Connecticut Immigration Legal Questions

If you file all of the paperwork for adjustment of status along with the hardship waiver application, you run the risk of having the applications all rejected or denied as the general rule of U.S.C.I.S. is that you should have the waiver or at least a waiver recommendation in hand prior to submitting an application for adjustment of status. We have of course seen situations in which applicants are not rejected or denied and are allowed employment authorization during the time that the adjudication is pending. U.S.C.I.S. will schedule you for interview in accordance with the schedule of the local field office. The average time for interview in Hartford, the field office location for the state of Connecticut, is approximately 9 months as per the processing time chart. At the time of interview, there is a chance that you will be denied adjustment of status even if you have a waiver approval as you did not have it at the time of the filing. On the other hand, an immigration officer may just accept it. If you do not have an approved waiver by that time, you could be denied or the immigration officer might decide to pend your case and give you a small period of time to obtain the waiver. During the time that a case is pending for adjustment of status, U.S.C.I.S. will normally extend employment authorization. The better strategy of course in my opinion is to either fulfill the two-year home residence requirement or obtain a waiver or Department of State recommendation of such prior to applying for adjustment of status to 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 More

Hello. You are the petitioner of the I-130 petition. You have the capability to withdraw this petition. If it is withdrawn, she cannot continue her I-485, Adjustment of Status. However, if you only 'suspect' her cheating, I would recommend you two discuss your situation before you cause irreparable harm to her immigration case.... Read More

A lot depends upon the type of charges. If they are all traffic ordinance violations, there should be no problems with your visa. However, some traffic citations turn into a misdemeanor bench warrants for your arrest if you failed to appear in court. Try to contact the courts via Internet or telephonically in order to determine that there are no charges outstanding against you. Very often, my clients abroad, ask us to conduct a due diligence search of traffic or criminal charges to provide them with the appropriate court clerk documentation confirming that there is nothing outstanding. You may wish to retain counsel in those cities for that purpose. Good luck to you.... Read More

There is a possibility of your husband obtaining his legal status as his entering the US with a fake passport indicates that he was inspected at the time of his arrival. He would of course have to prove that he entered with the fake passport and most immigration offices would require him to present the original passport of entry when he applies for an adjustment of status application to permanent residence. As he entered with a fake passport, he would have to apply for a waiver of fraud, and I assume that you have done so, were denied the waiver, and are now in filing form I-290 notice of appeal to the Commissioner. You will receive another adjudication by the AAO (Administrative Appeals Office) of USCIS and hopefully the decision will be favorable. I note that in these cases, it is better to be represented by counsel experienced in waiver applications. 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 chances are probably not very good, but if you wish to apply for a nonimmigrant visa, you should be entirely honest with the American Consulate and explain that your husband has already started filing for your permanent residence. You should also check to ensure that, if the exchange program is under a J visa status, there is not a two-year foreign residence requirement attached to the granting of the visa. I assume, however, that in light of the shortness of the visit, a J visa would not be involved. 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

As you may have already read, these types of cases are very "fact specific." More than that, when it comes to the issue of "bona fides" in a marriage based immigration petition, there is a sliding scale when it comes to the evidence you need to present. Depending on the facts, some people can file a petition with very little supporting evidence, while others will need extensive documentation. Before I could tell you what evidence you should submit, I would need additional information. (For example, one question I have is how close were you to graduation at the time you married - in other words, was your student status going to terminate shortly after your marriage?) In addition to this, there are a number of other questions I have. In any event, based on your facts, you should provide additional evidence (in addition to your marriage, you should document when you met and how long you dated prior to your marriage). I strongly advise you to reach out to an immigration attorney to help you prepare this petition, this is not a "straight forward" case.... Read More

It is difficult to know exactly when a removal will take place.  If your brother had an attorney, they are required to notify that attorney in advance of the actual removal.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will know the answer to the question, assuming they have made removal arrangements already.  ... Read More

You won't be required to produce the visas as part of the adjustment of status process, so the birthday printed on the visa should not be an issue.  If questioned, you'll have to explain why there was a discrepancy in the first place and why you did not correct it, but the discrepancy should not prevent your ability to adjust status.... Read More

A "household member" (a term used on the form but not in the statute) is someone whose income is pooled with the principal sponsor for purposes of determining household income, but then a qualifying family or tax dependent relationship is required. See 8 CFR 213a.1. This person would complete Form I-864A.  A girlfriend would not qualify as a "household member" even if she is living in the household.  On the remaining point, proof of current income can be shown with pay stubs and a letter from an employer.... Read More

Hello,   The USCIS has 60 days to develop an application process which will provide the filing details. It would be a good idea to consult with a local immigration attorney in your city and then you would be able to determine if you would like to work with an attorney or not.     Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. Doreen Emenike, Attorney at Law www.emenikelaw.com http://legaldoreen.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/#!/LegalDoreen www.emenikelaw.com... Read More

Normal processing for an I-130 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen right now is about 5 months.  See: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do  It can be longer if you are a permanent resident. You should have received the receipt notice by now.  If you did not, you can make an INFOPASS appointment for your local CIS office to check on your case. See: https://infopass.uscis.gov/info_lang.php?sel_lang=en Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com  ... Read More

If your wife starts working on the EAD first, she will no longer be in H-1B status and could not file for an H-1B extension from within the U.S. through that company.  She can start on the EAD, but the H-1B would need to be filed with consular notification request rather than an extension request because she would no longer be in H-1B status.  If the H-1B were approved, she would need to depart the U.S. and return with that H-1B approval and valid H-1B visa in order to commence work under H-1B status. If she is looking to maintain her H-1B because you are worried about your 140 and/or 485 being denied, she should file new H-1B paperwork through new employer.  She should not use EAD for work.  If she maintains her H-1B status, she may continue working on that H-1B even if 140/485 is denied.  If she uses EAD for work, she cannot continue using EAD if 140/485 is denied and she may have no status or permssion to remain in the U.S. if 140/485 weer denied. You may find some useful info on these issues at the law firm web site of Ron Klasko: http://www.klaskolaw.com/articles.php?action=view&id=48 Every case is different.  You may want to consult with an experienced immigration attorney who can review your specific facts and plans. Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com    ... Read More

Yes- a visitor's visa presumes nonimmigrant intent as well as intent not to work. A prior H-1B visa could be a signal that employment was or will be desired. It is recommended to heavily document your limited and specific purpose for entry with a visitor's visa and to convince the officials of your strong ties to your home country.  ... Read More

If your H-1B expires at the end of June 2012, but your employer does not have work for you in the U.S. until July 2012, it sounds like a new H-1B petition will need to be filed for you. You should not enter the U.S. in June on current H-1B approval and visa if there is no work for you until July.  In addition, the location of employment, work project etc. listed in the current H-1B filing may no longer apply.  You may need a new H-1B filing filing to cover the location of employment, work etc. that you will do starting July 2012.  Lastly, you may have difficulty gaining entry towards the end of the H-1B approval when it has never been used before.  CBP is likely to heavily scrutinize your situation. You should review your specific facts and timeline with an experienced immigration attorney.  It sounds like a new H-1B filing would be required before coming in July, but again you should consider a consultation with an immigration attorney to review your specific facts. Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com  ... Read More