Form I-485 Application for Wife and Son

Q: I recently received my Green Card based on the NIW I-140 approval. My wife and son arrived U.S. from a third country recently. Can they file Form I-485 based on my NIW I-140 approval also? Is there a expiration date to file I-485 application for my wife or son?

Answer:

Commonly, individuals want to file the I-485 as soon as they are eligible to do so. This would be the first date of the month in which one's priority date becomes current. Eligibility as a derivative continues as long as the individual is still a spouse or child. It does not expire. As the derivative beneficiaries, your wife and son can proceed with their I-485 filings if they are in the United States. There is no set expiration date for eligibility to process a derivative I-485 adjustment filing. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question10/question10_1130.htm


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L-1B visa with specialized knowledge

Q: I am in L-1B visa three years already. After my employer sent out the L-1B visa renew application last month, we got an notice of Request For Evidence (RFE), asking for evidence of my "specialized knowledge". How to I reply the RFE for the question of L-1B visa with specialized knowledge?

Answer:

To prove a specialized knowledge capacity for the RFE response, the foreign national's knowledge must be different from or surpass the ordinary or usual knowledge of an employee in the particular field, and must have been gained through significant prior experience with the petitioning organization.

A specialized knowledge employee must have an advanced level of expertise in his or her organization's processes and procedures or special knowledge of the organization which is not readily available in the United States labor market. Some characteristics of an employee who has specialized knowledge are that he or she:

Possesses knowledge that is valuable to the employer's competitiveness in the market place;

1) Is uniquely qualified to contribute to the U.S. employer's knowledge of foreign operating conditions;

2) Has been utilized as a key employee abroad and has been given significant assignments which have enhanced the employer's productivity, competitiveness, image, or financial position.
http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question10/question10_1119.htm


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"Cap-Gap" Relief for a F-1 student changing to H-1B Status

Q: What is the "Cap-Gap" Relief for a F-1 student changing to H-1B Status?

Answer:

Status change from F-1 to H-1B status often requires planning and the ability to navigate somewhat complex immigration laws and regulations. The timing and logistics are determined in large part by the H-1B cap and the cap-gap rule for F-1 students.

A F-1 students seeking to change status to H-1B within the United States must maintain a valid nonimmigrant status until the requested start date of employment in the H-1B petition. The exception to this is for certain F-1 students eligible for, what is referred to as, "cap-gap" relief. Such a student is allowed to remain in the United States pending the decision in the H-1B case, even if her/his status expires before the requested H-1B start date. In some instances, a student with Optional Practical Training (OPT) is able to continue to work while the H-1B petition is pending at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question10/question10_1105.htm



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L1A visa to open a new office in U.S.

Q: As a manager, I need to apply for a L1A visa to open a new office in U.S. What king of evidence or documents I need to prepare to apply for the L1A visa?

Answer:

For a manager or executive to come to the U.S. to open a new office, you should provide the following evidence: 1) sufficient real estate space has been secured to operate a new office; 2) you have been employed for one continuous year in the three year period preceding the filing of the petition in an executive or managerial capacity and that the proposed employment involves executive or managerial authority over the new operation; 3) the intended United States operation will support an executive or managerial position.

You may also provide the following information regarding: the proposed nature of the office describing the scope of the entity, its organizational structure, and its financial goals; the size of the United States investment; the financial ability of the foreign entity to remunerate the beneficiary and to commence doing business in the United States; and the organizational structure of the foreign entity.
http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question10/question10_0627.htm



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O-1 holder for EB1-Extraordinary Ability Application

Q: I am currently in O-1 status and doing research in Physics. Do I automatically qualify for the EB1-Extraordinary Ability Green Card category, or I still need to prove my qualification for the EB1-Extraordinary Ability category with an I-140 petition and many documents?

Answer:

As a fact, many people who qualify for temporary O-1 visas as persons of extraordinary ability do not automatically qualify for the permanent EB1-Extraordinary Ability (EB1-A) Green Card category, even though the standards are close. It is therefore important to prepare an I-140 petition for a person of extraordinary ability according to the statutory and regulatory guidelines in order to avoid a Request for Evidence:

1) Ensure that all forms are completely filled out;

2) Clearly document in a letter from the petitioner, or from the alien if it is a self petition, how the individual is qualified for this eminent category;

3) Ensure that the alien meets at least three of the required criteria as listed below. Although meeting three of the ten criteria of EB1-A would not guarantee that the alien will qualify as an individual of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business or athletics, if he or can not satisfy at least three of these items, it may be wise to consider another category.

http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question10/question10_0707.htm



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I-485 application if my NIW I-140 is rejected after the RFE?

Q: I filed a concurrent I-140/I-485 application in National Interest Waiver several months ago. Now, I get a RFE letter for my I-140 application, asking for more supporting materials and evidences. Please let me now what will happen for my I-485 application if my NIW I-140 is rejected after the RFE?

Answer:

The concurrent I-140/I-485 filing is supposed to permit the applicant a number of benefits, including availability of work permit card, advance parole for international travel, and similar benefits to the accompanying family members.

Under the law, I-485 remains intact unless it is denied as separate from the denial of I-140. To prevent the abuse of concurrent I-140/I-485 filing, the USCIS instructed the service centers to deny all the accompanying applications including I-485, I-485A, I-765, and I-131 simultaneously when the service centers deny the underlying I-140 application.
http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question10/question10_0720.htm



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L-1 and H-1B Filing Fee Increase - H.R. 6080 Presented to President

As soon as the Senate passed the bill, the Congress quickly cleared for White House and has already been presented to the President. Since it passed during the special session, everything had to be cleared out of the Congress quickly.

The House passed the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010, which the Senate passed it yesterday with amendments. One of the amendments includes the following fee increase for H-1B and L-1. This amendment was sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York. The amendment provides:

L-1 Filing Fee and Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee Will be Increased by $2,250 for Petitioners Employing 50 or More Employees in the United States and More Than 50% of the employees are H-1B or L-1 Employees.

H-1B Filing Fee and Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee Will be Increased by $2,000 for Petitioners Employing 50 or More Employees in the United States and More Than 50% of the employees are H-1B or L-1 Employees.

The total filing fees after this legislation will be much higher than these figures in that these employers will also have to pay $1,500 American Worker Training Fees for H-1B petition plus current fraud prevention fee of $500 and I-129 filing fee of $320.

The Increased Fee will take effect on the date this bill is enacted into a law by the President's signature and remain in effect until September 30, 2014.

Summary of the impact to Indian Software companies :
Nasscom reports, the increase will cost Indian Companies by $200 to $250 Million per year.
As most of the Indian outsourcing companies have 70% to 80% of temporary workers on H1B and L1 visa, the H1B fee increase will heavily impact all these companies and especially like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro because they send around 10,000 professionals every year
Indian IT Companies are not happy to pay for the border protection of US and say that it is not compliant with World Trade Organization fair practices.
The biggest burden is companies have to deal with the cost for new applications, renewals and transfers. If you think of it, it is a huge cost. http://www.greencardapply.com/news/news10/news10_0817.htm


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