New Jersey Immigration Legal Questions

If your mother leaves by the date that you have requested on the extension request, she should be treated like any other visitor to the US when she attempts to reenter at a later date. She does not need to leave the country before the expiration of the I-94 so long as she has filed a timely extension request and it is still pending. Leaving on a later date than the date requested even while the extension application is pending could possibly lead to problems. I do not know the CBP attitude to that situation. If the I-539 is denied and I-94 already expired when your mother leaves, there is even more of a possibility that she will have further difficulties in returning. 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

As long as you are in legal status and qualified for a student or work visa, you are allowed to apply for such under a change of status application. Kindly note that if applying for H-1B specialized occupation visa, you must have a legal status until October 1, 2021, the beginning of the government fiscal year, at which time the H-1B visa can come into effect. 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

Whether your husband filed for you under your maiden or married name should make no difference in the timing or the adjudication of the I-130 petition. Petitions are filed under married or unmarried names, and it generally makes no difference to an immigration officer. 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

I assume by the way your question is phrased that you are contemplating a change of status to F-1 student by USCIS. The I-539 form to change or extend status asks whether an immigrant petition has ever been filed for you. A positive answer brings the possibility that an immigration officer may doubt your nonimmigrant intent, which is required to be established in such cases. I do note that in the past, we have had some such applications approved. Having had an immigrant petition filed on someone’s behalf is not as damaging as having applied for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status to permanent residence. Whether the petition is approved or pending does not change the answer to the question of the immigrant petition on the form. 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

There is a possibility that you may have a problem in traveling and going through a US port of entry. You may have to explain the situation in secondary inspection at a US port of entry. I assume that as long as the date and place of birth are the same on both documents, you will ultimately pass inspection, although there is a chance that there could be a lengthy wait in secondary while CBP checks your immigration history. 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 last action rule generally has to do with approvals and not denials. If you are already approved for a change of status on your H-1B, an L-2 denial should have no effect since you are already holding a valid legal 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 Answer

Offenses against the law are important in naturalization cases since applicants must prove good moral character for the length of time required following the green card to file the N-400 application. Generally traffic offenses should not prevent individuals from obtaining naturalization if the applicants are qualified in all other respects. The fact that you have four traffic offenses may be looked at more carefully, but I imagine that four over a period of three years can probably be overlooked. 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

I will assume that if USCIS has not yet made an adjudication and if your petition is still with the agency, it is either at the California Service Center which is a backlog between 9-12 years or the Vermont Service Center with backlog between 8 ½-11 years. I suggest that you try a couple of more times by yourself and if you have no success, you can reach out to the USCIS ombudsman’s office or to your local congressman or senator’s office as they have liaison staff with USCIS and could quite possibly find out and tell you the status of 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 Answer

It is probably best at this time to put in the H-4 application with EAD as soon as possible. H-4 employment authorization is not favored by the Trump administration and putting in the application now as opposed to later may give you a better chance of actually receiving it. 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 only issue was a removal proceeding involving illegal stay and not crime or fraud or other ground of inadmissibility, you would either apply for a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa if you are eligible for such. For example, if you applied for a visitors visa, you would disclose the fact of the deportation and it would be up to the consular officer whether to issue the visa dependent upon whether he or she believed that you had the proper nonimmigrant intent. 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 is difficult to give effective legal advice when there is so little known about the individual. She and you (or you if you know the facts of her case and she is still detained) would best be advised to make an appointment with an immigration lawyer who can explore her situation and go over any options or reliefs. 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 if dad married mom before your 18th birthday, he could petition for you. However as you are now an adult and married, your case would fall into a family preference category and not the immediate relative category. This means that there would be a lengthy waiting period before you could immigrate to the US. You can find out the waiting period by going to the department of state website and look to the cases that the DOS is currently processing in your specific category. Good luck. ... Read Answer

  In bond hearings where there is eligibility for such, the questions are generally whether the bond applicant is a threat to public safety or a flight risk. In most cases, the question is flight risk. If such is your case, you should put together any documentation of legal relatives or friends that you have in the US who would be willing to house and support you during the time of your immigration proceedings. Immigration judges set the amount of bonds, and they are fairly high these days. A number like $30,000 – $50,000 is not unusual to see. 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

  Since you are currently working for employer B, your employer C cannot file an I-129 just based upon the approval of employer A if you are seeking an extension of status without leaving the country. If that is your plan, U.S.C.I.S. must be convinced that you are maintaining a legal status, and that would depend upon whether the petition filed by employer B is approvable. If you do not wish U.S.C.I.S. to consider the second petition, employer C at the beginning or sometime in the process would have to request that the extension status application be withdrawn and that the petition if approved be sent for overseas processing. 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 I-130 petition is still pending with U.S.C.I.S., you would begin the process to add the spouse by speaking with the U.S.C.I.S. Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283. If the petition has already been approved by U.S.C.I.S. and is currently at the National Visa Center, (NVC) you would communicate with the NVC directly to request that the spouse be added. 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 F-3 category for US citizens sponsoring their married sons or daughters is currently processing for final immigration those that filed before 12/15/07 for all countries of the world except for Mexico and the Philippines, which have longer backlogs. It is not out of the norm for you not to hear anything from U.S.C.I.S. after the receipt because of the varying times of the five service centers in reaching and adjudicating F-3 petitions. Processing times can go from 6.5 months in one center to 119 months in another. The F-3 category is not a big priority with the agency as a quick approval generally does not give interim benefits. The priority date is set at the time of filing, and will remain so even if the U.S.C.I.S. adjudication takes 119 months (10 years). 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

Under the F-2B category for permanent residents filing for unmarried adult children, the visa bulletin for February 2020 shows that except for persons from Mexico and the Philippines who must wait longer, the visa availability date on the final action dates chart is 8/22/14, and on the dates of filing chart 4/22/15. An adjustment of status application can only be filed when the visa availability date is reached and exceeded by at least one day. U.S.C.I.S. decides whether it will honor the final action dates chart or dates of filing chart for any month although it will allow adjustment filings where the final action date is available even if it is honoring the dates of filing chart for the month. Assuming that there is visa availability (USCIS is using the dates of filing chart for February and you filed for your daughter on 4/21/15 or earlier) and the I-130 petition is not yet approved, your daughter can apply for her I- 485 application to adjust status to permanent residence and also request employment permission on form I-765. 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

Credit card theft is a crime involving moral turpitude and probation/expungement do not excuse an immigrant in the eyes of DHS. I suggest that you see an immigration lawyer with full details of your case and he or she should be able to advise you as to whether you are able to apply for naturalization safely. I note that in some cases involving crimes, an application for citizenship could lead to removal proceedings. 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

An applicant for I-130/I-485 adjustment of status is in the state of grace during the time that the I-485 application is pending and allowed to remain in the States. If your mother leaves the US without advance parole during the time of I-485 pendency, the I-485 is considered abandoned. The I-130 remains valid, but hopefully you would have indicated a request for consular processing. If not, I suggest contacting U.S.C.I.S. to request consular processing if your mother returns at this time. Otherwise there is the good chance that the I-130 will ultimately be approved, but not be transferred for consular processing. If you wish, you can file a new I-130 petition for your mother and begin the process anew when your mother is in India. The processing will take about a year taking into account both U.S.C.I.S. and consular handling times. 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