QUESTION
Do we still have the chance to go back if my husband left the country while waiting for his visa number?
Asked on Apr 04th, 2014 on Immigration - Texas
More details to this question:
My husband has worked in the U.S. for a good 6 years. He applied for green card while waiting for the visa number to be available. He lost his job due to the recent recession. He found a new job in Canada and left the U.S. Now, we look at the visa bulletin and his visa number will be available soon which is about 6 months from now. Do we still have the chance to go back to the U.S.? If he can find a similar job in the U.S., do we still have the chance to pass the interview. Or is there something that we should do. His employer in the U.S. actually closed down but they did not pull out his immigration application. My husband's HIB had expired though because it has been a few years back.
2 ANSWERS
If he applied for the green card through the employer and that employer is no longer in business, he will not be able to get an immigrant visa even when the priority date is current if there is no longer a bona fide job offer.
Answered on Apr 04th, 2014 at 6:11 PM
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Yes. Your husband can still apply for permanent residency through consular processing at the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate in Canada. However, if he accumulated more than 1 year of unlawful presence in the U.S. prior to his departure to Canada, he will be barred from returning to the U.S. for 10 years from the date of his last departure, unless he applies for a hardship waiver on form I-601 and get it approved by USCIS. To get the waiver approved, he must establish to the satisfaction of USCIS that his spouse will suffer extreme hardship if his application was not approved.
Answered on Apr 04th, 2014 at 1:37 PM