-- Q&A 10/9/06--

Q- I'm a permanent resident and my husband is a US Citizen. I've got two kids back in the Philippines and we are now processing the petition for them. I would also like to get their nanny at the same time with them. What do I need to do and what kind of visa could I apply for her?

A- To petition for your children's nanny, you would need to file a labor certification (PERM) application and an employment-based third preference "other worker" I-140 petition once that is approved. Priority dates are currently unavailable for other workers, so it could take several years before a visa is available.

Q- My mom had 10year non immigrant visa. 3 years ago, while visiting in united states she filed the I-539 form to extend her stay. The application was approved and the original I-797 was received. She left the US and everything was just fine. But now her visa has expired and she wants to travel again. Unfortunatelly all the approval letters were lost later. She has only the copy of that motivation letter left, which was sent to Nebraska USINS 3 years ago. She vent to us embassy, but there she was told to bring that approval notice...The question is how to get that duplicate or copy of the aproved notice?? How long does it take?

A- She can file form I-824 to request a duplicate approval notice. There is currently no information available on the Nebraska Service Center processing time report about how long I-824s are taking to process.

Alternatively she could file a request for a copy of the Approval Notice by filing a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request on form G-639. This would give her only a photocopy of the notice and not a duplicate original, but there should be no fee.

Q- I have a question, after submitting the AC 21 case to INS, will there be any tracking number or AC21 receipt confirmation from INS?

A- An H-1B petition or I-485 application that invokes AC21 would be issued a receipt notice like any other case. If you are talking about submitting evidence that you are invoking I-485 portability by porting to a job in the same or a similar occupational category, then no, USCIS would not issue any kind of acknowledgement that they have received the documentation. It is best to use a courier service such as DHL or Federal Express so that you can track your package and verify delivery.

Q- I have a question regarding I-360 Religious Petition. I have been with a local church and have been volunteered as director of worship committee, director of education committee, and director of administration and finance committee, etc. for six(6) years. I am not a ordained pastor, however, I have worked for this church at least 30 hours per week as volunteer for more than 6 years.

I have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at a renowned US University and studied doctoral program in the area of management and organization in the same school. I finished all my doctoral program except dissertation. Recently I have enrolled in Doctor of Ministry degree program at a Bible College and Seminary.

My church consists of multi-ethnic groups and requires lots of coordination among the congregation. I am in charge of overall operations of church in terms of finance, building committee and church administration among different language groups. Our church has around 300 members in total and is financially healthy. Our church can afford my pay.

Do you think that I can apply I-360 Religious Immigrant Petition?

A- The Administrative Appeals Office has routinely held in non-precedent decisions that volunteer work does not count toward the required two years of experience for the I-360. In addition, the 2 years of experience must be full-time.

In order to qualify for an I-360, you would first need to change status to R-1 and work full-time as a religious worker for 2 years.

Q- I am from China and am going to apply my green card (EB2) as the pricipal applicant. My girlfriend is from Taiwan,whose priority date is current for EB2. I read on your website that:

Sections 202(b)(1) and (2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provide that an alien spouse or child who is accompanying his or her spouse to the U.S. may be charged to the country of which the principal applicant (I-140 beneficiary) is a citizen, if it would be beneficial to do so.

Does this mean that cross-chargeability will not apply to my case sinceIam the priciple applicant and not her? If I could use cross-chargeability, when should we get married and file together(i.e. before I-140 or I-485)?

A- In practice, USCIS often allows cross-chargeability to the country of the dependent spouse even though the law does not expressly permit it. There is no guarantee it will work but it often does. In order to use cross-chargeability you would need to be married prior to filing the I-485 application.

Q- I am the principle applicant for Green Card. My husband and I are both holding H-1B visa in US. We are the permanent residents in Canada. So we applied for the Consular Processing in Canada. We sent in Package III to NVC in the middle of June, 2006, and have not got any response yet. Now we have two questions:

1. As far as I know, at the beginning of the CP interview, all of the current non-immigration visa will be stamped as “cancelled without prejudice”. If we are denied for the green cards after interview, can we get our non-immigration visa (H1-B) back?

2. My husband’s H1-B visa will be expired by the end of October, 2006. Since we are told that there is no time-line for the waiting period of scheduling an interview, should he apply for the extension of H1-B now? If he does not apply for the extension, and at the time of interview (e.g., some time after October, 2006) his H1B expired and he does not have a valid US visa, are there any adverse effects for our case?

A- You are correct; your visas will be cancelled prior to the interview. If for any reason your Immigrant Visas are not granted, you will have to apply for new H-1B visas before you can return to the U.S. You can apply for H-1B visas in Canada.

Q- I have a fiancee in Mexico and I am a US citizen. I was wondering if there is any way that I could petition for his residency or if there is any way that I could bring him here on a visa? If there isn't any way for me to petition for him could his father who is also a US citizen petition for him instead? Which way would be easier and what forms are needed to start the process and about how long would it take for the process to be completed? He is 30 yrs old and still single.

A- There are a couple of options:

1.) You could file a K-1 fiancé visa on his behalf. The first step is to file an I-129F petition, which would take about 6 months to process. Once it is approved your fiancé would have to apply for a K-1 visa at a US Consulate in Mexico. He could then enter the US as a nonimmigrant K-1, and he would have to immediately file an I-485 application for Adjustment of Status, which when approved will give him permanent residence

2.) You could go to Mexico and get married to him, and then come back to the U.S. and file an I-130 immigrant petition and I-129F petition. Once the I-129F petition is approved he can apply for a K-3 visa at a Consulate in Mexico as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, and then enter the U.S. on the K-3 as a nonimmigrant. Once the I-130 is approved he will be able to apply for an immigrant visa at the US consulate in Mexico (meaning he will have to travel back to Mexico for a second consulate interview). Then when he enters the U.S. the second time it will be as a U.S. permanent resident.