Maryland Immigration Legal Questions

Generally, immigration is based on Family or Employment Relationships. I am happy to discuss your Visa and Residency options. However, we are an Immigration Law firm that helps aliens obtain work visas. We cannot help find jobs or opportunities in the U.S.  Do you have a job offer from a US Employer/Petitioner? Do you have any family in the US? Fiance?... Read Answer

A J-1 visa holder is not precluded from obtaining an F-1 visa. Although the rules would seem to say that the F-1 visa should be obtained outside the US, U.S.C.I.S. has accepted and processed changes of status to F-1 student from J visa holders over the years who were not subject to the two-year foreign residence 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 Answer

USCIS policy has been that the last status granted to a foreign national governs his or her stay in the United States. This is called the “last action rule.” For example, if a person applies for change of status from F-1 to H-4 and then applies for change of status to H-1B, the last status granted determines the person’s status. If the foreign national in this example is first granted H-1B status and subsequently the change of status to H-4 is approved, the foreign national is in H-4 status without employment authorization even though his or her intention is to be in H-1B status. The Vermont Service Center (VSC) has suggested including the receipt notice for the pending change of status application and adding “COS/EOS Pending” to the block on the application/petition, which asks for the beneficiary’s current status to avoid these types of problems.... Read Answer

The welcome to America notice is not one of the accepted documents for employment authorization. That being said, I seriously doubt that your employer would suffer any liability by paying you now rather than waiting for you to present your physical green card. The difference in time is probably a month or less unless you are requested to re-fingerprint. Also the date of the welcome to America notice should be the date on your green card once you receive it. Whether your local Department of Motor Vehicles accepts the welcome to America notice to renew your driver’s license would depend upon the state’s policy. 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

You appear to be in a dilemma because of uncertainty of what your husband will do. You can have the conditional basis of your residence status lifted in the event of a joint petition or if able to show that you have a bona fide marriage which has ended in divorce. I suggest that you submit the I-751 on time and explain your situation in writing with the application if you are still uncertain concerning his intentions and cannot have him sign. I also suggest that you begin working on a divorce action in the near future if it becomes apparent that he will not sign the petition. USCIS will take some months before reaching your petition and then will send a request for further evidence which will give you slightly less than three months from that date to submit a divorce decree. I note that whether in a joint petition or filing by yourself and claiming a bona fide marriage ending in divorce, you must submit documentation to prove the bona fide nature of your union. 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

Only immediate relatives who have been lawfully admitted but overstayed are eligible for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence.  If you depart the US after more than 6 months out of status then you will be subject to the unlawful presence bar.  There may be other options but you don't say whether you have an affirmative claim to asylum or are the abused spouse, parent, or child of a US citizen or Permanent Resident.  Good Luck!... Read Answer

If your wife is granted a green card and you decide to obtain the divorce, that would likely have no effect upon her legal status in the US as you appear to have a bona fide marriage as proven by having a child together. Your wife would likely be a conditional permanent resident who would have to remove the condition upon residence within the 90 day period prior to the second anniversary of having been awarded conditional resident status. With a divorce, she would not have to wait until then to file an I-751 petition to remove the conditional basis of her residence status. She would file the application by herself as having had a bona fide marriage that was terminated by a divorce and presenting all the evidence of your having had a life together including the birth of 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

You need to contact a family attorney in Maryland to get your custody of your child settled.   You don't say whether you are divorced or not.  Usually one parent of a child cannot take a child to another country without the signed and notarized permission of the other parent, but you need to check with a family attorney.... Read Answer

Most immigration to this country comes about through family sponsorship, employment-based sponsorship, asylum or investment. These all generally take time. I suggest that if your friend is truly interested in exploring his or her options for a green card, he or she should take the time to make an appointment with a reputable immigration attorney to discuss the options.  ... Read Answer

You did not specify how your husband entered the United States. If he entered "undocumented" (people refer to this as "EWI" or "not inspected" also), then he will have to process his immigrant visa through a US Embassy in his country of origin. However, if he entered with a valid passport/visa and was inspected by an immigration officer at an airport or land entry, then he can apply to adjust his status here and the provision waiver program would not apply to him. If he did enter undocumented, I would be certain that he did not enter the US more than 1 time. If he has, he might be ineligible for an immigrant visa for 10 years. This particular provision cannot be waived and requires that the person reamin outside of the United States for 10 years. On the other hand, if he is eligible for the provisional waiver, those can be filed starting March 4. Also, you will want to notify the National Visa Center (NVC) that he intends to file the provisional waiver by emailing them at NVCi601a@state.gov. Check out the link at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/nvc/nvc_5837.html to see what you need to include in such an email.... Read Answer