USCIS reminds applicants to apply early for travel permit (Advance Parole)

The USCIS recently issued a reminder for applicants to apply for travel permits (called “Advance Parole”) before the end of October if they are planning to travel abroad during the holiday season. Travel Permits can take as long as four (4) months to process and adjustment of status applicants should not travel outside the U.S. without first obtaining the document (which allows legal re-entry). Applications require the I-131 form, along with a $305 USCIS Filing Fee, two (2) passport photos, signed letter requesting travel, copy of the I-485 receipt and copy of the biographic page of the passport.

IMMIGRATION Q & A

Question: I’m a single 26-year-old visiting in Miami with my mother. She married my step-father who’s a U.S. citizen many years ago and now she has just become a US citizen. My mom recently filed a family immigration application for me. My I-94 expires in December 2007 and I need some advice. I really want to stay here in Miami – but only legally. I have thought about maybe doing a student visa, but my stepfather has a friend who has made me a job offer with his company. I have a 5 year university degree from Colombia, so I think I will qualify for the H1 visa. I want to know if it is possible to get H1 visa while my green card application has been started.

Answer: Since you are a single, adult (over 21) and your mother filed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative for you recently, you are in the 1^st preference visa category for adult, unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens. There are long waiting lines in many family-based immigration categories such as yours.

The Visa Bulletin, released each month by the U.S. State Department - is like the “Bible” of Immigrant Visa availability. The current Visa Bulletin for November 2007 shows that visas are available in the 1^st Preference category for December 2001. That means you have about a 6-year wait. If you are inside the U.S., of course you need to maintain your legal status or under current regulations, you would not be able to obtain adjustment to a Green Card holder when the time comes (in about six years).

An H-1B temporary work visa is an excellent way to maintain your status and does not conflict in any way with the I-130 immigrant visa filed for you by your father. H-1B work visas are "dual intent", meaning you can have both the intent to work temporarily in the U.S. and the intent to immigration. An immigration officer will not deny the application because he or she believes you will immigrate to the US.

However, due to the present shortage of H-1B work visas, just remember that if you are inside the U.S. now, you will not be able to apply for the H-1B until April 1, 2008, for a work start date of Oct. 1. 2008. Further, if your I-94 expires before Oct 1, 2008 (which it does), the USCIS will approve your H-1B visa for you to pick up at the U.S. consulate in your home country. You cannot change to the H-1B visa in the U.S. The only exception is if you are in some other non-immigrant status, for instance if you change to a student visa, etc. Student visas are an excellent way for foreign nationals to change legal status inside the U.S., since they provide for continuing legal status during the entire time that the student is maintaining full-time academic studies. Further, if pursuing a degree program, upon completion, students can obtain a full year of Work Authorization (called Optional Practical Training) to work in the U.S.

In your case, however, since your mom filed the I-130 Family petition for you, there is a slight chance that you could encounter some problem “issues” in applying for an F-1 Student Visa, since the I-130 application filed on your behalf shows that you have “immigrant intent”. Therefore, before proceeding, I would first seek the advice of a qualified immigration attorney. Whatever you do though, be sure NOT to let your I-94 expire! Good luck!

*This column is published for the purposes of providing a general understanding of immigration legal issues, as a public service and is not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Consideration given to any immigration issue is not intended in any way to substitute for individual legal consultation with a licensed attorney. Readers should understood that this column and the foregoing illustrations are subject to different interpretations in each particular immigration case that may arise and no one reading this column should attempt to apply his own particular situation to the principles described herein. Readers with specific legal immigration issues should consult their attorney. If you have an immigration issue and do not know an attorney, you may call The American Immigration Lawyer’s Association's Lawyer Referral Service at:1-800-954-0254.

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