Minnesota Immigration Legal Questions

Overstay is generally not a concern for individuals being sponsored by US citizen spouses. Under the immediate relative category (US citizen sponsoring spouse, parent, or child under the age of 21 and unmarried), items that would bar adjustment of status in other category sponsorships such as unlawful employment or violation of authorized period of stay are generally not applicable. The USCIS adjudication will focus on other subjects such as the bona fide character of the marriage. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

An uncle can sponsor nieces and nephews to come over on temporary visas, but the relationship of uncle is not one that is recognized in the immigration preference system for permanent immigration. You can sponsor your brother for permanent residence – a long drawn out process – but not his children separately. Adoption is usually not a viable solution where the parent is still alive and around the children. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

Wages for H-1B specialized occupation jobs and their acceptability to USCIS depend upon whether the sponsoring organization is able to meet prevailing wage standards as determined by the Department of Labor in the labor condition application (LCA) which is a prerequisite to the filing of the H-1B petition. I doubt that USCIS is very vested in the fluctuations of what an organization decides to pay H-1B workers within a range of wages which are all above the prevailing wage. The thing to watch out for is that the company does not reach far out for a low-wage standard in an occupation which may not fit what you are actually doing and chance receiving an RFE or denial from USCIS because of the overreach. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

if your fiance entered the USA legally, and you are a US citizen, then yes you can sponsor her for her green card after marriage but if she entered the USA within 90 days, then you should wait to marry her after the 90th day. You should retain counsel to represent you to make sure the process goes smoothly and without complications.    ... Read Answer

The question of whether to give a discretionary F-1 visa at the consulate or embassy is up to the US consular officer. Where there is a pending I-130 petition, the weight to be given to it may depend upon the length of time that the applicant will have to wait to immigrate to the States. Consular officers usually give less weight or importance to the petition where the waiting time is longer. For example, if you filed a sibling F-4 petition for your brother five years ago and it is still pending, the consular officer will know that it will probably take another nine years for it to come to fruition. If otherwise convinced that your brother has nonimmigrant intent, he or she would probably issue the visa. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

Two petty misdemeanors are not a basis to deny an application to remove the conditions on your green card. You will not be deported. 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

OK so if your fiancé is in the United States and she entered the country with a visa, then you can adjust status for her without her having to go back to China. If she's overseas, and you have physically met within the last two years, then you can sponsor her for a fiancé K visa and then once that is approved she enters the United States, and must marry you within 90 days, and thereafter she can adjust her status to get a green card. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee, with no hidden costs, to process the case from start to finish. Counsel in any state can represent you. My office represents clients all over the planet.... Read Answer

  The law generally allows an individual to remain in the US during the time that a timely nonimmigrant change of status or extension request is pending with U.S.C.I.S., so the fact that the H-1B approval may not be obtained by May is no hindrance to her ability to stay in the States. However, she would no longer have employment permission. 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

  The question is at what stage you are in your immigration. If you have not yet been approved for permanent residence under the F-1 category, you could remarry and both you and your husband would immigrate on the F-3 category. If you already have the green card through the F-1 category, your remarriage and petitioning for your husband could very conceivably have problems, and U.S.C.I.S. may begin revocation proceedings against your green card as having been received through a fraudulent divorce. 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

A TN visa holder is supposed to have nonimmigrant intent as that type of visa is not a dual intent visa (able to have immigrant intent while at the same time working on a nonimmigrant visa). While your son if encountered can always argue that his present intent is only to work temporarily and go home when the working visa is done if his immigration is not yet completed, it would be best if he did not travel in and out of the US very much if at all assuming that he enters as a TN. 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

It sounds like a lot of work – getting a TN – and then changing that over to H-1B (when you can immediately start to work for your new employer once the H-1B transfer papers are filed with U.S.C.I.S.). That latter process may take approximately 3-4 weeks, but the convoluted process that you are contemplating may only save one or two weeks as you and the company will still have to put together an effective TN application, and afterwards have to go through the trouble of an H-1B/ change of status petition anyway. 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

It would be fairly difficult for you to convince U.S.C.I.S. that your wife committed marriage fraud, especially as you have a child together. 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

Usually other countries do not consider an individual's past immigration problems in some other country in making a decision to allow that person travel in their countries. If you were deported from the US for overstaying your visa status, you would have a 10 year bar which it appears that you have satisfied if you stayed out of the U.S. during those years. You would be eligible to apply for a new US visa, but you would still have to convince the US consular officer that you have nonimmigrant intent if applying for a visa that requires such, e.g. B1/B2, F1. 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

If the U.S.C.I.S. naturalization examiner believes that you lost your passport and there is no record of your traveling in and out of the US, the loss of a passport should not prevent you from obtaining US citizenship. 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

When an individual is filing for an I-485 application, he or she is allowed to become a full-time student based on the pending I-485. That may of course be a violation of F-2 status, and so I understand your concern of what would happen to her F-2 status if your I-140 is rejected and you still maintain your F-1 OPT status. I note that it would be difficult for U.S.C.I.S. to discover the fact of the violation as an I-140 even in a concurrent I-140/I-485 filing is generally first adjudicated before an interview is scheduled at the local field office. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485's would automatically be denied, most likely without 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 Answer

Staying outside the US for a year or more even with a reentry permit normally interrupts the period of residency for purposes of naturalization. Persons subject to the five year rule for naturalization may apply for citizenship four years and one day after return and those subject to the three-year rule can apply two years and one day after their return.  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

The question may hinge upon whether you have stepped on board with the 2nd employer rather than waiting for the result of the H-1B transfer/extension petition. Although authorized to immediately work for the 2nd employer upon receiving the receipt of filing, U.S.C.I.S. usually considers that work unlawful if the H-1B transfer/extension petition is denied. If you are still with the first employer, a change of status to H-4 could seemingly be done without problems. If you are already working with the 2nd employer, that could be seen as a violation of status leading to a denial of the change of status application. Generally speaking, you must show your current legal status to U.S.C.I.S. when you are applying for a change of status which in your case would involve providing recent pay slips from your authorized employment. 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

If the shoplifting charge was dismissed, it should not affect the citizenship application unless you admit the deed, and it was done within five years of the date of application if applying under the five-year rule and three years if applying under the three-year 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 Answer

it appears that your visa might be invalid/expired and need to renew. Please hire an attorney to review the case and advise you accordingly. If you can call our number at 877-866-8665 please do so, if not you can work with an attorney via email at smsattorney@gmail.com and the attorney will call you.... Read Answer

The adoption law for immigration purposes is complicated. You can start your research on www.adoption.state.us. Keep in mind that (1) Russia is not allowing adoption by US citizens or LPRs so you will have to adopt as Russian citizen; (2) it is never right the way; (3) Russia is a Hague convention country so the process you will have to follow is going to be for a Convention country. https://www.hcch.net/en/states/hcch-members You can also read here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/Adoption-Process/understanding-the-hague-convention.html However, there is also a posibility that since you are a Russian citizen and the adoption is not intercountry adoption really, the fomaly processed adoption in Russia could be sufficient to establish qualifying relationship for family based immigration under F2A category. ... Read Answer