bradley emmanuel

Dear friends,

I entered to US on 5th October 2009 on B1 visa and at POE I was given 3 months duration to stay.

I came here to write physical therapy licensing exam on 8th OCT (same is mentioned as an annotation on my B1 visa) and now I passed the exam and licensed.

Now a hospital is ready to file a H1B work visa for me through premium processing and they want me to start working for them immediately.

Dear friends, kindly let me know whether its safe to change the status within 15 days of my entry. And if not how many days should I delay the filing of H1B. I would like to change the status here without going back to my country for H1B.

And also whether this will have any future adverse effect when I file the immigrant petition. Thank you very much for your valuable advise in advance.John

Hello,
INA consists a section of "Presumption of Visa Fraud." It basically states that if a person who entered to the U.S. for the FIRST time and changed status to a different visa category while in the U.S. before 60 days in the initial status have passed, that person might have committed a visa fraud and intended to do it in the first place. Do a google search - "presumption of visa fraud 60 days." I am sure of this as I worked for an immigration law office and we had a few clients with the same problem. After 60 days since you had arrived, that should not be a problem; generally speaking. I would recommend you speak to an immigration attorney before doing it, or request a H-1B visa approval with H1b visa to be issued in your own country instead of changing status in the U.S. now.

Hi, Thanks for the reply.
In my company, even though everyone works 32 hrs, they are still considered full-time, as we keep receiving the regular full-time benefits.
So in that case, do they still have to file an Amendment? If incase, they file amendment,then do they file just LCA amendment or H1B amendment.

Also, if instead of working 32 hrs, if they allow me to work 40 hrs, but reduce my annual salary but maintain higher than the prevailing wage, then also do they need to
file an amendment? If yes, which H1B or LCA or both?

Can you pls move this post to the "Ask an Attorney" section, so that i can get a reply from any attorney also?

1. As per Feb 20, 1992 USCIS memo, the full-time work is generally considered to be 35-40 hours per week or whatever is appropriate for the occupation. For example, air traffic controllers work 30 hours a week because of the stress. Then, in that case 30 hours would be "full time".

2. The employer MUST notify the DOL and/or USCIS in advance by filing amended petition if the terms of the employment changes during the validity period of H1B1 petition.

3. It is very common to file H1B amendment for changing from full time to part time, changing job location, or changes in job duties.

Have a good day!

________________________
Not a legal advice
US citizen of Indian origin

Well, I don't see a problem with that. If you can file 485 without clearing 140, why can't you file 485 without clearing labor?

We should stay modest? There are a lot of us who have waited 4+ years for labor. I think that's enough modesty and patience.


I think this is still in USICS control to allow I485 to file even if priority date is not current.

I'll draw a flower and send it, how is that? After all the $$$ spent on the lawyer and this whole fiasco in general, I ain't spendin' a penny more on them:mad:



Maybe a stinky garden weed. It's the thought that counts:D.


LOL!

You wont be spending the money on them... in the end it will be for you! Think of it as an investment :)

Oh yeah, we are demainding an RFE (request for evidence) to substantiate this gossip....

Thanks

which service center? You can ask your employer to ask USCIS as 140 is employer's application.

The Real Tijuana (http://realtijuana.blogspot.com/) is a blog that began this month in order to describe Baja California from the inside. People who actually live in Tijuana address issues of local culture, medicine, cuisine, and history with the goal of making tourism less intimidating and more rewarding.

Thanks to you, Prem, we will start running items on transportation this week.

Tijuana is surprisingly peaceable in spite of the bad press.

Rob - this is superb street journalism - the selective colouring adds to the impact. Nice job.
Pete

Hi GC gurus,

I am in dilemma and seek your help desperately.
Currently i work for a consulting company A (around 500 employees). He provided me with a pre-approved labor(EB2 category, pd 02/05) and recently got my 140 approved. The client(say company B) i am working for has offered me a full time position and i am willing to take it up. But according to the company's (B) policy the GC process can be started after one year of joining.

I talked to my company (i.e company A) about my decision to join company B. He provided the following explaination :
1. EB2 to EB2 porting is not possible: According to him EB3 to EB2 porting seems possible but he wasnt sure about EB2 to EB2. He needs to look into the matter. Can you please provide some more information on this...

2. Query on Ability to Pay: He said that when company files 140 for current employee who are on company payroll right now, he might get REF regarding ability to pay. At that time he has to cancel my 140 as well as number of approved 140 that are unaccounted for (i.e employee left or he didnt cancel), to prove company's ability to pay for current employees. So his argument was that it will be difficult for him to retain my 140 for next 1 year. But i believe GC is for future employment and he has to pay me the salary as per the LC. The company seems to be making good amount of profit. So i feel he is trying to hold me back by providing excuses. Or is this a valid reason ?

Please provide me your input asap as i have to decide very soon.

Nothing will happen to you

Just follow your heart

Will se you in DC

from AILA

http://www.aila.org/content/fileviewer.aspx?docid=23079&linkid=164409

what's with the repetition of message? ahahahahaha

Seriously now, if a hospital can offer you a H1 status then you'll be fine. Though apparently, things are also hard for NCLEX certified nurses to get a job in the US. Well, based on my opinion, the recession is a factor. Although hospital is part of the health care system, it is also a business. With things going on like this, you can do the math. Also another consideration is that, of course being in US, labor dept. would DEFINITELY prioritize LPR's or Citizens to fill in the job.

I have a friend who knows a head director of a hospital in SOCAL, he told him that right now, its really hard for them to hire nurses from abroad. He also mentioned that they (the hospital) usually get / hire their nurses from a certified and reputable agent that is based in the Philippines. Who are the agents you may ask, I don't know. Though please don't take this as a discouraging information for your side, you already have a leverage, that is you are in the US already. Just be careful though if some hospital wants to hire you, its always best to hire a reputable immigrant attorney to represent in your behalf. Good Luck

i renewed mine in Apr 2006 in Washington DC and they gave it for 10 yrs. My stamped H1B was expiring in Oct 2007.

Since you have GC, don't bother about joining the client right now.

Take a break or vacation. Join some other vendor for sometime.

Change your home address. Don't ever take up any mail package.

NJ is not like California. You are indeed answerable, not because the non-compete is valid, but since you have signed some thing that says non-compete.
Rarely these BSs stand all the way to trial, yet they want to intimidate you, take your money and happiness.

These suckers need to be shown where they belong.

Make sure you have documents of everything. Paystubs from the day one you joined. New LCAs for all your work location and you've been paid all prevailing wages etc.

It is advisible you contact a lawyer asap. Do not waste any time.

PM me.

I just happened to see a copy of my labor approval. My current salary is less than the salary mentioned in labor approval. Do you know whether it is legally valid?. My salary is as per the LCA for H1.

If GC LCA salary is more than it is well planned by the employer. If you run away, at the time of GC you need to show a job with that higher salary other wise you may loose GC.

Usually GC LCA salary is kept low. If some mishap happen, is will be easier to find a job with lower salary.

Edit your profile. Then info appears in the tracker automatically.

Choosing Consular processing vs AOS is a very tricky question. Lot of things come into picture:

A) Job security , stability etc. and current & future job prospects.
B) Personal situations such as whether EAD / AP benefits are required.
C) Country of chargeability.

Marking Consular process on I-140:

1) Benefit is that you can file I-485 any time the dates become current. Those who are long away from their PDs should consider this option. Because by the time your PD gets current you may also get an appointment in Consulate. It takes 4-6 months after I-140 approval for a case to go to the consulate.

For those from retrogressed countries, this option is beneficial if you are far away from your PD.

For those from non retrogressed countries , this is not a good option as you can file I485 immediately and there is no need to travel to home country. Today the I485 processing for non retrogressed country is faster than that of retrogressed country.

Marking I485 on I-140:

This option is also beneficial for both non retrogressed and retrogressed countries:

1) In this option, you can file concurrent I140 and I485. Hence this option is beneficial to those who are able to file applications concurrently.

2) You can switch from from this option to consular processing pretty quickly. Most consulates around the world accept Attorney certified I140 approval. Once you file I824, the consulate will accept your "AC I140", and I824 receipt notice. However if you marked consular processing on I140 to start with, the consulate will not accept AC I140 and you will have to wait till it reaches the consulate.

So this option is beneficial to those who are perennially from retrogressed countries and have seen wide swings in visa bulletin. At opportune times, you can file I485 if the PD is current by using concurrent filing and then you can ask for AC I140 appointment as soon as dates become current.

Mine still says pending even though i received it 2 weeks ago....

but my spouses status was spot on through the process..

...you can also consider getting married :) which will open up more options for you

... as well as closing down many other... ;)

Good one