nogc_noproblem
12-12 09:05 PM
Paid Time Off
PTO: planned time off
PTO: planned time off
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zofa30
09-14 11:18 AM
I just updated the info I am aware of.
Please consider the following:
Just to remind you I am on EB2+PERM.
I decided to leave my current employer within 2 months so I thought about applying for I-140 premium processing to get it approved before leaving and hence be able to port my PD to the new GC application (new EB2+PERM) with the new employer. Is it worth doing that? In other words, do I gain any time saving when I start the new GC application (EB2+PERM) by porting my PD as I will have to pay the fees twice (lawyers + applications). Please note that I am from EB2 worldwide(not China, India, Mexico, or Philippines) so I expect that the PD will be always current so there will be no time saving from porting my PD? I'd like to know your opinion.
Thanks
Please consider the following:
Just to remind you I am on EB2+PERM.
I decided to leave my current employer within 2 months so I thought about applying for I-140 premium processing to get it approved before leaving and hence be able to port my PD to the new GC application (new EB2+PERM) with the new employer. Is it worth doing that? In other words, do I gain any time saving when I start the new GC application (EB2+PERM) by porting my PD as I will have to pay the fees twice (lawyers + applications). Please note that I am from EB2 worldwide(not China, India, Mexico, or Philippines) so I expect that the PD will be always current so there will be no time saving from porting my PD? I'd like to know your opinion.
Thanks
amitjoey
03-14 04:44 PM
How about a monthy subscription? Donate some money every month. Could be $100, $50 or even just $20
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loudobbs
09-04 10:46 AM
My company attorneys filed by I140 incorrectly under EB3 and was approved in 2006. They refiled PP under EB2 using a copy of approved labor in May 2007. When I last checked the status is assigned to an officer.
Once the new I140 is approved would I have to do an interfiling? I am not if they both have the same A#....
Hi guys,
I would like to know if somebody has done interfiling i.e. upgrading EB category while pending AOS. I am planning to do it as soon as I receive my RN (July filer). I was looking for some more info on this from folks who have already done it. Thx
Once the new I140 is approved would I have to do an interfiling? I am not if they both have the same A#....
Hi guys,
I would like to know if somebody has done interfiling i.e. upgrading EB category while pending AOS. I am planning to do it as soon as I receive my RN (July filer). I was looking for some more info on this from folks who have already done it. Thx
more...
hbk
04-14 07:57 PM
Hello,
I have applied for H1B Extension for 3 years based on I-140 approval at VSC under premium processing.
Just want to know that I have submiited following documents along with it, are they sufficient/enough to get approval?
1. Resume
2. Master's mark sheets,Degree & Transcript
3. Bachelor's Mark Sheets,Degree & Transcript
4. Previous H1B Approval Copies
5. Old & New passport copies
6. I-94 Copy (Front & Back)
7. Client Letter with resposiblities,role,technologies & project details (without end date)
8. Business card for me from client
9. Business card for Client Manaager
10. Vendor Letter with resposiblities & project details (stating that can't provide contract papers between vendor & client due to client's policy)
11. Last six months pay checks.
12. Last three years W2’s (2007, 2008, 2009)
13. Copy of I-140(EB-2) Approval notice
14. SSN Copy
15. Driver License Copy
16. Degree evaluation report
17. Contract papers between employer & vendor (not purchase/work order)
18. Employment Offer Letter between Employer and Employee
Model : Employer(Consulting) --> Vendor --> Client
Working for this client from last 20 months.
Above documents are enough to get approval ?
What are the chances of RFE?
What are the chances of approval without & with RFE ?
I will greatly appreciate your response.
Thanks.
I have applied for H1B Extension for 3 years based on I-140 approval at VSC under premium processing.
Just want to know that I have submiited following documents along with it, are they sufficient/enough to get approval?
1. Resume
2. Master's mark sheets,Degree & Transcript
3. Bachelor's Mark Sheets,Degree & Transcript
4. Previous H1B Approval Copies
5. Old & New passport copies
6. I-94 Copy (Front & Back)
7. Client Letter with resposiblities,role,technologies & project details (without end date)
8. Business card for me from client
9. Business card for Client Manaager
10. Vendor Letter with resposiblities & project details (stating that can't provide contract papers between vendor & client due to client's policy)
11. Last six months pay checks.
12. Last three years W2’s (2007, 2008, 2009)
13. Copy of I-140(EB-2) Approval notice
14. SSN Copy
15. Driver License Copy
16. Degree evaluation report
17. Contract papers between employer & vendor (not purchase/work order)
18. Employment Offer Letter between Employer and Employee
Model : Employer(Consulting) --> Vendor --> Client
Working for this client from last 20 months.
Above documents are enough to get approval ?
What are the chances of RFE?
What are the chances of approval without & with RFE ?
I will greatly appreciate your response.
Thanks.
petronut
04-30 04:44 PM
I140,TSC EB2(regular)
RD-1/8/07. ND-1/11/07
PENDING
RD-1/8/07. ND-1/11/07
PENDING
more...
kriskris
04-17 12:29 PM
As you understand there is no magic correct solution to this situation, but, whichever decision you make about which line your mother-in-law stands in, she should be well prepared to document her intention to return to her home abroad after her visit to the US. Documents she should be prepared to show could include: proof of home ownership or long term lease abroad, proof of bank accounts abroad, proof of car ownership abroad, fixed date return ticket, proof of family abroad--husband and/or other children/grandchildren, proof of some specific event she plans to attend abroad such as wedding or other invitations, etc.
Thanks for your reply. As I understand most people usually don't carry all the documents specified above while entering US. We carry those documents while going for the visa. Do you recommend carrying all those documents which establish ties to the home country while entering USA?
Thanks for your reply. As I understand most people usually don't carry all the documents specified above while entering US. We carry those documents while going for the visa. Do you recommend carrying all those documents which establish ties to the home country while entering USA?
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viswanadh73
01-29 01:14 PM
I applied PIO card for my new born daughter in Dec 1st week and i got exactly in 2 weeks. this is from Newyork consulate.
yes Minor children are not eligible for OCI if both parents are having indian passport.they have to wait untill they are 18. it is clearly mentioned in the consulate websites.
yes Minor children are not eligible for OCI if both parents are having indian passport.they have to wait untill they are 18. it is clearly mentioned in the consulate websites.
more...
babuworld
02-08 11:11 AM
Hi,
I filed it for my wife. Please follow the following steps
1. https://efiling.uscis.dhs.gov/efile/ Register your by clicking on new user
2.After Registering it will ask you to select with forms you want to file online.
3. Select I-765 (EAD) file . Make sure you have the following information with you Passport number,Current I-94, DOB, A# number etc, H1B or H4 info ready.
4. Once you fill the form , it will ask for credit card information.
5. Once you submit the form . it will automatically generate LIN number for you.
6. Please Post that form to TSC or NSC what ever center you belong.
NOTE: Please do not post any other document unless asked by USCIS.
7. You will get Recipt number in One week also you will get Figure Print Notice the following week.
Hope this information will help you alot.
I did efiling for Myself and we got Receipt Notice is one week. Figure Print in next week and EAD in 11 weeks.
Good Luck!
Thanks,
babuworld.
I filed it for my wife. Please follow the following steps
1. https://efiling.uscis.dhs.gov/efile/ Register your by clicking on new user
2.After Registering it will ask you to select with forms you want to file online.
3. Select I-765 (EAD) file . Make sure you have the following information with you Passport number,Current I-94, DOB, A# number etc, H1B or H4 info ready.
4. Once you fill the form , it will ask for credit card information.
5. Once you submit the form . it will automatically generate LIN number for you.
6. Please Post that form to TSC or NSC what ever center you belong.
NOTE: Please do not post any other document unless asked by USCIS.
7. You will get Recipt number in One week also you will get Figure Print Notice the following week.
Hope this information will help you alot.
I did efiling for Myself and we got Receipt Notice is one week. Figure Print in next week and EAD in 11 weeks.
Good Luck!
Thanks,
babuworld.
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amitjoey
06-18 01:53 PM
Please post your contributions on the funding drive.
more...
wellwisher02
03-27 03:22 PM
Has anyone gone to Vancouver for H1B stamping? Please share your experience and any pointers. It will be a great help.
Also, I found this on Vancouver consolate website:
"Passports and visas will be returned to the applicants with Canadian addresses by Canada Post, generally within three to five business days after the visa is approved. In person pick up will be available only in a legitimate emergency (as determined by the Consulate). "
This is disconcerting. I do not have luxary to wait 3-5 days to get my stamped passport via mail. Is this a standard process? Will they allow in-person pick up the same day?
Thank you.
Hey,
Lemme share my H1B Visa stamping in Vancouver, BC in July 2006:
1. First of all, you need to fix a Visa Stamping appointment via www.nvars.com.
2. Get a Canadian visa to make your trip to Canada. (I didn't have to do this since I hold Canadian Green Card.)
3. On the appointment date, be atleast 1 hour ahead of your appointment time.
4. Do not carry any electronic items (car remote, camera, etc) and food/liquid.
5. Carry all the relevant paperwork along with cash in US dollars, just in case you wanna pay fees by cash.
6. Present the documents asked for, and answer questions posed by the Visa officer confidently.
7. The attending Visa officer will tell you to go to a particular counter to pay a reciprocity fee.
7. Once the fee is paid, you need to collect your passport with new H1B visa stamped the next day at 3 PM.
You will not be able to collect your passport with H1 Visa stamped the same day. If your paperwork is organized (meaning you have all the relevant documents for H1B visa stamping), you'll get your passport the next day. Normally, it is stated in their printed document that it would take 2 - 3 business days. In reality, you can collect it the next day unless your case requires more investigation (due to any missing documentation, etc) by the US consulate. You should stay there for atleast 2 business days to get your H1B visa stamping done. Getting your visa stamped in contiguous neighbouring country like Canada and Mexico is convenient as opposed to going to your home country which would otherwise cost your more time and money.
Hope this helps.
Also, I found this on Vancouver consolate website:
"Passports and visas will be returned to the applicants with Canadian addresses by Canada Post, generally within three to five business days after the visa is approved. In person pick up will be available only in a legitimate emergency (as determined by the Consulate). "
This is disconcerting. I do not have luxary to wait 3-5 days to get my stamped passport via mail. Is this a standard process? Will they allow in-person pick up the same day?
Thank you.
Hey,
Lemme share my H1B Visa stamping in Vancouver, BC in July 2006:
1. First of all, you need to fix a Visa Stamping appointment via www.nvars.com.
2. Get a Canadian visa to make your trip to Canada. (I didn't have to do this since I hold Canadian Green Card.)
3. On the appointment date, be atleast 1 hour ahead of your appointment time.
4. Do not carry any electronic items (car remote, camera, etc) and food/liquid.
5. Carry all the relevant paperwork along with cash in US dollars, just in case you wanna pay fees by cash.
6. Present the documents asked for, and answer questions posed by the Visa officer confidently.
7. The attending Visa officer will tell you to go to a particular counter to pay a reciprocity fee.
7. Once the fee is paid, you need to collect your passport with new H1B visa stamped the next day at 3 PM.
You will not be able to collect your passport with H1 Visa stamped the same day. If your paperwork is organized (meaning you have all the relevant documents for H1B visa stamping), you'll get your passport the next day. Normally, it is stated in their printed document that it would take 2 - 3 business days. In reality, you can collect it the next day unless your case requires more investigation (due to any missing documentation, etc) by the US consulate. You should stay there for atleast 2 business days to get your H1B visa stamping done. Getting your visa stamped in contiguous neighbouring country like Canada and Mexico is convenient as opposed to going to your home country which would otherwise cost your more time and money.
Hope this helps.
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chanduv23
11-06 09:36 PM
A wonderful initiative. Good luck, once the group grows, plan for seminars, workshops, involve more IV members and energize our community
more...
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wrsquared
October 27th, 2003, 06:29 PM
...On another level, the structure brought back childhood memories of my grandparents' farmhouse.
On yet another level, I was facinated by all the small details - mortar, wrought iron fence, and the leaves turning colors.
Generally, these sorts of images are what I connect with, the ones that I can't quite (or at least instantly) figure out what I'm looking at. Is this a wall, a sculpture, are those windows or doorways am I inside looking out or outside looking in.
It's also worth noting that there is no trace of the "rule of thirds" in that image...
Don
Don,
Thx for the feedback. As I read through your self-critique, I kept saying to myself, "Yah! that's it!" Good shot, good eye for the right stuff.
As to Steve's comment on the dandelion....Sorry, Steve, I gotta disagree. Instead of a full frame of the dandelion I rather like the cut-off edges. What makes this one for me is that (at first glance) it's not necessarily a dandelion, but could be a firework sparkler or fireflies between the camera and the “brown something” in the center. I like photos that redefine themselves the more you look at them. Another aspect of the less-than-full-frame that appeals to me; It reminds me of a somewhat famous painting.
Remember the Norman Rockwell painting that had the “No Swimming” sign in the center of focus with boys (wet and in various levels of undress) running through the frame? Some of the boys had not been “caught” because they had already made it through the frame. (You could only see their heels). There are other boys that are still trying to make it into and through the frame. Apparently these boys got “caught” swimming when the others didn’t. This dandelion photo (if you envision the counter-clockwise spin that the seed stems suggest) seem to be moving the entire subject matter from right to left. Kinda gives me a sense of motion to an obviously static object.
Or….it could be a dandelion...slightly less than full frame.
On yet another level, I was facinated by all the small details - mortar, wrought iron fence, and the leaves turning colors.
Generally, these sorts of images are what I connect with, the ones that I can't quite (or at least instantly) figure out what I'm looking at. Is this a wall, a sculpture, are those windows or doorways am I inside looking out or outside looking in.
It's also worth noting that there is no trace of the "rule of thirds" in that image...
Don
Don,
Thx for the feedback. As I read through your self-critique, I kept saying to myself, "Yah! that's it!" Good shot, good eye for the right stuff.
As to Steve's comment on the dandelion....Sorry, Steve, I gotta disagree. Instead of a full frame of the dandelion I rather like the cut-off edges. What makes this one for me is that (at first glance) it's not necessarily a dandelion, but could be a firework sparkler or fireflies between the camera and the “brown something” in the center. I like photos that redefine themselves the more you look at them. Another aspect of the less-than-full-frame that appeals to me; It reminds me of a somewhat famous painting.
Remember the Norman Rockwell painting that had the “No Swimming” sign in the center of focus with boys (wet and in various levels of undress) running through the frame? Some of the boys had not been “caught” because they had already made it through the frame. (You could only see their heels). There are other boys that are still trying to make it into and through the frame. Apparently these boys got “caught” swimming when the others didn’t. This dandelion photo (if you envision the counter-clockwise spin that the seed stems suggest) seem to be moving the entire subject matter from right to left. Kinda gives me a sense of motion to an obviously static object.
Or….it could be a dandelion...slightly less than full frame.
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lostinbeta
10-21 02:19 AM
Oh, I gotcha.... your a dead head. Did you decorate a cake like that? (I believe that was the pic in the Tell Us thread)?
more...
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Janisaris
12-18 07:47 PM
I also see lot of LUDs on my I485 application. We filed our application on July 19th but the receipt date is November 1st. We received all our EADs and APs within 3 weeks and got our FP done on December 5th. Since then I am seeing bunch of LUDs on my I485. Even today they accessed my file. I am EB3 India with PD May 2004. My I140 was approved in 2006 and got an LUD on November 11th.
Just letting you know that you are not alone.
Just letting you know that you are not alone.
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Kodi
10-17 12:48 PM
Same main code as in the first 2 digits?
Does 13-2011.02 and 13-2011.01 the same main code?
Does 13-2011.02 and 13-2011.01 the same main code?
more...
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mhtanim
12-31 03:34 PM
No FP for me either. See signature for detail.
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austingc
12-26 10:41 PM
Dear Mr. Rude Know it all aka austin gc,
I guess u meant theriyumo theriyatho(thriyumo thriyatho??). It suits you well.
I would appreciate if you keep your suggestions to yourself. keep your corrections/suggestions to the topic as i was not addressing you or anyone is personal. Guess the basic manners of "non personal attacks in public forums unless personally addressed" evades your pea brain. Do not address me anymore, post about the topic to keep it a healthy discussion. It is one thing if you corrected me / its another that you had to talk about my 2 cents and suggest me names. Do not bother attacking me personally , you will be ignored !.
On the topic, the thread opener can talk with his lawyer on what i posted.
Even if the current 140 is delayed/denied(God forbid) for any reason, he can always file for another fresh 140 on the same labor. The labor does not get cancelled as long as the first 140 was filed within 180 days of the approval of labor.
Robert, unless the 140 had a issue with some educational req in labor that you do not meet, you will be able to keep your same PD, even in the worst case scenario of filing for a fresh 140.
varumo_varatho,
I do not know you personally and I did not mean to attack you. First of all I am really so sorry that you felt that way and I apologize for that. When you post something in the forum, it’s not personal anymore. There are lots of people give free opinion based on rumors and confuse the person. There are a lot of so called lawyers around us who makes so many mistakes and ruin innocent people’s lives. In my opinion, people in the forum know immigration policy better than them. That’s why folks come here to post their questions. I have been around in these forums for years and years and reading several forums since 2003. I do not post anything unless until I had personal experience or I know the answer for sure. I have seen people repeatedly post incorrect information which completely contradicts original poster’s question. So once again I apologize and I have nothing personal against you.
Let’s come to the topic. The original poster clearly mentioned that his 140 was denied and his current H1B approval was based on his pending labor and since he applied for I-140 it is not pending anymore. Your answer was ‘He can file extension based on approved labor’. He did not mention anywhere that he filed his extension based on approved labor.
You said ‘H1b extensions can be done based on approved Labor alone. You need i140 only if you need 3 year extensions. You mentioned the extension filed is based on approved labor. You I140 status does not matter for 1 year renewals. This is my own experience’.I had asked you to tell us exactly about your personal experience to clarify things here but you did not post it. I think you may have forgotten. Again, I am not attacking you personally but wanted you to post your personal experience that was related to the original posters question here, so people who read this particular topic can get educated including me. You are welcome to post any link to USCIS guidance if you have one.
If you want to say anything about me other than the topic then you can send me a personal message and we can talk, so we will not waste everyone’s time. Yes, I made a mistake by asking you to change your screen name but lets take that away from this topic.
I guess u meant theriyumo theriyatho(thriyumo thriyatho??). It suits you well.
I would appreciate if you keep your suggestions to yourself. keep your corrections/suggestions to the topic as i was not addressing you or anyone is personal. Guess the basic manners of "non personal attacks in public forums unless personally addressed" evades your pea brain. Do not address me anymore, post about the topic to keep it a healthy discussion. It is one thing if you corrected me / its another that you had to talk about my 2 cents and suggest me names. Do not bother attacking me personally , you will be ignored !.
On the topic, the thread opener can talk with his lawyer on what i posted.
Even if the current 140 is delayed/denied(God forbid) for any reason, he can always file for another fresh 140 on the same labor. The labor does not get cancelled as long as the first 140 was filed within 180 days of the approval of labor.
Robert, unless the 140 had a issue with some educational req in labor that you do not meet, you will be able to keep your same PD, even in the worst case scenario of filing for a fresh 140.
varumo_varatho,
I do not know you personally and I did not mean to attack you. First of all I am really so sorry that you felt that way and I apologize for that. When you post something in the forum, it’s not personal anymore. There are lots of people give free opinion based on rumors and confuse the person. There are a lot of so called lawyers around us who makes so many mistakes and ruin innocent people’s lives. In my opinion, people in the forum know immigration policy better than them. That’s why folks come here to post their questions. I have been around in these forums for years and years and reading several forums since 2003. I do not post anything unless until I had personal experience or I know the answer for sure. I have seen people repeatedly post incorrect information which completely contradicts original poster’s question. So once again I apologize and I have nothing personal against you.
Let’s come to the topic. The original poster clearly mentioned that his 140 was denied and his current H1B approval was based on his pending labor and since he applied for I-140 it is not pending anymore. Your answer was ‘He can file extension based on approved labor’. He did not mention anywhere that he filed his extension based on approved labor.
You said ‘H1b extensions can be done based on approved Labor alone. You need i140 only if you need 3 year extensions. You mentioned the extension filed is based on approved labor. You I140 status does not matter for 1 year renewals. This is my own experience’.I had asked you to tell us exactly about your personal experience to clarify things here but you did not post it. I think you may have forgotten. Again, I am not attacking you personally but wanted you to post your personal experience that was related to the original posters question here, so people who read this particular topic can get educated including me. You are welcome to post any link to USCIS guidance if you have one.
If you want to say anything about me other than the topic then you can send me a personal message and we can talk, so we will not waste everyone’s time. Yes, I made a mistake by asking you to change your screen name but lets take that away from this topic.
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vasired
08-15 03:21 PM
Notice were from Nebraska.Recieved on 8/13 for me and 8/14 for my wife,even though both were posted on same date..good they gave up appointment at same date & same time
purgan
11-11 10:32 AM
Randell,
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
VivekAhuja
12-12 05:33 PM
Hi!
I have an approved H1 until 2009 but expired visa in my passport. I have AP and EAD approved. My lawyer has the original I-485 receipt notice - I only have a fax of it. I am travelling to India in Jan-08.
I am planning to re-enter the USA on AP. Do I need original I-485 receipt to re-enter? OR is AP documents enough? Do I need to carry approved H1-B notice or any other docs?
Thanks for your help!
Vivek.
I have an approved H1 until 2009 but expired visa in my passport. I have AP and EAD approved. My lawyer has the original I-485 receipt notice - I only have a fax of it. I am travelling to India in Jan-08.
I am planning to re-enter the USA on AP. Do I need original I-485 receipt to re-enter? OR is AP documents enough? Do I need to carry approved H1-B notice or any other docs?
Thanks for your help!
Vivek.
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