Do I Qualify for U Visa, and How to Change My Illegal Status to U-Status? Question: I am in U.S. illegally and a victim of crimes. Do I qualify for U visa, and how to change my illegal status to U-status? Answer: The U visa is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. U.S. Congress was intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of aliens and other crimes, while also protecting victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse due to the crime and are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. Victims of certain serious crimes, who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result of criminal activity in the United States may be eligible to use this form of relief and apply for the U nonimmigrant status, or U visa. Victims must cooperate in the criminal investigations or prosecutions. They can then be granted U status and, after 3 years, if humanitarian need, public interest, or family unity reasons can be proven, they can apply for lawful permanent residency. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2018/U_Visa_102818.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com

Question: For the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) for family and employment preference, how to calculate the CSPA age? Answer: The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old. If someone applies for lawful permanent resident (Green Card) status as a child but turns 21 before being approved for a Green Card, that person can no longer be considered a child for immigration purposes. This situation is commonly referred to as “aging out”, and often means that these applicants would have to file a new petition or application, wait even longer to get a Green Card, or may no longer be eligible for a Green Card. U.S. Congress recognized that many children were aging out due to large USCIS processing backlogs, so it enacted the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) to protect certain children from aging out. The CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. CSPA does not change the definition of a child. Instead, CSPA provides a method for calculating a person’s age to see if they meet the definition of a child for immigration purposes. The calculated age is the child’s “CSPA age.” This allows some people to remain classified as children beyond their 21st birthday. However, CSPA does not change the requirement that you must be unmarried in order to remain eligible for classification as a child. If you are a family preference, your CSPA age is calculated by subtracting the number of days your petition was pending (pending time) from your age on the date an immigrant visa becomes available to you - age at time of visa availability. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. The formula for calculating CSPA age is as follows: Age at Time of Visa Availability - Pending Time = CSPA Age For example: If you are 21 years and 4 months old when an immigrant visa becomes available to you. Your petition was pending for 6 months. Your CSPA age is calculated as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2018/CSPA_Age_102918.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com

How the K-3 Visa Works? and Can We Apply for the K-3 Visa for My Wife? Question: I just married outside the U.S. Please let me know how to bring my foreign citizen wife into US as soon as possible. I have heard a K-3 visa. How the K-3 visa works? and can we apply for the K-3 visa for my wife? Answer: The K-3 Visa is a non-immigrant temporary visiting visa for a spouse of a U.S. citizen to come to the U.S., while his/her permanent stay case is still pending. The K-3 visa must be filed and the visa must be issued in the country where the marriage took place. After the visa process has been completed, and the visa is issued, the spouse can travel to the United States to wait for the processing of the immigrant visa case. File for K-3 visa at nearest U.S. consulate ( unmarried children of spouse, age under 21 can get K-4 visa) After coming to U.S. file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) by filing Form I-485. File for EAD (Employment Authorization card). File for Social Security Number at the social security office. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2018/K3_Visa_Wife_121618.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com

Date For Filing vs. Final Action Date, the Two-Tiered Visa Bulletin Question: In the U.S. Department of State’s monthly visa bulletin, how to understand the "Date For Filing" and "Final Action Date"? Answer: To provide those who are stuck in immigrant visa quota backlog with the benefits of a pending adjustment, and to reduce waiting time where possible, U.S. Department of State’s monthly visa bulletin provides "Date For Filing" and "Final Action Date" Previously, the monthly visa bulletin has served to update one date for each category of permanent residence applicant - the priority date cutoff. This one date determined whether you were eligible to submit your permanent residence application, and whether it was expected that there would be a visa number available, allowing your application to be approved. Now, the “Date for Filing” determines whether or not you can submit the final immigrant visa application, and the “Final Action Date” indicates whether or not it is expected that an immigrant visa number will be available. In many cases, the Date for Filing will be well before the Final Action Date, meaning that the alien applicants will be eligible to submit an application for permanent residence well before it is even possible for the government to approve that application. Therefore, those stuck in a backlog can get benefits of a pending adjustment - apply for a combined EAD/AP card, which provides employment and travel authorization. Immigrants holding an EAD can work for any U.S. employer, which provides significantly more security and flexibility than the employer-specific H-1B petitions that serve as the basis for many immigrant’s employment authorization. For family-based applicants, the EAD may be their first-ever work authorization in the U.S., so getting that earlier is a great benefit. Also, earlier filing of the final application means that employment-based permanent residence applicants will be eligible for AC21 portability earlier, meaning they can change employers, under certain circumstances, without being forced to re-start their permanent residence application from the beginning. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2018/Final_Action_Date_121718.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com

The Employer's Ability to Pay for EB-1C Green Card Application Question, I am in L1A visa now, and my employer will help me to apply for the EB-1 Multinational Manager or Executive Green Card (EB-1C). My salary on the L1A visa application form is very high, but the company may have problem to pay me the number on the visa application form in the future. Do you think this will affect my EB-1C Green Card application? Answer, For empoyer-sponsored Green Card application, USCIS requires documentation that the employer can afford the employee's proffered wage and will be able to continue doing so in the foreseeable future. Employers must prove that: 1) the employer’s taxable income is equal to or greater than the proffered wage; or 2) the employer's net current assets are equal to or greater than the proffered wage; or 3) credible verifiable evidence that the employer is not only employing the beneficiary but also has paid, or is currently paying, the proffered wage. USCIS requires strict compliance with these rules. USCIS will reject the petition if the employer lacked the ability to pay from the date of filing. There are no exceptions to this rule. The U.S. Employer must prove that it has the “ability to pay” the applicant at the time the EB-1 Multinational Manager or Executive Green Card application is filed, and also at the time the application is approved. The U.S. employer must provide its tax return at the time the green card application is filed. It may also have to provide its tax return later, while the application is being processed. The tax returns must show that EITHER the U.S. employer’s net income (profit) OR net assets are greater than the salary offered to the applicant. In the alternative, the U.S. employer can provide evidence that the applicant is already on its payroll and already receives the wage offered in the green card application. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/Employer_Ability_Pay_102118.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

Filing Another ETA Form 9089 Application after the First One Was Rejected Question, My employer filed ETA Form 9089 for me, and it was rejected by Department of Labor. I am near my 6-year of H-1B visa, and my employer wants to file an appeal - Request for Reconsideration. Do you think it is good idea? Answer, The Department of Labor (DOL) may take a year to review the Request for Reconsideration. In the meantime, your employer can file another ETA Form 9089 for you. However, this second ETA Form 9089 can not be for the same position as the position that is listed on the ETA Form 9089 that is undergoing review. For example, let’s say your employer filed an ETA Form 9089 for you for the position of Financial Researcher. The DOL rejected that ETA Form 9089, and your employer appealed the rejection. While this first ETA Form 9089 appeal is pending, your employer can not file another one for you for the same position. Your employer would have to use a different position such as Manager, or Financial Analyst. Additionally, if you are nearing the sixth year of your time on an H-1B visa, you may be able to extend your H-1B status beyond the sixth year if your ETA Form 9089 was rejected and is now pending appeal. To be eligible for this extension, your employer must have filed the ETA Form 9089 sometime before you began your sixth year of H-1B status. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/ETA_Form_9089_Application_102218.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

Stay in the Same or Similar Field after EB1-Extraordinary Ability Approval Question, After I get my Green Card in self-petition EB1-Extraordinary Ability, do I still have to stay in the same or similar field? Also, as a derivative beneficiary, if my wife wants to change her job, does she has to stay in the same or similar field? Answer, For self-petition or employer-petition EB1-Extraordinary Ability petition, if you were granted a Permanent Resident status because of your extraordinary ability in a field, you may want to work in the field at least for a while after your Green Card petition approval. It is not recommended that you change job quickly. For your wife, since she is not the direct beneficiary of the EB1-EA I-140 petition, she is not subject to the requirement of any specific employment. Before obtaining her Green Card and with a valid EAD, she can work for any job and anywhere. After receiving the Green Card, she can also change job at any time. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/EB1A_Same_Field_110418.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

How to File the Labor Certification PERM application with the ETA Form 9089? Question, My employer has completed the advertisement process. How to file the Labor Certification PERM application with the DOL using ETA Form 9089? Answer, After the advertisements are complete, your employer should file the PERM application with the DOL using ETA Form 9089, if there is no qualified and willing U.S. workers applied for the job position. Like with the prevailing wage request, your employer should file the ETA Form 9089 electronically at the DOL website at http://www.plc.doleta.gov. The ETA Form 9089 provides the DOL with information on the job opportunity, information on the employer’s recruitment process, and information on the foreign worker, such as: the worksite location, job duties, job requirements, where the employer placed the advertisements, advertisements dates, worker’s place of birth, worker’s education credentials, worker’s work experience. After filing the ETA Form 9089, you should wait several months for the DOL to adjudicate the PERM. The DOL can approve the PERM, or deny the PERM, or audit the PERM. If your PERM is audited, the DOL will ask your employer to provide additional evidence for the application. After your employer responds to the audit request, the DOL will review the new evidence and either approve or deny the PERM. After receiving the approved PERM, your employer can move on to the next big step of the process, which is filing an I-140 visa petition on your behalf with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/Labor_Certification_PERM_110518.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

Can I Continue to Work and Stay on the EAD Card after I-485 Denial? Question, My I-485 application is denied by a USCIS Service Center for a reason of employer pay ability. Can I continue to work and stay on the EAD card until the EAD expires? Also, can I appeal the I-485 denial? Answer, Generally, USCIS should send out a revocation notice on the EAD card upon the denial of the I-485 application. If you file an appeal of the I-485 denial and it is ultimately approved, then your work may not constitute unauthorized employment. However, under USCIS policy, a person is not supposed to work once the EAD has been canceled, or they send a notice revoking or canceling the EAD card. Merely filing an I-485 appeal does not enable a person to work on the EAD. That is a reason many people will continue to extend the H-1B status, even though it costs to keep extending it, especially on an annual basis after expiration of the the 6 years on H-1B status. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/I-485_Denial_111818.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

Date For Filing vs. Final Action Date, the Two-Tiered Visa Bulletin Question, In the U.S. Department of State’s monthly visa bulletin, how to understand the "Date For Filing" and "Final Action Date"? Answer, To provide those who are stuck in immigrant visa quota backlog with the benefits of a pending adjustment, and to reduce waiting time where possible, U.S. Department of State’s monthly visa bulletin provides "Date For Filing" and "Final Action Date" Previously, the monthly visa bulletin has served to update one date for each category of permanent residence applicant - the priority date cutoff. This one date determined whether you were eligible to submit your permanent residence application, and whether it was expected that there would be a visa number available, allowing your application to be approved. Now, the “Date for Filing” determines whether or not you can submit the final immigrant visa application, and the “Final Action Date” indicates whether or not it is expected that an immigrant visa number will be available. In many cases, the Date for Filing will be well before the Final Action Date, meaning that the alien applicants will be eligible to submit an application for permanent residence well before it is even possible for the government to approve that application. Therefore, those stuck in a backlog can get benefits of a pending adjustment - apply for a combined EAD/AP card, which provides employment and travel authorization. Immigrants holding an EAD can work for any U.S. employer, which provides significantly more security and flexibility than the employer-specific H-1B petitions that serve as the basis for many immigrant’s employment authorization. For family-based applicants, the EAD may be their first-ever work authorization in the U.S., so getting that earlier is a great benefit. Also, earlier filing of the final application means that employment-based permanent residence applicants will be eligible for AC21 portability earlier, meaning they can change employers, under certain circumstances, without being forced to re-start their permanent residence application from the beginning. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/Department_State_Visa_Bulletin_111918.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

O-1 Visa Is Based on a Person’s Individual Qualifications Question, In my home country, our group of motion pictures once received a national award. Can I apply for O-1 visa based on this national acclaim as a leading member of the group? Answer, O-1 visas are available to people who have not only a job offer in the U.S., but proven extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. In general, the person must have received national or international acclaim in a particular field, or if working in motion pictures or television productions, have a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement. O-1 visas can be given only on the basis of a person’s individual qualifications. Being a members of a group or team will not, by itself without other achievements, qualify someone for an O-1 visa. Extraordinary ability in the field of arts means distinction. Distinction means a high level of achievement in the field of the arts evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered to the extent that a person described as prominent is renowned, leading, or well-known in the field of arts. To qualify for an O-1 visa in the motion picture or television industry, the beneficiary must demonstrate extraordinary achievement evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition significantly above that ordinarily encountered to the extent the person is recognized as outstanding, notable or leading in the motion picture and/or television field. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/O1_Visa_Qualification_120218.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

National Interest Waiver Requirement of "Substantial Merit and National Importance" Question, How to qualify for EB2 National Interest Waiver requirement of "substantial merit and national importance", in the Matter of Dhanasar. Answer, For Matter of Dhanasar of EB2 National Interest Waivers petition, USCIS requires that "the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance." The Dhanasar’s prong #1 requires substantial merit and national importance - focuses on the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake. The substantial merit may be demonstrated in a range of areas including business, entrepreneurialism, science, technology, culture, health, or education. It is possible to establish an alien’s substantial merit without a demonstration of immediate or quantifiable economic impact, although such evidence would be favorable. To determine whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, USCIS may consider the potential prospective impact. For example, an endeavor may have national importance because it has national or even global implications within a particular field, such as those resulting from certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances. USCIS will not evaluate prospective impact solely in geographic terms. Instead, USCIS will look for broader implications. Even ventures and undertakings that have as their focus one geographic area of the United States may properly be considered to have national importance. In modifying this prong to assess ‘national importance’ rather than ‘national in scope,’ USCIS seeks to avoid overemphasis on the geographic breadth of the endeavor. An endeavor that has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or has other substantial positive economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area, for instance, may well be understood to have national importance. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/NIW_Matter_Dhanasar_120318.htm http://www.greencardapply.com

The Status Extension and Employment after a H-1B Petition for F-1 Student Question, I am a beneficiary of an H-1B petition filed by an U.S. employer, and I am now in my 60-day grace period following the end of my OPT employment authorization. May I benefit from an automatic status extension? If yes, would I be able to continue employment? or will it just extend my grace period until the October 1 employment start date? Answer, The H-1B petition requesting for change of status has to be timely filed, which is defined as filing before your current nonimmigrant status expires. In addition, the duration of status while on OPT is defined as including the 60-day grace period. Furthermore, the USCIS rule also states that any employment authorization is extended if an H-1B petition is timely filed. Based on USCIS rule, if an H-1B petition with change of status is timely filed before your current F-1 status expires, then you may be able to take advantage of both the automatic extension of status and the automatic extension of employment authorization. http://www.greencardapply.com http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/H1B_Status_Extension_121618.htm

Do I Need to File Form I-485 Supplement J for Job Offer Verification? Question, I am prepare the Form I-1485 application based on the Form I-140 approval in EB2 National Interest Waiver category. Do I need to file Form I-485 Supplement J for job offer verification? Answer, If an alien applicant is filing Form I-485 based on a valid Form I-140 approval in an employment-based immigrant visa category that requires a job offer, the alien applicant will need to file Form I-485 Supplement J, and submitting a job offer letter. The Form I-485 Supplement J is required to: 1) Confirm that the job offered to you in Form I-140 remains a bona fide job offer, that you intend to accept once your Form I-485 is approved; or 2. This job offer must be in the same or a similar occupational classification, as the job offered to you in Form I-140 that is the basis of your Form I-485. In adjudicating Form I-485 Supplement J, USCIS does not make a determination whether you have current work authorization with an employer. The basis for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident under a valid Form I-140 is not actual (current) employment. Rather, the basis is prospective employment. Therefore, the adjudication of Supplement J, for applicants requesting job portability is primarily limited to a determination of whether you have a bona fide job offer from a U.S. employer, that is in the same or a similar occupational classification as the position for which the underlying Form I-140 was filed and approved. But an alien applicant seeking or granted an EB2 National Interest Waiver of the job offer requirement and individuals seeking or granted classification as an alien of EB1 extraordinary ability do not need to file Form I-485 Supplement J. This is because these employment-based immigrant visa categories are not tied to a specific job offer, individuals seeking or granted classification as an alien of EB1 extraordinary ability or seeking or granted a EB2 National Interest Waiver of the job offer requirement do not have to file Supplement J when filing Form I-485. http://www.greencardapply.com http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question18/I485_Supplement_J_121718.htm