A citizen of a foreign country, who wishes to enter the United States, generally must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa (green card) for permanent residence. The type of visa required is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of travel.
Status, authorized period of stay and unlawful presence are three VERY important concepts in US immigration laws with far reaching implications. The nuances in these concepts are so intricate that they can trip up even my fellow-lawyers. I see issues in this all the time.
Here is a brief primier to enable you to understand the basics. This is by no means an exhaustive analysis.
Status
My wife has been in US for 6 months on H1 and is going back to India.
In india if she applies for H4 , will it be necessary to carry any Salary Slips generated during her stay in US on H1?
Is there a possibility that the consulate might demand for her W2 and salary slips before stamping her H4 visa?
The cardinal rule in visas is that consulates can ask for pretty much anything. If they do ask for proof of H-1 employment or pay stubs and you do not have it, the H-4 still cannot be denied. The fact that one has been out of status is no bar to the grant of an H-4 visa.
1. My story begins like this: I was working for company A, got stamping in May2007(in canada). Came back to US, changed to company B. Got laid off on Feb 27th, 09. In order to have a valid status I got married on Feb 15th and got my H4 legally on March 20th, 09. Two weeks back a miracle happened, got a job through company C and applied for PP H1b, received it last Thursday. Now, I am planning to go to India for a week in June, 09. Tough having a valid H1b stamping prior to the H4-H1, do I still need another H1b stamping?
PS: I do not have H4 stamping.
Hi...i have a question...i came to US on my L2 visa and am here for 1 month.meanwhile my company has initiated for my L1b visa in India..now my question is...
1. Should i have to travel back to my native for Visa stamping or i can apply for COS from L2 to L1B in US itself?
2.Since i already own L2 visa is there any chance that my L1B is rejected?i have been working in the company for 1yr and 2 months only now.
3.in case if my L1b is rejected is there will be any impact on my already approved L2 visa?can i come back to US again using L2 visa?
You can apply for COS. Even if L-1 is rejected, you can still maintain your L-2. In case of a visa rejection, you should be able to come back on L-2 visa or reapply for L-2 visa on the spot.
I really appreciate ur efforts here.I had one question to ask u if u can answer humbly.I am a doctor from india and i had got a residency in internal medicine last year.I got my H1b visa stamped but coulnt go to usa coz of some reasons.So the hospital got my H1B visa legally cancelled.This year again i have got residency in another hospital and they r ready to sponsor my H1b visa.I wanted to ask u that will there be any problem from USCIS in processing my petition this time as my visa got cancelled last year.As i have not told this hospital about my visa cancellation last year will that be a problem.Will my petiton be processed in a routine way this time too by uscis.
It looks like your visa was not canceled, you just did not use it. Note two things. First, non-use of an earlier issued visa should not create any problems in the future. But second and much more important, you HAVE to tell the hospital that you had an H-1 earlier. As far as I know, there is a question on the H-1 forms that specifically asks that question. Not answering the questions on the forms truthfully can get you into trouble. Check the forms, if there is no question that asks about any earlier H-1, you are fine.
I have a tourist visa to the US which expires in 2009. However, back in 2004, i was able to obtain a F-1 visa for MBA studies. It expired in 2006 and my stay was extended through practical training. I have all necessary documents supporting that. My question is, will I still be able to use my tourist visa until the March 2009 expiration?
My assumption is that you are still on F-1 and in USA. If this is correct, you cannot use your B visa within USA.
While in USA, your stay and status is controlled exclusively by your I-94.
You can, however, try to reenter USA on B visa but after having stayed here for so long, a reentry is likely to be denied.
If, you are outside USA and have been out for a while (like a year or more), I think you can still use that B visa and try to enter USA.
I am trying to take an appointment for my wife to renew her H-4 visa since the dates are available right now. She came here on H4, switched in between to F-1 (change of status) but did not leave US, then got the new approval for change of status to H4 (after we filed for green card) and wants to get it stamped now. There is a bit of confusion on the DS-156 form that I have to fill out.