Immigration Legal Questions

The difficulty with filing a new I-539 or motion on I-290B is that you are already not legal in the US, and you face an unlawful presence bar of three years if you do either, and the adjudication takes over 180 days from the date of your initial decision, and you lose. If you do either one and the adjudication is not yet received by the fifth month after the expiration of your initial permitted stay, you will be faced with the choice of leaving the US to avoid the three year bar or staying and gambling that your application or motion will be approved. It is difficult to say which route would give you the best chance of being approved, but at least the I-290B motion would not be late. It should be further noted that DHS does not approve of persons coming into the US on tourist visas and giving birth 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

At this stage, probably the best thing to do (unless you receive word from the embassy to upload the support documents) is to have your spouse bring in an updated signed I-864 with documents by you. If you find a new job and have documentation of such, you can show that in the updated I-864. If you do not have a new position, it would probably be best to add a signed I-864 with documents by a joint sponsor. An updated I-864 should not delay adjudication if it is clear that there is sufficient financial support. Please note that this is general advice and that we do not claim to know any local rules or practices of the embassy in the Philippines. 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

Yes, the national visa center holds the case for processing, and the immigrant has to file the non-immigrant or immigrant visa application, pay the fees, and upload documents if necessary to the CEAC website. Once the file is ready to be sent to the US consulate overseas, the immigrant must schedule an interview, and also make an appointment for a medical examination. You should retain counsel to handle the case from start to finish. Some of us charge very affordable flat fee for marriage based green card cases and fiancé based visa cases. ... Read More

OK, so if your fiancé is inside the United States now, you can get married and then file to adjust her status to get her green card. If she is outside the United States, then you can either go over there to get married and process her for a spousal visa at the US consulate, or Just file a K-1 fiancé petition, and bring her over here on a fiancé visa. Once she arrives in the United States on a fiancé visa, you have to marry her within 90 days, and after that she can adjust status to get her green card. The fiancé visa pathway is taking a little bit less time than the spousal visa pathway.  ... Read More

If you have been deported, you cannot return to the US unless you have advance permission from USCIS to return or you have served out the period of time required by law for your deportation. That applies for any type of visa, including F-1. If you believe that you have a sympathetic case, you can apply for the F-1 and upon being refused, ask the consular officer to recommend to DHS that you be given a temporary waiver to enter 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

Most classes of appeals to the Administrative Appeals Office are being completed within six months. As a general question, many law firms including ours have had success with I-140 appeals. From the time that a PERM application is begun, an approximate time for an adjudication in a case that moves normally is two years. To your question of whether you should consider requesting your attorney to file in an I-140 next year if your new PERM is still pending and your appeal is denied, I cannot give an answer as I do not know your situation well enough to comment. 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

Sounds very strange and a mistake of USCIS. One does not apply for adjustment of status and then receive an invitation for a naturalization oath ceremony. You or your legal representative may wish to call the USCIS Contact Center (1-800-375-5283) to find out what is going on. 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

Good question. My answer is - maybe. The unfavorable factors are that you have never worked for the company for which you were picked, and the petition has not been approved. It is no fault of yours that you have not worked for that company since you have no authority to do so until the H-1B is approved. However, transfers are generally easier to do where a beneficiary has been working for the company. There is the possibility of a H-1B transfer, but USCIS would have to be convinced that your first H-1B petition is approvable during the adjudication of the petition by your new employer C. 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 an individual having a final order of removal and not having appealed on time, your husband’s present immigration case will most likely not save him. He may, however, be able to go through the I-601A process, an Obama program, to get a green card as long as it is not rescinded by incoming President Trump. The mechanics are that you would file an I-130 relative petition; he would file an I-212 conditional request for advance permission to enter the US; and if both are approved, he would file an I-601A application for waiver of grounds of excludability based upon extreme hardship to you if he and you are separated for a long period of time. Assuming that the application is approved, he would complete consular processing and return to the home country for an interview with the American consulate or embassy. If approved at interview, he would return to the US with permanent residency. The process is currently taking about 4-5 years at this time. 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

Under the situation that you describe, you are not eligible for US citizenship. The Child Citizenship Act requires not only being under the age of 18 when the parent naturalizes, but also your being a permanent resident and residing in the US under the physical and legal custody of the citizen parent. It would appear that your best solution of immigrating through your parents is to have your citizen parent file an I-130 relative petition for you. If you are single, the process will probably take approximately eight years and if you are married approximately 15 years. 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

That is a good question for which I do not have an answer. Perhaps a solution is for you to leave the US and reenter the country using the approval of the company for which you intend to work. In most cases, this would involve arranging an interview at the US consulate or embassy overseas to be visaed under the desired company. 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 a US citizen, and you are not ready for marriage yet, you could always sponsor him for a fiancé visa. The fiancé visa takes about a year prior to when he can actually legally enter the United States, but you would have to get married to him within 90 days after he arrives in the US. Then he can be sponsored for a green card. This will buy you at least one year of time before you commit to marriage. One of the conditions for the fiancé visa is that you have to physically meet your fiancé within two years prior to filing for the K-1 application. Consider working with an attorney. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee. ... Read More

In the scenario described, you and your spouse can travel to Mexico and re-enter the U.S. before the expiration of the spouse visa (November 22, 2024).  When the spouse re-enters the U.S., the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer will consider your H-1B approval notice. Your spouse's I-94 will typically be granted on the validity of the H-1B approval, allowing her to remain in the U.S. for the duration of the H-1B status.  However, the pending I-765 may be at risk of abandonment if your spouse travels while it is still pending, and she may need to file a new application for employment authorization after re-entry. It is advisable to consult with an immigration attorney to navigate these processes and ensure compliance with immigration regulations. ... Read More

OK, so the answer is maybe. The reason is because you cannot enter the United States with concealed intent. If you have a visitor visa, then you can only use that to visit and not to remain permanently. However, there is no problem with changing your mind. If she intends to visit, but later, when she arrives, she decides that she wants to get married and remain here permanently, there's nothing wrong with that. For example, some of the evidence that USCIS and border patrol looks to to discern intent is whether she has a return air ticket. This is evidence that she only intends to visit. If they are suspicious when they talk to her at the border, and she tells them that she has a serious boyfriend, they will look at her phone to see what she is planning. If they see any text information on there that she decides to stay here permanently, they will send her back right away. So that being said, govern yourself accordingly. Consider working with an attorney. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee to handle these types of cases and counsel can represent couples anywhere in the world. ... Read More

If your US citizen father filed an I-130 petition for you, it was either under the F-2B category if you are single or F-3 category for married sons and daughters of US citizens. Currently in November 2024, only those who filed petitions in the F-2B category before 5/1/16 are being given final immigration interviews, and for the F-3 category, those who filed before 4/15/10. Unfortunately, only Congress has the ability to make waiting times shorter by increasing the number of individuals who can immigrate to the US – but as you are probably aware, increasing the quota is not politically popular at this time. USCIS has the ability to expedite the adjudication of an I-130 petition under certain conditions, but expediting the petition does not make the overall waiting time shorter. Even if the I-130 petition was approved today, you would still have to wait for your priority date to become current in order to immigrate under your category. If the waiting time is too long, you may attempt to explore any other options with an immigration lawyer. 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

Yes, you could adjust status provided that you had no intention of staying permanently in the United States when you entered the country. The fact that you purchased a return ticket prior to your entry and you had a job lined up back home would help establish that you only intended to visit. Some of us handle these types of cases for a very reasonable flat rate fee for start to finish representation. Consider working with counsel so your case will process smoothly. ... Read More

The porting form, I-485J, has no requirement that the employer be on E-Verify. The employer must be bona fide and have the wherewithal to take on your employment. Also, the position must be in the same or similar occupation with your sponsoring employer as outlined in the labor certification. Whether you are in the EB-3 unskilled category or any other employment based category, the rules of porting are the same. Kindly note that porting is available where the I-140 has been approved, an I-485 has already been filed, and the I-485 has been pending 180 days. 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 should send a letter to USCIS that your unmarried son has married. In the event that USCIS does not acknowledge your information and approves your petition for your son as unmarried, you should give the information in the next step of the process when your son’s approved petition is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). Please note that your son’s category will change from the F-1 category for unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens to F-3 married sons and daughters of US citizens. That will lengthen the time of his processing. For the month of November 2024, final immigration interviews are being given to unmarried sons and daughters those petitions were filed prior to October 22, 2015 whereas married sons and daughters were only being interviewed whose I-130 petitions were received before April 15, 2010. You can notify the NVC later at its email address after USCIS ships the approved petition to the Center. You cannot add the spouse after your son receives his green card as that would constitute fraud in having him immigrate under a category to which he is no longer entitled. 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

Although the time on the notice of action has expired, your case can move forward. We recently completed a case in which it took six months from the date of expiration of the notice of action before the fiancée had the interview at the American Consulate. 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