without knowing each other. Got two W2s for two years. But for the last year, working for only one employer. Planning on vacation outside of the country. Do I have any issues at POE because I am employed at multiple places at the same time?
A green card holder working two remote jobs simultaneously without their knowledge, receiving two W2s and presumably paying taxes, has likely committed a potential violation of their employment contracts (a civil matter), but it should not impact their green card status or ability to travel, assuming their overall green card history is clean.
My GC was filed, and I-140 was approved in 2012. My PD is November 2012, which became current in March 2025. However, I changed employers a few years back. My current employer is willing to start my GC application but hasn't started yet. Do I really have only one year from the time my PD turned current to file for AOS? If yes, what are my options to maintain my H1 status?
If your I-140 is approved and your priority date becomes current, you generally have one year to file Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) to maintain H-1B extension eligibility beyond six years. This one-year window is dynamic: if your priority date retrogresses and then becomes current again, the clock resets. USCIS rarely accepts changing employers as a valid reason for not filing the I-485 within this timeframe, making H-1B extensions difficult if you miss the deadline while your priority date is current.
Hey people, finally got approved after the priority date got current. had my interview in milwaukee, yesterday 5/17. i noticed while i waited for him to finish something else that the approved stamp was already placed on the file in front of the desk. i verified to see if it was the same A number as mine and it was. so after a minute he simply took my signature and fingerprint on an unfilled form which i hope he filled out later while he was still on the phone. he then proceeded to tell me that all was well and i could go.
My timeline:
Eb3, priority date June 2002
RFE on 485 for self March 2005, spouse a couple of weeks later.
Replied to RFE beginning of May. Received notice on June 8 that our case was transferred to Cincinnati, Ohio
Made infopass appointment to visit Columbus and was told that Cincinnati was the office that received files from the service center and that Cincinnati would forward the files to Columbus.
Our case was initially filed with VSC in March, 2001 (EB2 and future-employment based, the petitioning company is located in NJ and we always work in California).
FAQs: New 5% remittance tax bill for non-US citizens: Will it pass and are non-citizens eligible for tax credit?|| Will admitting to an unsuccessful job search affect my B-2 visa extension approval?
FAQs: What are the risks of job seeking while on F-2 or B-1/B-2 status post-H-1B layoff || F-1 COS -- Risks of future denials, job search, and visa stamping with multiple status changes || H-4 extension (I-539) abandoned by travel? Re-filing strategy after re-entry with new I-94
FAQs: Is it legal to take "Paid Time Off" after the end date of EAD as payment for work done earlier?
The Employment-Based I-485 Inventory pending at the Service Centers and Field Offices has been updated as of 4/1/ 2014.