Flyer for Permanent Residents Facing Travel Issues
Below is a helpful flyer for LPRs returning from extended stays overseas. Please also see our related post: Potential Issues Faced by Returning LPRs after Extended Stays Overseas
Another Chance to File I-485 after Rejection
Great news for those whose I-485s were rejected after many months of waiting caused by delays at USCIS and USPS postal. USCIS has been sending invitations to some applicants to re-file after their previously filed I-485s (filed between 10/01/2020 and 12/31/2020) were rejected due to incorrect responses to Item Numbers 9.a, 9.b, 9.c, or 10. Below is a sample invitation notice to refile. Note that...
Visa Bulletin Insights March 2021
Below are some takeaways from AILA regarding the Department of State's first "chat with Charlie" held on 3/17/2021 on the U.S. Department of State: Consular Affairs YouTube channel. This will be a recurring monthly segment where Charlie Oppenheim responds to the public’s questions regarding the Visa Bulletin. Debut of Chats with Charlie!The State Department’s inaugural engagement “Chats...
Potential Issues Faced by Returning LPRs after Extended Stays Overseas
Update Post: May 28, 2021 Issues continue to pile up as more and more LPRs with extended stays abroad try to enter the United States. It has been reported by some whose stay overseas lasted more than a year that they were denied boarding by the airline during check-in. Some airlines may refuse to board LPR even when the green card is still valid by following the regulation below: An immigrant...
USCIS is Responding Quickly to Service Request Inquiry
Update May 4, 2021 Since January of last year, we have seen an uptick in typos and errors on official notices. We've caught errors almost every month which suggests the trend will continue. Errors include name misspellings, wrong priority date, wrong DOB, missing A#, and wrong EB category (EB1 instead of EB2). We will create a new post to track these ongoing errors. It is important to look at...
New Public Charge Rule Implemented by Trump will be Dead
On March 9, 2021, DHS announced that it would no longer defend the 2019 Public Charge Rule (2019 Rule) implemented by the Trump Administration which led to the creation of the Form I-944. Lawsuits were filed challenging the 2019 Rule. It has been confusing at times when the Rule was put on hold, then back on, then only applicable to some jurisdictions. Given that the last court decision was to...
Can TPS Recipients Apply for Adjustment of Status?
In order to pursue adjustment of status and become a lawful permanent resident (LPR), an applicant must in addition to meeting other requirements have been properly "inspected and admitted or paroled" into the United Sates. Otherwise, the applicant cannot apply for Green Card inside the U.S. A TPS recipient have lawful status in the U.S. given the TPS designation but oftentimes they obtained TPS...
USCIS Receipt Delays and Its Impact on Employment Verification
As we have been posting recently, USCIS is experiencing record delays in issuing receipt notices of various applications. We just finally received all receipt notices in connection with I-485 employment based applications in October 2020 (a 4 month wait!). It does not seems like the situation is improving as we are continuing to receive various receipt notices that are 2 to 3 months late. The...
What Happens to My Pending H-1B Extension After My Green Card is Approved?
The answer should be fairly straightforward. But USCIS has not always been consistent in adjudicating similar cases. They are supposed to follow the "last action" rule. Once GC is approved, then the beneficiary becomes a lawful permanent resident from that point onwards. The pending H-1B extension may be approved but only up to the day before GC approval. But the varying adjudication outcomes...
March 2021 Visa Bulletin
F2A applicants may file GC using the Final Action Dates chart. Applicants in all other family-sponsored preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart. Applicants in all employment-based preference categories must use the Final Action Dates chart. Visa Bulletin for Adjustment of Status