jonty_11
07-31 01:54 PM
u have to file 140 for ur old labor..once that get approved....u can interfile the approved 140 onto ur pending 485..(filed with PERM labor/140) and request USCIS to use the PD of the old Labor/140...
Confirm with lawyer...
Confirm with lawyer...
wallpaper Nissan Altima 2002 Blower
cyber
08-10 04:56 PM
what's your plan posting this information ????
gccube
04-08 10:18 AM
I called the TSC IO a few times and finally it got cleared. Yes my PD is current and I wish the case gets assigned to some one soon.
2011 Nissan Altima 2002 Thermostat,
villamonte6100
06-27 09:48 AM
I have I140 approval notice, Where can I see the A#?
It should appear on your I140 approval under the Beneficiary. Under your name, the A# should appear there.
Even my lawyer could not remember where my A# came from and I pointed it out to her.
Some people say, they didn't get it. I'm not really sure.
Please check your I140 approval.
It should appear on your I140 approval under the Beneficiary. Under your name, the A# should appear there.
Even my lawyer could not remember where my A# came from and I pointed it out to her.
Some people say, they didn't get it. I'm not really sure.
Please check your I140 approval.
more...
abhi_jais
01-31 10:38 AM
Here is the Text of Bill:
Bill Summary & Status - 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) - S.6 - THOMAS (Library of Congress) (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d112:6:./temp/~bdl3Rj::|/bss/|)
Bill Summary & Status - 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) - S.6 - THOMAS (Library of Congress) (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d112:6:./temp/~bdl3Rj::|/bss/|)
matreen
12-17 02:21 AM
Team,
Here is my situation: I was working for a company A as a systems analyst and filed my GC on July, 2004 in RIR. Got the Labor approved in December 2006.
But I have transfered my H1B to company B in November, 2005 as a systems analyst and filed my GC in Jan, 2007 in PERM. Got my LC and 140 approved in April, 2007 + filed AOS in July, 2007. Still I am continuing my services with company B on H1B (H1b expires on Sep, 2008).
I am having difficulties with Company B, they are creating problems and planning to lay me off soon. I am very much concerned and worried about it since I live with two little kids.
My previous employer (company A) willing to take me back but I have the folloiwng questions and would really appreciate and thank you for your answers.
1. If I want to keep my status with H1B only and transfer my H1 to company A, will that cause any issues to my AOS of company B?
2. As I mentioned company A has my LC approved, if I transfer my H1B to comapny A, can file my 140 with company A again? If Yes, will that impact my AOS of company B?
3. If I transfer H1B and continue my services with company A, how does we port ACT21 to my status? Is it must to use EAD to use ACT 21?
4. If I jump on ACT 21 using my EAD from company B to company A, can I file my 140 with company A? if Yes, will that impact my AOS of company B?
5. If I change the employer after 180 days, current employer (company B) will have any authority to create any problems with AOS or with approved 140?
6. If I filed my 140 with company A and got denied, what happens with AOS from comapny B?
Guys once again I really appreciate your time and please give me some suggestions as I am very badly in need of your help.
Thanks,
M
Here is my situation: I was working for a company A as a systems analyst and filed my GC on July, 2004 in RIR. Got the Labor approved in December 2006.
But I have transfered my H1B to company B in November, 2005 as a systems analyst and filed my GC in Jan, 2007 in PERM. Got my LC and 140 approved in April, 2007 + filed AOS in July, 2007. Still I am continuing my services with company B on H1B (H1b expires on Sep, 2008).
I am having difficulties with Company B, they are creating problems and planning to lay me off soon. I am very much concerned and worried about it since I live with two little kids.
My previous employer (company A) willing to take me back but I have the folloiwng questions and would really appreciate and thank you for your answers.
1. If I want to keep my status with H1B only and transfer my H1 to company A, will that cause any issues to my AOS of company B?
2. As I mentioned company A has my LC approved, if I transfer my H1B to comapny A, can file my 140 with company A again? If Yes, will that impact my AOS of company B?
3. If I transfer H1B and continue my services with company A, how does we port ACT21 to my status? Is it must to use EAD to use ACT 21?
4. If I jump on ACT 21 using my EAD from company B to company A, can I file my 140 with company A? if Yes, will that impact my AOS of company B?
5. If I change the employer after 180 days, current employer (company B) will have any authority to create any problems with AOS or with approved 140?
6. If I filed my 140 with company A and got denied, what happens with AOS from comapny B?
Guys once again I really appreciate your time and please give me some suggestions as I am very badly in need of your help.
Thanks,
M
more...
lostinbeta
10-04 12:18 AM
I use the rectangle marquee tool. I guess it all depends on personal preference. If you use the rectangle shape tool you will have to right click on the layer and hit "Rasterize Layer" to be able to edit the object.
If you use the marquee tool you just have to fill it with paint and everything is set.
Not to mention, if you use the shape tool, it automatically creates the shape on a new layer, but if you use the marquee tool, your fill color will end up on the layer you currently have selected.
Let me know how everything goes :)
If you use the marquee tool you just have to fill it with paint and everything is set.
Not to mention, if you use the shape tool, it automatically creates the shape on a new layer, but if you use the marquee tool, your fill color will end up on the layer you currently have selected.
Let me know how everything goes :)
2010 Nissan Altima 2002 Cylinder
WeShallOvercome
07-20 12:09 PM
I applied for my labor in July and my PD is July 2007. If I get approved before August 17 then will I be able to apply for I140/485 before August 17th.
Yes, but you'll need hard copy of your labour certificate which takes 1-3 weeks to arrive. I suggest keep ALL other documents 100% ready to go and send the application the moment your LC arrives. If it does not arrive by 16th, include whatever proof you have of the LC approval (email nitification etc..) and send your application. you never know they may accept it and issue an RFE later..
Yes, but you'll need hard copy of your labour certificate which takes 1-3 weeks to arrive. I suggest keep ALL other documents 100% ready to go and send the application the moment your LC arrives. If it does not arrive by 16th, include whatever proof you have of the LC approval (email nitification etc..) and send your application. you never know they may accept it and issue an RFE later..
more...
yabadaba
06-26 01:28 PM
once again^^^
hair 2002 Nissan Altima Engine
webm
02-24 03:01 PM
I have e-filed along with spouse new SSN#..no issues...
When we sent cancel letter for ITIN,got a reply confirmation from IRS saying us to use ssn# for federal tax filing and we have revoked your ITIN..
HTH,
When we sent cancel letter for ITIN,got a reply confirmation from IRS saying us to use ssn# for federal tax filing and we have revoked your ITIN..
HTH,
more...
coopheal
02-10 02:15 PM
5 Years should be fine.
The best would be something like " As soon as some one paid a net $50000 as federal taxes over the years" can get the GC.
Or
As soon some one pays the federal tax for half a million dollars will be eligible for GC.
With a minimum of 5 years of stay in the US and on any employment visa.
All this employer sponsorship, labor, 140, 485 are BS.
This is how it is all over Europe.
In your sim city you can make these rule. However for the real world support IV initiatives for the best results.
The best would be something like " As soon as some one paid a net $50000 as federal taxes over the years" can get the GC.
Or
As soon some one pays the federal tax for half a million dollars will be eligible for GC.
With a minimum of 5 years of stay in the US and on any employment visa.
All this employer sponsorship, labor, 140, 485 are BS.
This is how it is all over Europe.
In your sim city you can make these rule. However for the real world support IV initiatives for the best results.
hot Nissan Altima 2002-2006 Nissan
vshivaji
08-22 11:21 AM
I filed mine, and my wife's, July 2 ('07) without medical, got status alert "RFE notice sent" Aug 4, guessing medical (have doc appointment tomorrow).
Is your RFE regarding Medical?
Did you sent your Medical Reports?
Any Good news after Medical reports sent?
Is your RFE regarding Medical?
Did you sent your Medical Reports?
Any Good news after Medical reports sent?
more...
house Nissan Altima 2.5 Automatic
alisa
08-03 10:45 AM
I am starting this thread for people who are still waiting for their I-140 approvals.
There is a thread about the delay in I-140 approvals at TSC. However, from what I can tell by looking at data, NSC is worse than TSC.
The processing dates suggest that NSC is looking at March 2007 I-140 applications. But thats what they have been saying for the last three months.
In December 07, the processing dates for NSC EB3 were at January 2007.
In July 2008, the processing dates (NSC, EB3) are at March 2007.
We are witnessing the birth of another 'backlog elimination center.' This must be pointed out, so that there is a chance that this could be stopped.
There is a thread about the delay in I-140 approvals at TSC. However, from what I can tell by looking at data, NSC is worse than TSC.
The processing dates suggest that NSC is looking at March 2007 I-140 applications. But thats what they have been saying for the last three months.
In December 07, the processing dates for NSC EB3 were at January 2007.
In July 2008, the processing dates (NSC, EB3) are at March 2007.
We are witnessing the birth of another 'backlog elimination center.' This must be pointed out, so that there is a chance that this could be stopped.
tattoo 2002-2006 Nissan Altima R33
chanduv23
05-13 12:35 PM
Looks like - they keep pulling up your information using your A number and for some reason they may be relating to your EB2 i 140 even though you have an EB3 i 140.
We have no clue what happens inside USCIS and how their record retention policy is.
You must do the following
(1) Write to Ombudsman - fill out form 7001 and attach all documents, proofs, and clearly explain the issue and hardships you are facing
(2) Write to both your Senators
(3) Write to your congressman
(4) Write to IV also in detail about your case. Don't have to write any private details.
We have no clue what happens inside USCIS and how their record retention policy is.
You must do the following
(1) Write to Ombudsman - fill out form 7001 and attach all documents, proofs, and clearly explain the issue and hardships you are facing
(2) Write to both your Senators
(3) Write to your congressman
(4) Write to IV also in detail about your case. Don't have to write any private details.
more...
pictures Nissan Altima 2002 Clutch Kit,
jsb
12-05 03:38 PM
If my wife is a US Green card holder and i am in H1B and if we both file for candian green card and move to canada for a week for stamping. Would it create a problem on US citizenship for my wife.
the third rule on the first thread.
If you go to Canada just to get your Canadian immigration stamp, you may have a problem getting back to the US. The border agent may try to determine your real intent, and he/she can technically revoke your GC at the first instance. For the question "where do you live", there can not be two answers.
Bottom line is that you can try to maintain permanent residencies in both countries, for a while, but not for ever, particularly when passport becomes mandatory for air/road travel, which will record every entry to the US.
Those who maintain US residency for years by simply visiting US every now and then, pretend that their real home is US, and they just go out for business/work/pleasure etc. But when you have a Canadian PR stamp, you can't say that for Canada.
the third rule on the first thread.
If you go to Canada just to get your Canadian immigration stamp, you may have a problem getting back to the US. The border agent may try to determine your real intent, and he/she can technically revoke your GC at the first instance. For the question "where do you live", there can not be two answers.
Bottom line is that you can try to maintain permanent residencies in both countries, for a while, but not for ever, particularly when passport becomes mandatory for air/road travel, which will record every entry to the US.
Those who maintain US residency for years by simply visiting US every now and then, pretend that their real home is US, and they just go out for business/work/pleasure etc. But when you have a Canadian PR stamp, you can't say that for Canada.
dresses 2002-2006 Nissan Altima All
Sakthisagar
04-15 08:35 AM
Most of the above documnets were optional 2 years back, but now it become compulsory in all these, Workorder/SOW and PO is very much necessary, for an approval, Since this is a Premium Processing, there are chances of getting an RFE, asking for original contract between client and the vendor, at that time you can ask the Final Vendor or Client to send or Fax the contract directly to USCIS. And ask your attorney to mention in a covering letter in the RFE that the contract is sent by your Vendor Attorney thru mail or fax,
Last year I had the same situation, on Premuim Processing, and I got the above RFE, and got an year extension, this year I am proactive I am applying for normal processing, 6 months back. with all the above documents.toatl (10 years in US)
Good Luck to you and let us enlighten us, what happened to your case.
Prayers to everyone who are in this difficult phase of life extending the H1B.
May GOD Bless
Last year I had the same situation, on Premuim Processing, and I got the above RFE, and got an year extension, this year I am proactive I am applying for normal processing, 6 months back. with all the above documents.toatl (10 years in US)
Good Luck to you and let us enlighten us, what happened to your case.
Prayers to everyone who are in this difficult phase of life extending the H1B.
May GOD Bless
more...
makeup 2002 Nissan Altima 3.5SE Sedan
feedfront
09-15 05:39 PM
Yes I got RFE like 1 month back about employment verification...
As 'sanju_dba' said, you should celebrate your freedom here as we appreciate this freedom more than anybody.
Congrats again and enjoy!!!!
As 'sanju_dba' said, you should celebrate your freedom here as we appreciate this freedom more than anybody.
Congrats again and enjoy!!!!
girlfriend Nissan Altima (2002-2006) -
dextro_a
02-05 02:24 PM
you have to give the H1 qualifying exam (I think Step 3), then you have to apply for Residency in universities. They all call you for personal interview, and the results are announced in mid march. Once you are selected, they'll process H1 for you. If you do not have step 3 cleared, then they'll process J1 visa for you. Most of these universities come under non-profit so, H1 quota is not a issue for them.
hairstyles 4.300 2002 Nissan Altima
purgan
11-11 10:32 AM
Randell,
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
tiger05
03-01 11:41 PM
Thanks for you valuable information.
My last entry was on Mar 2008. So as per your reply, even if i have less pay on my W2 for 2006 it wont effect my H1 transfer?
Kindly reply
Thanks
Tiger
My last entry was on Mar 2008. So as per your reply, even if i have less pay on my W2 for 2006 it wont effect my H1 transfer?
Kindly reply
Thanks
Tiger
braindrain
09-03 01:25 PM
Any help??
