Published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on April 17, 2015

Q & A 1. 2. 3. 4.

Q&A 1.

Need Help on H-4 or H-1 Visa at the Same Time

I have H1 visa from company A and working in US currently. My wife has H4 visa from company A. She travelled to US on H4 last december,2013 and went back to India in feb,2014. Recently her H1 is filed by company B when she was in India and it got approved. My questions are 1) If she travels to the US without going for H1 stamping then, which visa will be considered at the time of travel? H4 or H1? 2) Will there be any problem at the port of entry under this situation? 3) Should she avoid travelling under this situation?

Mr. Lee answers:

If your wife does not go to the consulate for H-1B stamping, she would be reentering the US only under H-4 visa status. She would have a problem at the port of entry if the immigration officers believed that she was attempting to enter the US to work under H-1B status. Dependent upon her intention of whether to work or not, she can either apply for H-1B stamping or return to the US under H-4 status.

Q&A 2.

What Going To Happen To The Employer If He Hires a Person Without An Identity In the U.S.?

Someone without an identity got caught from complains while he was working.

Mr. Lee answers:

An employer who hires a person without identity in the US will usually be fined an amount for the illegal hire. If it is discovered during the time of investigation that there are other undocumented immigrants or paperwork violations, more fines could follow. In the event that illegal hiring becomes a pattern with a particular employer, fines and the possibility of criminal penalties could follow.

Q&A 3.

Certified Court Record

I had my naturalization interview today and it was not finalized. I am now required to present certified copies of a DUI offence committed in Australia even though I already presented certified copy, with a signature. It was stamped as certified and signed but the immigration officer didn't accept it because it didn't have a raised stamp. She also refused my original transcript signed, from the police station because it didn’t have a raised stamp on it. These should be legally acceptable. One is original and the other is stamped a certified copy, where the original was viewed and it was signed. It is a difficult process to get what she wants. I am wondering if she has made a mistake and my documents should have been accepted and what I can do about it.

Mr. Lee answers:

We have seen cases in the past in which immigration officers have requested raised seals. We have advised the people to comply since doing so is usually better than arguing with immigration officer. There is of course merit in arguing that a disposition which has an original signature by a court official and a stamp of the court should be good enough. Your choices would appear to be arguing either on paper or in person that what you already submitted should be accepted or taking the trouble to contact the court and police in Australia for court disposition and arrest record containing raised seals or an explanation by each agency that it does not provide raised seals. The best solution would probably have been to argue the matter with the officer and/or his or her supervisor at the time of the interview. 

Q&A 4.

Can I with C-1 Visa Obtain a Green Card?

Can I obtain a green card? I live in USA I have a C1. I came here transit but I stocked here, I've got married from American   And I need to obtain a green card to live here legally.  I was not entering to be crewmen but was "in transit”.

Mr. Lee answers:

For persons entering the US with C-1 visas who are not crew members, adjustment of status may be possible depending upon the circumstances of the case and whether U.S.C.I.S. believes that they had or did not have the intention to do anything else but to transit at the time that they entered the country. If there is a finding of non-bona fide entry, they may seek relief through an I-601 waiver of grounds of excludability in which the standard for favorable adjudication would be whether they have established that extreme hardship would occur to the US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent if they had to leave the country. 

Copyright © 2003-2017 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.