Published on the World Journal Weekly on November 15, 2015

Q&A 1. 2. 3. 4.


Reentry Permit Question


Reader asks if sister and child need both China and Singapore no criminal records and whether sister later on must stay in U. S. if applying for reentry permit until approved.

Dear reader,

Dear reader,
The question of whether they need both China and Singapore no criminal records depends upon whether either of them resided in China past the age of 16 for at least 6 consecutive months. If so, the no criminal records are needed from China also. If not, the Singapore certificate of clearance is good enough. Persons who apply for U. S. reentry permits must be physically present in the States at the time of submission and must attend the biometrics appointment which usually comes between 1-2 months of filing the application. Other than that, they can remain outside the U. S.


Q&A 2.

What Happens to the Applications If One of the Parties Passes Away?


Brother who filed for his brother and his wife, and sister wonders what happens to the applications if one of the parties passes away.

Dear reader,

By the word “parties,” I assume that you mean one of the people the you filed for, and not yourself. If your sister passes away, the petition would of course end as there is no one else that you describe as being a dependent. In the case of your brother, his wife’s passing would do nothing to the petition as the petition is primarily for your brother and not for his wife. In other words, the petition would stand. In the event that your brother died, the case would end if he died when he was overseas. If he dies while in the United States and his wife is here at the time of his death, she can continue the case for immigration if she continues to reside in the U. S. while requesting consideration for preservation of the petition under §204 (l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If the I-130 petition is pending, she can send her request accompanied by your brother’s death certificate and evidence of her qualifying U. S. residence to the office that has the I-130 petition. If the petition has already been approved and U.S.C.I.S. has not sent a notice of revocation, she can send the request to the U.S.C.I.S. office that approved the I-130 petition or to the U.S.C.I.S. office with jurisdiction over a pending I-485 adjustment of status application (if such was filed).



Q&A 3.

Applicant for Green Card Through Adjustment of Status Wants to Know the Process for the Affidavit of Support Where His Sponsoring Wife Makes Very Little Money.

A reader asks:

I came into the country with a business B-1 visa which expired, and later married a U. S. citizen and she has sponsored me for the green card. The problem is that she only works as a part-time teacher and does not make very much money. I know that under this condition, we must have a joint sponsor. Can my wife and the joint sponsor provide one I-864 affidavit of support form with the supplement, or do we have to give 2 separate I-864 affidavit of support forms, one from my wife and the other from the joint sponsor?

Dear reader,

Unless the joint sponsor is living in the same household as your wife, he or she must submit a separate I-864 form.

Q&A 4.

Cousin Wants to Know If He Can Provide Affidavit of Support With One Year’s Earnings of $50,000.

A cousin asks:

My father has asked me to provide an affidavit of support for his brother’s son, my first cousin’s, immigration. He will have his interview in China. I am not sure that I can do so because I’ve only been earning monies recently (unemployed in 2014) and will be filing my tax return for 2015 (I can do it in January 2016) with $50,000 in income. I can also get a job letter confirming my pay. Am I allowed to do this?

Dear reader,

Most consular and immigration officers would prefer to see more of a record of good salary than just a job letter confirming that the cosponsor has recently been employed at that rate. Even with a record of one year employment through a tax return, this might be difficult to convince U. S. consular officials that there is adequate support. Perhaps it might be more acceptable if there was good reason for which you were unemployed last year, e.g. studying for a Masters degree. The other question is how far away the interview is for your uncle's son. If sufficiently far away, you might be able to provide further documents down the road such as more record of pay, bank accounts, etc. to bolster the credibility of your affidavit of support.

Q&A 5.

Australian Chinese on E-3 Visa Wonders What Happens to His Family Members If He Changes Employers.

An E-3 visa holder asks:

I am Chinese originally from the mainland, immigrated to Australia with my family, and we now have Australian passports. I have the E-3 visa for working in the U. S. and my family has come with me. Now I am thinking of changing employers and ask whether my family members will have to get new visas.

Dear reader,

Your family remains your family regardless of which organization you work for an under the E-3 visa. As long as your E-3 is valid, their E-3D visas are equally valid. And as long as you maintain E-3 status, they can be in the US on their same visas until they expire. (For the benefit of other readers, the E-3 visa is like the H-1B for specialty occupation work, but is only given to Australian nationals and the cap numbers are open so that the visa application can be made at any time during the year instead of just during the first week of April as we have seen in recent years with the H-1B’s which are subject to the cap because of the heavy usage.)

 

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.

 
   
 

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