Indiana Immigration Legal Questions

Persons who obtain visiting visas to the U. S. are supposed to have an intent to only be visiting this country. If they take actions very soon after the date of entry, e.g. begin H-1B paperwork within 30 days of coming to the United States, there is a presumption that they had a preconceived intent to abuse the visa as they never intended to return. In such circumstance, a change of status could be denied. On the other hand, U.S.C.I.S. does allow changes of status where it does not appear that such was the purpose of the persons applying for such when they entered this country. Activities begun after the 60th day lose the presumption. This is called the 30/60 day rule. 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

I will assume for purposes of your question that you are a U.S. citizen.  Whether your husband can apply for permanent residence without leaving the U. S. depends upon whether he entered with inspection or if not, whether he is eligible for adjustment upon payment of a fine amount of $1000 under §245(i), which requires that the applicant either have had a labor certification application or immigrant visa petition filed on his behalf by April 30, 2001, and have been physically present in the U. S. on December 21, 2000. If he meets either one of the above 2 conditions, he is adjustable. If he does not, he is not under present law. There is the possibility that if he is able to obtain an advance parole under the DACA program and reenters the U. S., he would become eligible for adjustment. There is also the possibility of the 10 year bar being waived if he applies for and is given a provisional I-601A waiver based on extreme hardship to you. He would still have to leave the U. S. for a consular interview, but would be allowed to see the results of the I-601A waiver application prior to leaving the country for the green card interview. 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

Your husband would have to apply for a visiting visa at an American consulate or embassy in South Africa and his application would be judged in accordance with whether he could demonstrate non-immigrant intent. I do note that applicants generally have to show ties and bonds outside the US such as the location of other family members, property and bank account ownership, jobs, etc. Where the applicant is a student, a showing of progress in school and that the person is still registered for schooling along with having funds for that schooling would be appropriate.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 father was an American citizen and resided in the U. S. for 5 years, 2 years of which were after the age of 14 prior to your birth, you appear to be a U. S. citizen by birth. You can submit an application for U. S. passport to the American consulate or embassy in your home country.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 can start a company while on an h1b, but you cannot work there unless you get an independent visa. You may invest and get an E2 visa.  This depends on your nationality. Feel free to email me your nationality and approximate investment. Here is some additional information. The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country; The investment must be substantial. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise; The investment must be a real operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment; The investment may not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States; The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed; and The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.... Read More

We have seen cases in the past in which immigration officers have requested raised seals. We have advised the people to comply since doing so is usually better than arguing with immigration officer. There is of course merit in arguing that a disposition which has an original signature by a court official and a stamp of the court should be good enough. Your choices would appear to be arguing either on paper or in person that what you already submitted should be accepted or taking the trouble to contact the court and police in Australia for court disposition and arrest record containing raised seals or an explanation by each agency that it does not provide raised seals. The best solution would probably have been to argue the matter with the officer and/or his or her supervisor at the time of the interview. 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. An adjustment of status can only be filed in the US when you are here. Then, you must stay and wait for the temporary travel permit or the green card before you are allowed to leave the US (unless on an H1b or L visa). Thus, I am a little confused. What type of case do you have? Who filed it? ... Read More

Hello. The fastest form of a green card is via marriage. Otherwise, you can get a temporary work visa based on a US job offer and your qualifications. Thus, I would need more information about your background etc. (you can email me your CV to Harun@ksvisalaw.com). The other option is to come as a student. Then, you can come and stay (but not work). I hope this helps. ... Read More

From your job title and qualifications, it appears that your employer would have to go through the PERM process for your immigration. That is a labor certification process under which you would only be able to immigrate if the University is able to demonstrate that there are no able, willing, qualified, or available U. S. workers for the position. Under Department of Labor rules, the employer is responsible for payment of the labor certification part of a permanent residence case. The University would be in violation of the law if you paid for legal fees or expenses in connection with the labor certification. I suggest that you make the University aware that it must pay for the labor certification part although you may be able to pay for the subsequent parts of the green card case, such as the I-140 immigrant visa petition and I-485 adjustment of status application (if you choose to adjust status rather than consular process your case). 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

Everything depends on your situation and that of the children's mother. Where a US citizen has children born abroad (after 11/1986), that parent transmits US citizenship to the children automatically if he or she has lived in the US for at least 5 years prior to the children's birth.  Of those 5 years, at least 2 need to be after the parent turned age 14.  If both parents are citizens, their physical presence in the US before the children's birth is not relevant.  If you do not fit within either of the patterns mentioned above, then you would have to immigrate the children and upon entering the US as permanent residents, they would automatically acquire US citizenship as long as it was prior to them turning 18. If you don't meet the above mentioned transmission requirements but either of your parents does (I.e., he or she is a US citizen and lived here more than 5 years) your children may be able to acquire citizenship through the grandparent.  It gets a little more complicated, but it works.  If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please feel free to call my office and set something up.  Jan Joseph Bejar, Esq. (619) 291-1112.... Read More

The result of such an interview will depend upon whether you are able to show that you had a bona fide marriage prior to the divorce. Documentation to prove such could consist of birth certificates of children born of the union, photographs, leases or deeds, insurance policies, utility bills, credit card statements, telephone bills, banking statements, affidavits from family members, friends, neighbors, or others, etc. The burden of proof will be upon you to prove through documentation the bona fide character of your marriage. 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 lawyer is entitled to fair payment for services rendered. In most cases, a lawyer may inform you that he or she is refusing to continue to work on your case until payment is made. If that is what you mean by the lawyer holding the visa, the lawyer may certainly be within his/her rights. If you mean that the lawyer will hold onto your green cards or other US visa documents, that would be questionably ethical. I do note that if your case is in the immigration court, an attorney will continue your representation until relieved by the court.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 is possible to change from H-4 to L-1 status as long as you are qualified. General qualifications are that the company in the US and the company overseas are affiliates or subsidiaries, that the applicant has worked in the overseas company for one out of the past three years, and that the applicant has served in and will serve in the US in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge role. As long as you are maintaining H-4 status, you would be allowed to change status without having to leave the US so long as U.S.C.I.S. approved the merits of your L-1 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

F-2 dependents have no right to work in the U. S. As the work that you appear to be contemplating appears to be entirely domestic, I believe that it is not allowed. My opinion may be subject to change if your selling of YouTube videos is infrequent and can be viewed as more of a hobby than your work. If it is regular and systematic, it would appear to be illegal work. On the subject of whether the payment is subject to taxes, I am not an accountant but generally monies earned in the country are subject to taxation. 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

Una abogada necesita mas information acerca de su madre - porque fue deportada?  Tiene la orden del juez de inmigracion?  Si ella tenia un delito, tiene los records de la corte?  Tiene evidencia que ella se quedaba en Mexico a lo menos 10 anos?   La abogada tiene que revisar esta informacion y despues puede avisarle si puede pedir a su madre para venir a los E.U.... Read More

You would likely be considered to be maintaining H-1B status even with a concurrent part-time H-1B unless the full-time position which you lost was a cap-exempt H-1B and your part-time position is not. Assuming that the full-time H-1B position required a cap number, you should be able to continue working on part-time H-1B and maintain legal status. Under the circumstances, you would be able to apply for a new full-time H-1B whenever you choose. As long as you and your new company are qualified for the new full time H-1B, the petition should be approved. If U.S.C.I.S. receives your new full-time H-1B petition in less than 10 days past the time that your full time H-1B is withdrawn, you should still be considered to be maintaining 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

October 1st is usually the date put on I-129 petitions where cap H-1B petitions are filed. As such, your F-1 status would automatically change to H-1B on that date if it was approved and that date was requested. Your alternative if you do not wish to change status to H-1B is to have your potential employer cancel your H-1B approval prior to October 1. 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

She could file a privacy act request with the Navy asking for a copy of her birth certificate.  If she was born in a Navy hospital, they will have a record of her birth.  Here's a link on how to do that. https://www.foia.navy.mil/foia/webbas02.nsf/(vwwebpage)/home.htm?opendocument... Read More