Texas Immigration Legal Questions

USCIS policy is that there is no allowance of transferring the I-485 to another petition where the underlying petition has been denied. Unless the agency makes a mistake, the I-485 would be denied and you would have to file another if you are still eligible to do so. If you can, you may wish to be proactive and file another I-485 rather than waiting for the result of the earlier filed adjustment of status application. 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 More

I do not see a problem with different employers filing two different H-1B transfer petitions at the same time with the same job code. This is not the case of an applicant attempting to circumvent the rules for H-1B registrations for initial H-1B visa status under which duplicate registrations associated with the same employer are not allowed. I assume that if both petitions are approved, you would take the job that best suits your wishes for future success. One thing that you should watch out for is the last action rule under which a later approved petition is the one which is valid for the extended-stay in the US. If the first approved petition is the one that you want, you should have the employer withdraw the second pending petition. Otherwise, you might have to take a trip outside the United States and return showing the wished for H-1B approval sheet to immigration inspectors. Under that circumstance, if you do not already have an H-1B stamp in your passport, you may have to go through the visa stamping process at the consulate before returning. Good luck! 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 More

A US citizen can sponsor a foreign national for a K visa, provided that they have met physically within the last two years prior to filing the application. The meeting can take place anywhere in the world. You should retain counsel to handle the case from start to finish so that all goes well.    ... Read More

If you are able to remember details on your naturalization certificate, you or your lawyers can apply for an N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization Document. Without specific information, it would be very difficult to fill out the application with an assurance that USCIS would be able to issue a replacement document. For purposes of sponsoring a family member, the law firm will also be able to use a copy of your US passport in lieu thereof. 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 More

A US citizen over the age of 21 can sponsor their stepmother for her green card, provided that the marriage of the stepmother and your biological father occurred before your 18th birthday. Additionally, your step brother could apply for a student visa snd later on his mom could  sponsor him through adjustment of status for his green card after she gets her card. This is the general rule And may not apply to your situation. You need to contact counsel in a private phone call to discuss all the facts and unique circumstances the relate to your case.         ... Read More

Whether you can file for I-485 and I-765 once you have your I-130 petition approved depends upon whether there is immediate visa availability. If you are a child under the age of 21 and unmarried of a lawful permanent resident, you would generally be able to file for I- 485/I-765 if inspected and admitted or paroled and in addition have maintained status under the LPR sponsorship. However, if you are in the other categories, you would have to check the visa charts to see whether your priority date has been passed and the visa available in order that you can file. In checking the visa charts, you would also have to look at the USCIS acceptance chart to see whether it will accept either the “final action dates” or “filing dates” chart on the monthly visa bulletin for purposes of allowing adjustment of status filings. If able to file both forms, current processing time for I-485's is generally a little less than a year on a nationwide average and for I-765 3-6 months. 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 More

Unfortunately, you cannot as you entered the US on your L-1B and that is your last legal status in the US. In other words, you cannot unilaterally change your status in the country. You would only be allowed to become a B-1 visitor if you successfully made an application to change status in the US or successfully reentered the US on the B-1 visa. I note that USCIS seldom allows changes of status where the I-94 is expired and that a B-1 visa is automatically canceled once an individual overstays the period of legal stay in the US. I further note, however, that staying a few  more days in the U.S. albeit without status should not appreciably change your legal situation for the worse. 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 More

Please see the below response to your specific question directly from USCIS: What if I file on time for an extension, but I leave the U.S. before USCIS makes a decision on my application? If you leave the U.S. before a decision is made on your application to extend and you plan to return to the U.S. in the future, please keep a copy of your application plus the receipt notice to show to the Immigration Inspector on your return travel to the U.S. Otherwise, you may be denied entry for overstaying on your last visit. This response was found at: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/Nonimmigrant_Services.pdf... Read More

Since your toutist visa (B2) and the desired H2 visa are both temporary non-immigrant visas, then applying for the H2 visa should not affect your B1/B2. You must be very careful to not violate any other immigration laws because that/those violation(s) could affect your ability to retain your current B2 or obtain an additional H2. If you are currently in the USA, you will likely want to apply through a change of states application. If you are outside, you would need to apply through the consular pocess. The first step is to have the intending employer petition you through the I-129 application. ... Read More

Immigration lawyers generally do the legal work when the job is already found. I along with most of my colleagues do not consider ourselves in the business of a job agency. If we know of a job opening and the prospective client appears qualified, we may inform one party of the other party, but would not go out of our way to locate a job opportunity. 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 More

A solution is probably having a financial joint sponsor who can give credible financial support for your parents’ permanent stay in the US. I do note that if your parents have their own resources, and they can meet the financial guidelines for the counting of assets, they may be able to essentially support themselves even as you would still be the nominal financial supporter on the form I-864 affidavits of support. On bank letters, they would have to be of a sufficient amount and most consuls are looking for history on the account to make sure that the petitioner is not just trying to "load"up the account. 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 More

If you obtained your permanent residence in 2008, I do not see how filing for divorce at this time would have any impact on the naturalization interview unless you immigrated through your spouse’s petition and USCIS discovers that the marriage was fraudulent. 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 More

The policy alert defines a USCIS attempt to attract and make the process somewhat easier for STEM individuals to immigrate to the US. It has traditionally been easier for a NIW case to be approved where there is an employer. USCIS appears to have softened on the need where STEM people are concerned. For a more comprehensive look at your case, you should consult with an immigration lawyer who can look over your background and discuss your options including NIW. 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 More

If you are filing a petition for the step child, then arguably you are already married to the step child's mother, and if that is the case you can file a green card for both of them simultaneously. Any attempt by the mother to get a tourist visa while you are applying for a green card for your step child would be looked upon as immigration fraud, because obviously the mother would most likely want to remain with her child once she arrives in the United States. You should discuss all the facts of your case with counsel in a private phone consultation... Read More

Assuming that you are overseas, you would be applying for the F-1 visa at the American consulate or embassy. While your sister’s petition for you is a factor, it should not be a large factor to a reasonable consular officer who knows that your type of petition takes many years to develop. I also note that the State Department on December 23, 2021, issued guidance on F-1 visas to make it easier for applicants to pass the all-important question of whether they have nonimmigrant intent. 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 More