World Journal Weekly Q & A - February 25, 2007
Q & A 1. 2. 3.
Q&A 1.
Do I Study the New Questions or Old Questions for the Naturalization
Test?
Web reader asks:
I am having my naturalization interview in the Immigration office
in Garden City, N.Y,. in February. Am I supposed to study the 100
questions on the old list or the 143 questions on the new list being
publicized by U.S.C.I.S.?
Dear reader:
The new test is not in general circulation for 2007. For this year,
U.S.C.I.S. is only pilot testing the questions in Albany, N.Y.;
Boston, Mass.; Charleston, South Carolina; Denver ,Colorado; El
Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; San Antonio, Texas; Tucson,
Arizona; and Yakima, Washington. The pilot program will begin in
early 2007. In these cities, applicants will have the choice to
decline to participate in the pilot test. If so, they will be given
the old test. In addition, applicants who take the pilot test but
fail one or more parts will have the opportunity to take the old
test or part of the old test immediately during the interview, thus
giving them an additional opportunity to pass the naturalization
test.
Q&A 2.
Will I have a problem getting an H-1B visa or not? I have a degree
in fashion and am working for a company in my field.
Dear Mr. Lee,
I graduated with a bachelor's degree in fashion design and will
be working as an assistant with a U.S. clothing manufacturer. The
company has approximately 50 employees and my salary will be $21,000
per year on a full-time basis. I have optional practical training
until October 2007 and my employer is willing to sponsor me for
the H-1B visa. Can I do it?
Dear reader:
Your degree and employer appear to be a match to allow you to apply
for an H-1B specialized occupation visa, but your position is one
that would generally not be regarded as professional by U.S.C.I.S.
Unless your degree is actually required to do the job, the job would
not be seen as a specialized occupation for H-1B purposes. Further
your salary does not appear to meet the standards for an H-1B prevailing
wage. I suggest that you speak with your employer to see whether
it would be willing to give you a more professional position at
a higher wage. I note that we have seen situations in which employers
intentionally start out new employees very low in the first two-three
months to see how they work out before giving them a true professional
position. If such is your employer's strategy, the company might
be amenable to advancing your promotion in light of your visa status.
If the employer is not willing to do so, you might seek other options
including looking for another employer.
Q&A 3.
H-4 Holder Who Changed to H-1B for Almost 3 Years is Eligible
for H-1B Extension Even Though Total Time in U.S. as H-1B/H-4 Holder
will Exceed Six Years
Web reader asks:
I entered the U.S. in 1997 with a student visa and later changed
to H-4 as a dependent of my husband in 2001. His H-1B first started
in April 2001. I then found a job in 2004 and received an H-1B visa
myself which will expire in April 2007. Neither me nor my husband
has ever applied for labor certification or employment visa petition
for permanent immigration. My husband and I will have been in H-1B/H-4
statuses for six years in April 2007, but since I've only been in
H-1B status for less than three years, can I get an extension? If
I can get a H-1B extension, can my husband change his status to
H-4 even though he has already been here six years under H-1B status
so that he can stay with me?
Dear reader:
Previously U.S.C.I.S. restricted the period of time that individuals
could remain in the U.S. under either H-1B or H-4 dependent status
to six years. Any time spent in H-1B status counted against H-4
time and vice versa. The American Competitiveness in the 21st Century
Act (AC-21) broadened the ability to stay by stating that individuals
who had a pending labor certification or immigrant visa petition
based on employment for one year would be allowed to remain in one
year increments to complete their processing. A second broadening
by the same act was that individuals who had approved I-140 petitions
but could not file I-485 applications to adjust status to permanent
residence because the priority date was not yet current could obtain
a three-year extension of H-1B stay.
On December 5, 2006, U.S.C.I.S. issued an interoffice memorandum,
"Guidance on determining periods of admission for aliens previously
in H-4 or L-2 status; aliens applying for additional periods of
admission beyond the H-1B six year maximum; and aliens who have
not exhausted the six year maximum bar or have been absent from
the United States for over one year" which further broadened
the time by rescinding the former U.S.C.I.S. position that any time
spent in H-1B or H-4 statuses counted against extensions past six
years within the other category. Therefore, individuals will now
be allowed to spend (if they so desire) six years in an H-1B status
and another six years in H-4 status or vice versa even if they do
not qualify for any of the exceptions under AC-21. In your case,
you would be allowed three + years after April 2007 as you will
have spent less than three years in H-1B status by that date. As
your husband will have exhausted his H-1B time of six years by April
2007, he is no longer eligible for continued H-1B stay but can be
allowed to change status to H-4 during the remainder of your time
in H-1B status.
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