Texas Immigration Legal Questions

I assume that your girlfriend is a US citizen or permanent resident of the US. By marrying her, she could file an I-130, and if U.S.C.I.S. agrees that your marriage is bona fide and not just for purposes of having you immigrate to the US, you could move into consular processing with an I-130 approval. At the end of consular processing, you would then be interviewed for the immigrant visa at which time you would be denied and advised of your right to file for a waiver or waivers for you to return to the US.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

As you are a cap H-1B case and the employer has requested revocation of your H-1B before October 1 (U.S.C.I.S. will receive it before that date), the H-1B does not vest according to U.S.C.I.S. interpretation, and so you are not entitled to H-1B transfer. In all probability, you will have to start the H-1B process all over again in April of next year unless you are being sponsored by a cap exempt entity. 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

The law only allows a step relationship to be formed where the marriage was entered into prior to the child's turning the age of 18. In your case, the answer may hinge upon the law of the jurisdiction in which your mother and stepfather were married. If they were married in a country that recognizes church ceremonies as legally binding under law, then the step relationship would be formed upon the church wedding and your stepfather would be able to petition for your green card. Otherwise you would not be able to do so. 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

In the past, the general rule was that you could inquire about employment authorization applications after 75 days. That is now abrogated as U.S.C.I.S. is no longer so concerned about alien rights to work in the country. In most family-based cases, the employment authorization application will be handled by the National Benefits Center which presently has a processing time of between 4.5-6.5 months before adjudication and has instructions for the public not to contact it concerning such application unless it was filed prior to January 21, 2018. As your case is already at 4.5 months, hopefully you will have the application adjudicated soon.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 not petition her until you are legally married. You cant get married until she is legally divorced. In certain circumstances, the US Immigration laws will recognize a divorce if it is obtained in the USA. This is not a Do It Yourself Project. You should retain counsel to file and work on the case. Counsel anywhere in the US can represent you. ... Read More

The visa bulletin has both a filing date chart and a final action chart. U.S.C.I.S. makes the decision every month as to which chart it will use. It has very seldom used the filing date chart for employment base cases. In the month of July, only the final action chart can be used. In your case, the final action date of November 1, 2008, for EB-3 India is not available for your priority date of March 2009.  However,there is much hope for you as the  availability date for the month of August has moved up to January 1, 2009.   I do not imagine that there should be a problem for your priority date to become current before the ending of your H-1B in May 2020. 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 parents can produce a valid marriage certificate that is dated prior to you turning 18, then your stepdad can sponsor you for a green card, provided you are not married. That is the general rule. Every situation is unique so to make sure of your riights to acquire permanent resident status, discuss your case in private with counsel. Dont delay!... Read More

It may well be that there was nothing wrong with the format of your request.  Because of the large quantity of correspondence received by U.S.C.I.S., the average time to receive a response to a withdrawal request on a pending petition is generally 2 months.  To withdraw a pending petition, you should write to the Service Center that is holding the petition, and simply request that your petition be withdrawn giving your names and the USCIS case number.  You can also attach a copy of the receipt notice from the agency. 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 would not have to pay back the government if sued on this account in my opinion. That is because your affidavit of support was on behalf of your mother-in-law, and not the U. S. citizen minor daughter. 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 can apply for a fiancé visa and after 90 days of being admitted she must get married to you. Once you are married she can apply for her green card by adjusting her status. The second way is to get married in Mexico and then have her apply at the consulate for her resident status. Each is taking about the same processing time, roughly 8 to 11 months, the fiancé visa is taking slightly shorter time. Attorney Stephen Black, licensed in Tx and Fl... Read More

There is no prohibition against a person holding TN status investing in real estate in the U. S. However, such should only be an investment, and should not be a business at which you work or operate. While you may be allowed to have a passive investment, you are not allowed to run will be employed by a real estate business under your present 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. n  ... Read More

Unfortunately consular officers have much discretion of whether to issue or deny visiting visas. The major ground as you have found out is 214B that the consular officer does not believe that the applicant has nonimmigrant intent. In your situation, your organization may assist you by asking for intervention from its local U. S. congressional representative or senator’s office. Such intervention sometimes works in your type of situation. 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 you are a US citizen over 21, you could sponsor your mother for her green card and a green card would be available very soon as she is your immediate relative. As for your sister, she would fall into the family preference category and would have to wait for her visa to become available. You can check the processing times on the State Dept. web site. If your sister can alternatively qualify under an E2 visa, then she should retain counsel to expedite the acquisition of that visa. Good luck. ... Read More

The Child Citizenship Act became effective in 2001 and allows automatic citizenship to a child where a parent is a U. S. citizen, the child is under 18 and a lawful permanent resident, and the child is in the physical and legal custody of the U. S. citizen parent. If all the conditions were met and you were under the age of 18 on 2/27/01, you can make an application for citizenship on form N-600 Application for Certificate of 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 More

You should make an appointment to consult with an immigration attorney and bring all the details concerning the internship offer. There is too little information here to advise you.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 wife would know by early June whether she has been selected in the H-1B lottery. Since her STEM OPT is expiring in August, that would give her plenty of time to apply for H-4 status before the OPT expires. I do note that the Trump administration is attempting to undo the right to EAD for certain H-4 individuals, and hopefully such would still be available at the time of your wife’s application. Under the circumstances, I do not see a problem with the last action 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