California Immigration Legal Questions

If you are a US citizen you can sponsor your mother for a green card but if she was illegally here for many years , then she will have to file a waiver to overcome the grounds of being inadmissible. Discuss with a lawyer in your jurisdiction about the chances of success and the steps you need to take. ... Read More

In my opinion, you might or might not be able to be considered in legal status in the US after having filed for a timely change of status from J-1 to F-1 until the time of the adjudication. I note that your question is in one of the gray areas today since USCIS has recently begun to muddle the law in this area. Whereas it has been accepted that B visas must be maintained until the time of a change of status adjudication, that was never the case for change of status for persons holding other visa classifications. USCIS has confused the picture by putting in its form instructions for change of status that person should maintain their statuses and no longer confining the instruction to B visa holders. It remains to be seen, however, whether such a change made only through an instruction form is enforceable where the change did not come down through a properly promulgated regulation. The current form instructions state, “You must submit an application for extension of stay or change of status before your current authorized stay expires. Even if you are approved for another status in the future, you will be required to file a Form I-539 to “bridge” any gap that might arise between the expiration of your current status and validity of your future status. Therefore, we suggest you file at least 45 days before your stay expires or as soon as you determine your need to change or extend status.” Given that you have time (30 day grace period), you may consider whether it is safer to file for a change of status to B-2 to cover any gap between the end of your grace period and the date of the USCIS adjudication of your F-1 application.  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. (Sorry for the different font sizes)... Read More

I do not know whether there is one correct answer, but we commonly put down “D/S” as the expiration date if F-1 was the last visa status held prior to filling out an I-130 petition. 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 More

Where a person is in the United States on a B visa and attempting to change status to F-1 student, USCIS requires that the individual maintain the B status until the F-1 application is adjudicated. You would either have to file another B-2 extension application or contact USCIS to ensure that an officer will change your stated ending date from 8/24/20 to 6 months from your original expiration date. I note that even if a USCIS officer tells you telephonically that the date was changed, there is no guarantee that such was done and you may be surprised when the adjudication arrives. 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 More

A J-1 visa requires a finding that the applicant has nonimmigrant intent and does not intend to immigrate to the US. That being said, it will be your burden to prove to a consular officer that your intent in going to the US is to be a research scholar and not to conclude a marriage. Perhaps some proof that the marriage will be celebrated in your home country rather than the US would help. Good luck! 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 More

  You are in the same situation as many people in this country. You should be able to submit the I-864 form even marking down "unemployed" and attaching the explanation and the employer's letter. The U.S.C.I.S. officer or consular officer (if your wife will be interviewed overseas) will look at all the circumstances in determining whether your wife meets the public charge requirement. 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 More

A green card holder can sponsor his spouse and child for permanent residency. If both wife and child live outside the United States, then they will have to process at the foreign consulate in their country of residence. The processing time from start to finish can take more than 1 year. Counsel anywhere in the USA can represent you. Some of us charge an affordable flat fee. ... Read More

  As long as you have the receipt of filing the I-130 petition, you should be able to file the I-485 package to the U.S.C.I.S. In your case, you should enclose a copy of the I-797 receipt of the I-130 filing, put together a complete I-485 package, and send it to the U.S.C.I.S. service center with the filing fee only for the I-485. 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 More

If your brother is single and remains single, your petitioning for your parents and them petitioning for him would take approximately 8 years.  Your petitioning for your brother alone would take approximately 12 years. There is no faster way for you to petition for your brother first and then petition for your parents as there is no connection in that case. A faster way would likely be trying to match his education and skills with a US employer that would be willing to sponsor him for a working visa/green card, or if the working visa is not possible, directly for the green card. Such a process would normally take 2-3 years assuming that your brother is not born in either India or China. 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 More

  Family situations are many times complicated, but is it possible that you could resolve the situation just by giving him a firm no or just threaten to report him to the US authorities? 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 More

  Good question. In such case, you could attempt to contact her or her attorney with a demand for repayment of your fees. Upon such refusal, you could check with the court to see whether it left a mechanism under which her clients could file claims with the court. Otherwise I imagine that you would likely have to shame her into repaying your fees such as going public with your situation, or you would have to sue her yourself. Good luck! 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 More

In my opinion, your employer would be able to file an extension request before the time of the I-94 expiration. USCIS or CBP included the 10 day grace period that is given to H-1B holders to leave the country after the H-1B time expires. It is our understanding that this time can be used not only to prepare for departure, but for other purposes including the filing of an extension. 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 More

  It does not appear that you would be able to use the H-4 EAD that you previously had in the situation that you describe. That is because you are presently under H-1B status and would not have H-4 status again until the application is approved. That would present a mismatch situation that would not be allowed of an H-4 EAD while under H-1B status. 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 More

The immigration laws allow an applicant who has filed an I-539 to remain in the US past the expiration date of the I-94 as long as the application is pending with U.S.C.I.S. If the petition is approved, all of the time spent in adjudicating the application is legal. If disapproved, the applicant is out of/status as of the date of I-94 expiration – however, days of unlawful presence for purposes of the 3 and 10 year bars only begin to be counted as of the date of denial – that would be day1. 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 More

Generally speaking, USCIS will respect any marriage which is legal where celebrated and legal in the state in which the couple intend to reside. So you should check out the law in both places. 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 More

If you did not disclose the marriage when applying for the F-1 nonimmigrant visa, you have the possibility of being accused of visa fraud.  I do note that there is a possible defense if  your spouse was a US citizen five years ago that any misrepresentation was immaterial since your major purpose was to study and not immigrate to the US. U.S.C.I.S. usually coordinates with the home consulate or embassy concerning what was put down on the nonimmigrant visa application in adjustment of status situations. Generally U.S.C.I.S. officers will allow applicants the opportunity to file for a waiver of the misrepresentation If there is a finding of visa fraud although such is not mandatory on immigration service officers and there is a chance of being turned down without the opportunity of waiver filing. 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 More