-- Q&A 9/29/06--

Q- I am a nonimmigrant visitor with a 10 year B1/B2 visa stamped in my passport at Chennai, India. When I entered at Chicago, Ohare recently the Immigration Officer stamped on my I-94 form only B2. Can I request them to change it to B1/B2 so that I can make business related visits?

A- Whether or not you can get this changed to a B1 depends on what you told the officer when you entered the US. If you clearly explained to the officer that you are entering on business and described the nature of the business, you may be able to go to a CBP officer to get your I-94 corrected. You should note that if corrected to a B-1 your stay will be limited to the period needed to accomplish your purposes. If that is an additional three weeks they will only give you that additional three weeks.

If on the other hand, you just stated you are visiting, you will need to do a change of status application by filing form I-539 with USCIS. Depending on the nature of hte business you wish to conduct in the U.S., you may not need to change your status to a B1 business visitor. To determine that you would need to set up a consultation. I charge $150 for a consultation.

Q- In May 2006, I was interviewed by an INS officer at the NY Garden City Naturalization Officer and I passed the tests in English and U.S. History & Government on the same day. However, the officer told me that a decision couldnot yet be made about my application because the record indicated that I carried two different last names. He told me to go home and wait for a notice from the INS office. It has ben four months since I passed the citizenship exams, but I have not yet received any notification from the office. I am getting greatly concerned and anxious with the case status. When I call the toll free number provided by the INS website, after entered by case #, the website indicated that there was no update with my case. May I ask where I should write to obtain the status of my naturalization case? Or whether there is a place that I can visit in person to talk to someone about my case status?

A- The only way to get any further information would be to schedule an InfoPass appointment at the Garden City office and speak to an immigration officer. However, even doing that may not get you any further information than what you already have. Often cases are held up because of record checks, although it may simply be that the officer has set the file aside and is not working on it. In the latter situation, the InfoPass appointment may cause the officer to take action on the case.

As 120 days have passed since your interview, as long as you did not sign a waiver of that time frame, you may file with a court to hear your application for naturalization.

Q- Is it possible to apply for a visa interview by filling out DS-156, DS-157, before getting an L-1 petition approved?

A- It is possible to apply for the visa interview without having an approval ntoice as long as the filing can be done online. Some consulates have other procedures to schedule interviews and may require the actual approval notice before they will allow scheduling.

If you do schedule the interview without having the approval notice, the danger is that if the case has not yet been approved by the time of the interview, you will lose any money paid for the application.

Q- I have an approved H-1B petition. I think by mistake, my petitioner has put the place of stamping as Chennai. My state of residence is not Chennai but Mumbai. How do I make an appointment with Mumbai? Do I need to file other forms before/after taking the appiontment? Or can I make an appointment with any consulate in India?

Also, when filing the H-1B petition, I was unmarried. Now I am married. Does my dependent need to file a different petition or can she also make an appointment for stamping directly at the consulate? How do I apply for her H-4 visa?

A- Even though they designated Chennai, you can still make your appointment with Mumbai and take the appropriate paperwork that your employer sent to you to the appointment.

You can take your wife with you to the appointment. You would need an original document that proves your marriage.

Q- I am residing in the USA. I am a nurse and I hold an EX1 visa. I have plans of quitting my job as a nurse, and I'm considering a job at an office. I understand that my current job and the next job I plan to have is entirely different. My question now is: are there any limitations as to what kind of job I should be in? Will it be legal for me to work as an office worker and not as a nurse since my visa is EX1?

A- It would depend on when you got your permanent resident status. If you did an adjustment of status, what did did you have your status adjusted? If you processed through a consulate and got an immigrant visa on what date did you enter the U.S.? You might want to review the article on intent on my website.

The answer to your question will depend on whether or not you worked for your sponsoring employer, and for how long you did work.

Q- I am on a TN visa as a management consultant. My Canadian passport expires in 10 months, but the TN I am requesting is valid for 12. Is this a problem as long as I renew the passport before it expires?

A- Unlike most countries where admission is limited to the date to which the passport is valid, this is not true for Canadians, because Canadians do not need the passport to enter the U.S. at the present time. The CBP officer will therefore admit you for a full 12 months. Please note that as of January 1, 2008, at least under the proposed rule, Canadians will need valid passports. I would expect that at that time, passports will need to be valid for the full length of admission.

At the present time, in fact, Canadians can present an expired Canadian passport as evidence of citizenship and most CBP officers will recognize it.

Q- I just received an information that my H1 application got denied. And now they are saying that I can appeal of the decision. But that means that I will expend more money ... I just would like to know if anybody knows ... what are the chances to be reconsidered ..... based on an appeal ..... will I have a better chance to get .... or it's going to be harder now .... .. what is the percentual of most of the cases ....?

A- In order to determine your chances for success our office would need to be retained to review your initial filing to see if the reasons for denial could be overcome. USCIS does not release statistics on what percentage of cases they approve on appeal, so I could not speak to the issue. In general the review is more strenuous at the appellate level. While an appeal is pending you are not authorized any kind of status in the U.S. Unless you are in some other status you risk accruing enough unlawful presence to trigger the three or ten year bar while you wait for adjudication of the appeal.