Union, NJ Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

In general when an individual is in the U.S. and they petition for an H-1B then they are granted a change of status to H-1B and they get a new I-94. If your company did not ask for a change of status then you likely received an approved H-1B but you did not get the new I-94. If you leave the U.S. you will have to go for a stamping to return in H-1B status. You may be able to use the B-1/B-2 to effectuate an entry (assuming that the visa stamp is till valid) but then you will not be able to go on the payroll of the U.S. company. The best thing to do if you leave on a trip is to plan to do your stamping at a U.S. Consulate Office abroad. You can do this either in your home country or in e thir-country. If you do it in a country other then your home country the process is called TCP or Third-Country Processing. Often these cases are placed under Administrative processing unless you have a good reason why you are doing the TCP process.

The F-3 category for US citizens sponsoring their married sons or daughters is currently processing for final immigration those that filed before 12/15/07 for all countries of the world except for Mexico and the Philippines, which have longer backlogs. It is not out of the norm for you not to hear anything from U.S.C.I.S. after the receipt because of the varying times of the five service centers in reaching and adjudicating F-3 petitions. Processing times can go from 6.5 months in one center to 119 months in another. The F-3 category is not a big priority with the agency as a quick approval generally does not give interim benefits. The priority date is set at the time of filing, and will remain so even if the U.S.C.I.S. adjudication takes 119 months (10 years). Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.