Virginia Immigration Legal Questions

You may file an I-130 Immediate Relative (marriage-based) Permanent Residency petition from TN status, however, certain there are certain considerations concerning travel abroad and potential timing considerations depending on when your TN status expires. If you would like our assistance, please contact our office. Thank you.... Read Answer

If you have permanent legal status in the U. S. e.g. U. S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and if your boyfriend is not being deported for criminal matters, your marrying him could be a significant equity that might allow ICE to slow down and/or exercise favorable discretion in not deporting him. I assume that your boyfriend has already had a hearing before the immigration court since most individuals are entitled to one before they can be removed. 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 people from other nations have no problem getting married in the United States. However, being married does not confer any particular advantage towards getting the green card. Most immigration to the U. S. is done through family-based petitions in which one party is related to someone who has permanent resident or U. S. citizenship status, or through employment-based petitions in which an employer plays a central role. Whether you can live here normally without any problem if you do not have any status will probably depend upon the ongoing story of ICE enforcement under the Trump administration. 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 good guesstimate is 7-8 years. In this case, citizenship usually does not help as, believe it or not, a guesstimate for that situation is at least 9 years now for most people in the world. The current I-130 petition fee with U.S.C.I.S. is $420 and due to rise on December 23, 2016. Insofar as our legal fee is concerned, we do not publicly quote but it is reasonable.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 would need to submit a written request to USCIS stating you wish to withdrawthe application. The letter should include your filing receipt number and alien number. You should mail the letter to the office where you are scheduled for an interview. You may reapply in the future should you wish to do so and are eligible. You can read more about eligibility for naturalization at http://myattorneyusa.com/citizenship-and-naturalization.... Read Answer

I will assume that this was your first H-1B and that it is not cap exempt, and your question has to do with whether you can keep the cap number if the Embassy cancels the H-1B at this time. Generally speaking, a number is preserved if the H-1B has been stamped in your passport and it is already past October 1. It is difficult, however, to say whether canceling your H-1B and continuing with the H-4 at this time would allow you to have a safe H-1B transfer in the future as questions could arise of whether there was an actual job or whether you intended to take it that could have an effect on the decision of U.S.C.I.S. or the US consulate or embassy if you later wish to have your passport stamped with a visa.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 and your family would need to apply for a change of status. Whether this is feasible will depend upon timing. The first step is to seek admission to a qualified college or university. Speaking to the DSO at schools you are interested in attending is a good start. You can read more about student status at http://myattorneyusa.com/student-visas.... Read Answer

You must provide all requested passport photographs even if filing the forms concurrently. Failure to submit the requested documentation will delay processing of the applications. You can read more about adjustment of status at http://myattorneyusa.com/adjustment-of-immigration-status.... Read Answer

Even though you are concurrently filing the forms, you must submit the requested photographs for each form. Failure to submit sufficient photographs will delay processing of the applications. You can read more about adjustment of status at http://myattorneyusa.com/adjustment-of-immigration-status.... Read Answer

Based upon the limited information provided, you do not appear eligible for any benefit that would allow you to remain in the U.S. permanently. Additional facts may change the assessment. I encourage you to consult an attorney directly. You can read more about immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/immigration-to-the-usa.... Read Answer

It is extremely difficult to assess the chances of approval of a COS application without actually reviewing said application and its supporting documents. You are authorized to remain in the country while your COS request is pending but you are not in a valid nonimmigrant status once your B1/B2 ends.  You can read more about changing status at http://myattorneyusa.com/changing-to-and-from-f-1-status.... Read Answer

The prohibition against persons without employment authorization working in the US is for the purpose of protecting the US job market. Although an argument could be made that a US company could tap the foreign job market outside the US as it appears that you are thinking of doing, that would appear somewhat far-fetched. From your fact pattern, it does not appear that you would be taking away jobs from US workers. In my opinion, a person working online whose job is in another country would not require employment permission for that type of work.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 consulate was wrong and corrected its mistake on its own, it would appear the you are not subject to having made a misrepresentation. The refusal by a US Consulate does not constitute an exclusion. That only happens at a port of entry or in an immigration court. That incident would not have to be disclosed in the N-400 application.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 first thing you need to do is marry. The documents needed in order to marry will depend upon the requirements in the state where you intend to marry. Marriage is a matter of state law. You can usually find these documents online on the State's website.  Once you are married, you can start the adjustment of status process. This requires both you and your spouse to prepare a variety of forms and obtain supporting documents. These forms and documents are filed with USCIS. You and your spouse will be called for an interview. If all goes well, you will receive your green card in 6-8 months.  You can read more about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read Answer

I understand you would like to assess your visa options but please under the necessary assessment cannot be done on this public forum. An attorney needs to review not only your paper but your entire education and employment history to assess what would be the best route for you. There are several criteria that must be met in order to qualify for either EB-1 or EB-2. I encourage you to consult an attorney directly. In the interim, you can bet an overview of employment immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/employment-immigration.... Read Answer