California Immigration Legal Questions

If you are a US citizen and your fiancé entered the country legally, then after you marry him you can file to adjust his status to lawful permanent residency. If you do not live together after marriage that may be a problem when you apply. IF you aren’t working then you would need to have someone file as your joint financial sponsor. Lastly it makes no difference to the geeen card application if your parents disapprove of your marital decisions.... Read Answer

While there is no prohibition against those who have visa petitions filed on their behalf from visiting the US during the pendency of the I-130 petition and related consular processing, the rule of thumb is that visits should be short and there should be convincing evidence that the individual will return to the home country at the end of the period of visit. A good example could be a person with a round-trip ticket to stay in the US for one month and then not return to the US for at least another 4-6 months. Current processing is approximately a year for your husband to immigrate to the US. He has no special privilege by being a Japanese citizen. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

I am not certain what you mean by your phrase "I don't get any opportunities." If that means that you received an approved petition and visa but never worked for the employer, you would find it very difficult to have that same employer file a renewal visa petition on your behalf and have it approved.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

In order for your biological father to petition for you, you would have to break the adoption legally to be recognized as his son. I note that the waiting time for this category, F-3, is currently over 12 years even if all goes well, so you may well consider other avenues to immigrate. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

It is difficult to give you advice because of the lack of detail in your fact situation. There are different times during which an immigrant visa can become available for the I-130 filed by your mother dependent upon whether she is a US citizen or permanent resident, and whether you are under the age of 21 and unmarried, over the age of 21 and unmarried, or married. In addition, there must be an available employment based category for which you can work in order for an employer to sponsor you, but such would depend upon the nature of the company and your qualifications. I suggest that you consult with an immigration lawyer and give him or her the entire set of facts in order that he or she can go over your available options. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Everyone who applies for naturalization is supposed to disclose all prior arrests or convictions whether sealed or not. That information should be put on the N-400 form. If you disclosed that at the time of getting your green card, there is no reason that it should prevent you from becoming a citizen. If you did not disclose it at that time, there may be a problem if the act should have prevented you from obtaining a green card. But from your question, it appears that you were asked previously about your juvenile sealed records. The period of good moral character is generally five years (three in the case of people who are applying under the three-year rule) and U.S.C.I.S. officers will generally not look past the statutory period unless the offense was serious in nature. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

Unfortunately you are caught in the bureaucratic nightmare of U.S.C.I.S. in which the speed of processing depends upon the U.S.C.I.S. service center that is handling your case. The National Benefits Center (NBC) takes from one week to 4.5 months, the California Service Center from 1.5 months to four months, and the Vermont Service Center between 12 to 16 months according the USCIS processing time information. The possibility exists that if you attempt to reenter the US without having the extension adjudicated favorably, you could be turned back. You could wait until you receive a decision on the application. Alternatively you could approach the American consulate or embassy for another visitor's visa explaining the situation to the consular officer. There is also the possibility that you could come to the States, show your receipt of having filed for the extension before leaving, and perhaps be admitted by the immigration inspector. That is a possible course of action as long as you are prepared to be turned back at the port of entry in the event that CBP does not agree to admit you. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

Call and make a appointment to sit down with your lawyer. Ask for a status on your petition.  Find out if it has been filed, and where things are at.  If you cannot work things out, you must terminate the legal relationship, and hire another lawyer. You did not indicate what is the basis for your adjustment of status to permanent residency.  There may be a waiting period.  You just need to request a sit down appointment to know your present situation.... Read Answer

Your husband should file a relative petition for you. You also file to adjust status at the same time. You are considered immediate relative of a US citizen, as such, there is no waiting period except for the time for USCIS to process your petition. Usually the process takes less than a year.... Read Answer

When you marry your fiancée in the Philippines, you will automatically become the stepparent of her child according to U. S. immigration laws. You would be allowed to petition for the child at the same time that you petition for his mother. Assuming that your fiancée has custody over the child, the child should be able to come with his mother. You should file 2 I-130 relative petitions, one for the mother and one for the child. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Assuming that you obtained your on-campus job lawfully and did not disclose any personal facts about anyone while chatting with you roommates, I do not see that you would be getting into trouble with the international center. You would only have a problem being let back into the U. S. if your student status was terminated. Otherwise you should be OK. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

The question would appear to depend upon the type of H-1B amendment that your company is filing with U.S.C.I.S. If it was a substantive amendment and you had already undertaken the activity for which the amendment was made, failure to answer the RFE could theoretically give a problem on an H-1B transfer. If the amendment was to place you in a new activity upon its approval, you could ask your present company to withdraw the amendment petition and continue working in your authorized activity while seeking H-1B transfer with your new company.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

There are a few scenarios to your question. If you are talking about the additional 10 days that you are given past the validity period of your H-1B petition, that is only a grace period during which you can stay but not work. If the I-94 matches the petition date and is longer than the date given on your visa, you can continue to work until the expiration date of the I-94. If the validity period of your visa matches the time given in the H-1B petition, and the I-94 gives any other different date than 10 more days thereafter, it is questionable whether you are authorized to stay or to work as the I-94 date could be a mistake.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

If your mother entered the U. S. legally, you could file for her with a form I-130 petition for alien relative and she could adjust her status without leaving the country through an I-485 application for adjustment of status to permanent residence. If she did not enter the U. S. legally, she would only be able to adjust status if she has the benefit of §245(i), under which she would have had to have applied for a labor certification application or immigrant visa petition before April 30, 2001, and be physically present in the U. S. on December 21, 2000. Failing that, she could possibly qualify for an I-601A provisional waiver of her unlawful presence if she also has a spouse or parent who is a U. S. citizen or permanent resident and who would suffer extreme hardship if such a waiver was not approved. Under an I-601A waiver, your mother would ultimately leave the U. S. for an immigrant visa interview at the home U. S. consulate or embassy which would in all likelihood result in a normal interview from which she would return to the U. S. with an immigrant visa. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

The difficulty is your age and that you do not qualify as an immediate relative of a U. S. citizen (parent, spouse, or child under the age of 21 and unmarried), and so you cannot file a combination I-130/I-485 while in the U. S.  Vis-à-vis your father, you would qualify under either F-2B or F-3 immigrant visa category depending upon whether you are married or not. Currently, F-2B for unmarried sons and daughters of U. S. citizens over the age of 21 is backed up to cases filed before 6/22/11 and F-3 for married sons and daughters of U. S. citizens to those filed before 3/15/06 (June 2018 visa bulletin). U.S.C.I.S. does not allow I-485 applications to be filed unless there is visa availability. I suggest that you meet with an immigration lawyer who can go over options with you on how to stay in the U. S. and perhaps for permanent immigration independent of your father. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

In looking at the law where a child is born out of wedlock to a US citizen, I assume that your father fulfilled the physical presence requirement in the US prior to your birth, and that a blood relationship has already been established. Other parts of the law appear to require that your father agreed in writing to support you until 18 years of age, and while you were under 18, you were either legitimated, your father acknowledged paternity, or paternity was established by court adjudication. You may wish to focus on those other aspects of the citizenship law.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

I assume that you are a US citizen. If so, you could file for them with a concurrent I-130 petition for alien relative and I-485 application to adjust status to permanent residence. Other paperwork would also have to be supplied such as your affidavit of support on form I-864 with proof of financial viability, their birth papers, your marriage paper, proof of US citizenship, and dissolutions of all prior unions on either side. Required medical examinations can be done now or presented at the interview. Generally speaking, you could expect an interview in approximately 10 months to a year. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

I do not see your fiancé's tax filings being the focus of his marriage based green card application. The focus is usually upon the bona fides of the marital relationship and other grounds of inadmissibility.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

Although those applying for a STEM extension have the right to continue working during the time of extension, that is predicated upon the application for extension being filed on time. Your application appears to have been rejected 2 times by U.S.C.I.S., and you state that on the 3rd occasion, your EAD card was already expired. Under the circumstances, it would not appear that you have employment authorization at this time. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

An applicant for a TN professional position is adjudged eligible by degree, CPA, CA, CGA, or CMA, and not a combination of education and working experience. In your case, an immigration officer or inspector would look at your economics degree to determine whether it is closely related to an accounting degree. Economics would appear to be more related to marketing than to accounting, but the decision would be up to the adjudicating officer. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

If your husband was removed and attempted to illegally reenter the U. S. on or after April 1, 2007, he is not eligible for immigration under the so-called “permanent bar” under which he can only ask the government for permission to reenter the U. S. 10 years after his last departure. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. ... Read Answer

In your case, you may find that the immigration laws make it more difficult for you because the court is in a jurisdiction other than where you reside. There are no limited appearances for attorneys except for bond and custody situations. If you are not being detained by DHS at this point, any attorney asking for a change of venue would be liable for taking on your entire case unless relieved. Since that is the case, it would probably be better for you to obtain the services of an attorney in your place of residence to ask for the change of venue. Difficulties of course could be refusal of DHS to agree to a change of venue or that the attorney would be obligated to appear at the master calendar hearing in the airport district if the change of venue was not completed before the date of the hearing. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

if Your fiancé entered the country legally and does not have any immigration violations, criminal record or communicable disease, then you can sponsor your fiancé for an adjustment of status to his or her green card, even though your fiancé has overstayed his/her visa. The process can be commenced by hiring counsel anywhere in the US. ... Read Answer

I assume that you have not filed for an I-485 adjustment of status application. To move to LinkedIn, the company would have to sponsor you for another nonimmigrant status. That would likely be H-1B, and since that would be a cap H-1B, the petition would likely have to be filed in the first five business days of April for work to begin in October at the earliest if you are selected and approved.  If you have an I-140 approval, you would be able to keep the priority date,  but would have to file for a new PERM and I-140 for permanent residence. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer