Immigration Legal Questions

This is generally what we call a prudential revocation that takes effect when you leave the US. Going to school or not going to school will have little effect upon the adjustment of status application filed by a US citizen for spouse although going to school may be considered a favorable factor in showing that you are still trying to maintain the nonimmigrant status under which you came to the US. Of more concern to an immigration officer may be your arrest for domestic violence. He or she may be interested in knowing more details about the incident. You may wish to discuss this with your legal representative prior to any interview with USCIS that you may have. 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 TN professional list and H-1B specialty occupation both contemplate dentists, not dental assistants. Besides, even if your wife did qualify as a dentist for H-1B sponsorship, she would need a cap H-1B, and those are regulated by number. Employers and their candidates have to go through a selection process in order to even be able to submit petitions, and the time for selection this year just ended on March 17, 2023. It may be possible for the practice to sponsor her for a PERM labor certification and green card, which does not need any of the above – but in which the employer will have to go through a time of recruitment of US workers to show that your wife is not taking away a job that an able, willing, qualified and available US worker wants.  Please note that applying for PERM does not allow her to stay in the US during most of the process and she will have to keep maintaining a legal non-immigrant status. 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

Generally speaking, a F-2A application of green card holder for spouse will likely take about 2-3 years if the beneficiary is born in any country other than Mexico (which will take longer). That category just backlogged on the visa chart for April 2023 from being current to being available for final immigration only to those who filed I-130 petitions prior to September 8, 2020. I note that it is possible that the F-2A category can rebound to a more current date in the near future, but that is uncertain. 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

It depends upon the purpose of the translation and to whom it will be presented as to whether you are able to have the Lebanese birth certificate translated into Italian and legalized without going to Lebanon. You would have to check the rules of the party to which you wish to have it presented as to what it will accept. Many translation agencies in the US are able to translate Arabic to Italian and to attest before a notary public that the translation is a true translation. Will the party to which you will present the document accept that, or does it insist that the translation be done by or certified by Lebanese government officials? You may wish to check the rules of the receiving party if you have not already done so. 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

Whether your arrest by Immigration agents 32 years ago will affect an immediate relative petition for you may depend upon the relevance of your being in the US at the time, and any further actions taken by Immigration and you following your arrest. Generally, anyone who is arrested by Immigration has an “A” file. If you are truly worried and know the A number, you can request a copy of your file under the Freedom of Information Act. If you do not know the "A" number, you can still request your file, but USCIS may be unable to locate it. Fingerprints stay in the system for a long time, and I recall once where an ICE attorney waltzed into court one morning on a case in which we had already had multiple hearings and held up another “A” file containing derogatory information on the client from 10 years ago. 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

Jurisdictionally, your case is with the immigration court, and not with USCIS. Therefore, you will not be able to be a part of your mother’s case with USCIS unless your case is terminated or remanded by the court to USCIS. You can go to the interview with your mother, but the USCIS officer will likely tell you that he or she can do nothing with your case as long as it is within the jurisdiction of the court. Assuming that you have a legal representative, that individual could then speak with ICE attorneys to see whether they would be willing to join in a motion to have your case taken out of the immigration court. 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

As you know, you can apply for your mom and dad (I will assume that you were not adopted by someone else and that these are your natural parents). For your stepmother, you can apply directly for her as long as your father married your stepmother before you turned the age of 18. If not, you can petition for your father, and he can then petition for your stepmother when he becomes a permanent resident. 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 assume that when you say KY case got denied, that was the naturalization application. Generally speaking, a person with a violation and conditional discharge for one year which has ended is eligible for naturalization immediately. However, naturalization requires that an individual demonstrate good moral character for the required period of time, which in most cases is five years unless married and living with a US citizen. So relevant questions before giving the all clear are what is on the disposition, was there an allocution before the court in which you admitted more than was on the violation, and whether you admitted to an offense other than the violation during the immigration interview. 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

Given your situation, you may consider stopping his immigration case if you have already started it if you believe that your marital situation is hopeless. There would seem to be little point in helping him to attain his dream life in America without you. Then your husband will do whatever he thinks will get him the green card and money anyway. The immigration laws of the US in dealing with marriage related applications contemplate a bona fide marriage in which the couple have every intent of establishing a life for themselves together in the country. 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

To travel with you, you could attempt to explain the situation to the American consulate and request B-2 visas for the children. If the consulate is unwilling, you could request humanitarian parole from USCIS through form I-131 Application for Travel Document. Such application has to be filed at the Dallas lockbox at: U.S. Postal Service (USPS): USCISAttn: HPP.O. Box 660865Dallas, TX 75266-0865 FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries: USCISAttn: HP (Box 660865)2501 S. State Hwy. 121 BusinessSuite 400Lewisville, TX 75067-8003 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

You will need to reapply at this stage, now that the initial petition has expired.  Also, keep in mind that there are a number of different immigration documents with separate expiries that you need to keep tracking: (1) the visa label that is issued by the local US Consulate/Embassy, which is the employee's "entry ticket" to enter the USA; (2) the I-797 Approval Notice for the USCIS I-129 petition; and (3) the I-94 Admission Record that is issued to the employee upon entry to the USA.... Read More

USCIS considers the date of receipt of an application or petition to be the relevant date in deciding whether an individual has timely filed. For cases with rapidly approaching deadlines, we will use a courier service like FedEx. Filing for F-1 status from H-4 without the spouse’s documents may be somewhat problematic as USCIS will want to see that the principal H-1B has been maintaining legal status. You will also require financial evidence of support sufficient for the schooling. That figure can be seen on the I-20 form which estimates the amount required for schooling and living expenses. A timely filing does not incur unlawful presence until the date that an application or petition is denied. At that point, day 1 begins on unlawful presence, not before. There is no grace period to leave if you become illegal after you are divorced and USCIS would like individuals who no longer have status to leave as soon as possible. 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 assume that you have tried to contact your lawyer's office through regular means without success. If your lawyer’s office has closed, you may be able to find information on the lawyer on the Internet. If not, you may contact your local Bar Association to see whether it has any current information on your lawyer. 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

Starting and working in your own separate business while on H-1B status is a violation of that status. It is not legal for you to work and bill for the work when you obtain your EAD. I do note that illegal work will not adversely affect you in the adjudication of a marriage based green card application to a US citizen. 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

It is difficult to estimate how long it will take an I-130 petition to be adjudicated from the time that you receive word that your documents are being reviewed. In many cases, those words do not mean very much. USCIS has given us the same message for cases that we just filed and received a receipt. You can access published estimated USCIS processing times at its service centers by going online to USCIS.gov. We have a link to the processing times on our website www.alanleelaw.com on the right-hand side of our home page if that would be more convenient for you. 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 family can travel to the US without another visa stamping. Their relationship is to you and not any company. Even you would be able to travel back and forth on the basis of your existing visa and the new I-797A approval. 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 your work permit expires in June 2023, you will still have to renew it. USCIS has a policy for automatic extension of 540 days where the employment authorization application is pending because USCIS has many times exceeded an applicant’s legal time before reaching the application for adjudication. In the past, USCIS gave an automatic 180 day extension, but even that was many times not sufficient time for the adjudication. Therefore, the new automatic extension time is 540 days to allow USCIS to make the adjudication and at the same time allow the individual to continue working in the interim. 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

Everyone is unfortunately in the same boat and visa availability dates cannot be advanced for any one person or groups of people. Currently visa availability under the final action dates chart of the visa bulletin for the month of March 2023 is open for those who filed petitions prior to March 22, 2007, except for those born in India and Mexico, who must wait longer. 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

Generally, everyone making a visa application to the United States is judged upon his or her own merits. A consular officer looking at an applicant for a visitor visa will usually check to see whether the individual has ties and bonds to the home country, and this may include any means of financial support. Her father would probably only come into the picture if she is dependent or even partly dependent upon him. INA 212(a)(2)(C)(ii) also makes ineligible for admission the spouse, son, or daughter of a known drug trafficker or where there is reason to believe that the person has been a drug smuggler where the applicant has within the previous five years obtained any financial or other benefit from the illicit activity of the parent, and knew or reasonably should have known that the financial or other benefit was the product of such illicit activity. That section would likely only come into effect if her father’s trafficking activities continued after the 1980s.  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 choice is up to you. Unlike the I-539 extension form which asks both for US physical address and US mailing address, the I-134 form asks for a US physical address, but does not ask for a US mailing address – just for the mailing address. As the I-134 affidavit of support form is only a part of the I-539 filing, the mailing of notices from USCIS is not dependent upon what is indicated as a mailing address in the I-134. 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