World Journal Weekly Q & A - March 29, 2009

Q & A 1. 2. 3. 4.


Q&A 1.

What is the True Date of My Permanent Residence, and What Kind of Residence Do I Have to Have to Satisfy the Naturalization Requirements?

Reader Pok asks:

Can a green card without expiration date be changed to a new green card? What are the fees and procedures?

Dear reader:

Yes you can, and are actually encouraged by the Department of Homeland Security to change your current green card without expiration date to a new 10 year green card. Green cards issued between 1977 and 1989 were without dates and remain in circulation today although U.S.C.I.S. did propose a rule in August 2007 to require these individuals to apply for the new 10 year card. That proposed rule has not yet been made final, but the agency encourages immigrants to replace their unexpired cards. Such can be done by filling out Form I-90 and sending it with a $370 fee to the U.S.C.I.S. facility at the below address:

Post Office deliveries

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 54870
Los Angeles, California 90054-0870

Non U.S. Postal Service deliveries

U.S. Citizenship and the Immigration Services
Attention I-90
16420 Valley View Avenue
La Mirada, Calif. 90638-5821

The check should be made out to the "Department of Homeland Security". No
supporting evidence is required for the application although applicants must bring such documentation when they are asked to attend a biometrics appointment at the local application support center.

Q&A 2.

How Can I Add in My Brother-in-law's Information on My I-130 Petition for My Sister Since They Just Got Married?

Lu Reader asks:

I am a U.S Citizen. In December 2007, I filed papers for my sister to immigrate to the U.S.. In April 2008, I received the notice that CIS accepted my application. My sister works for a U.S. investment company in China. She is already 30 years old and was married in 6/2008. Now I also want to apply for my brother-in-law, what should I do?

1. My sister was married after I filed papers for her. Do I need to summit my brother-in-law’s information to Immigration at this time? What documents do I need to submit?
2. Where should I submit these documents to? And how much application fee do I need to pay?

Dear reader:

1 The I-130 petition is based upon the relationship between yourself and your sister. You can either choose to submit your brother-in-law's information to U.S.C.I.S. at this time or wait until the petition is approved and shifted to the National Visa Center (NVC). To notify either U.S.C.I.S. or the NVC, you would need a copy of the notarial certificate of marriage, your brother-in-law's notarial certificate of birth, and proof of termination of all prior unions on either side.

2 The documents can be submitted to the U.S.C.I.S. service center which is holding the I-130 petition or later to the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There is no application fee to add your brother-in-law's name to the case although he will have to ultimately pay immigrant visa processing fees to the National Visa Center when the priority date is close to becoming current. The present fee is $400.

Q&A 3.

What Can My Wife Do About Her Naturalization Since It's Already Been One Year Since She Passed Her Test?

Wu Reader:

I am a seventy years old retiree and my wife is six-two years old. We live in Pennsylvania.

My wife passed her naturalization interview on February 12, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA and received a passing notice. She was told to wait for her swear in notice. In 8/2008, she went to Philadelphia immigration office to inquire and was told Vermont Service Center was to arrange and send out all swear in notices. In 9/2008, my wife received a biometric notice it said her finger print was expired. She did it. In 11/2008, we wrote letters to her examiner and Vermont Service Center to trace her case. But we have not heard anything. Should we continue to trace ourselves or hire an attorney to do it? Could you suggest a law firm in Philadelphia for us?

Dear reader:

It does appear that your wife's case has been delayed since taking and passing the test in February 2008. I do note that U.S.C.I.S. has a policy of not granting cases until security clearances have been completed. The agency also has another policy that it will not interview individuals until clearances have been done. It is possible that your wife could still be waiting for a security clearance. It is also possible that the delay may be caused by some other factor. I do not generally suggest or recommend other lawfirms. At this time, you can continue to trace the matter yourself; contact your local congressman or senator for assistance; or hire an attorney. If you have not already done so, you can make an appointment with the Philadelphia office of U.S.C.I.S. for an InfoPass at which you can have a conversation with an officer. To request an InfoPass appointment, go to https://infopass.uscis.gov/info_en.php.

 

Q&A 4.

Is There Any Way That I Can Be Employed As a Nurse Since I Just Passed the RN Examination and Currently Hold F-1 Student Status?

Liu reader asks:

I currently hold a student (F-1) visa in the U.S. and want to adjust status through a nurse job. Recently I have passed the RN exam, but the Health Department sent me a letter asking for my social security number and said after I provided them with my SSN, they will mail me the license. When I brought this letter and my passport to social security office to apply for a social security number, I was told that I must go to immigration and apply for an adjustment of status first. But it seems to be contradiction that if I could not obtain this license, I would not be able to find a job to change status. My school could not provide me a campus job for me to obtain a social security number. What should I do? If I could get a social security number, what type of SSN will that be? What documents will I need, if later I need to change SSN type - from not authorized to work to authorized to work?

Dear reader:

The difficulty with immigration nursing cases is that H-1Bs (specialty occupation visas) are difficult, H-1Cs (the nursing visa) are highly restricted in number, and permanent immigrant cases generally fall within the employment based third (EB-3) category which is backlogged for years before applicants can file for I-485 adjustment of status through which they can obtain work permission. If applying for an H-1B visa in just about every state in the U.S., the position would have to be one which requires at least a bachelor's degree such as advanced practice registered nurse, nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthesist, etc. H-1C is restricted to 500 nurses year, each state limited to 25 nurses a year, and facilities for sponsoring nurses must submit an onerous document containing a number of attestations regarding the employment of nurses. There does not appear to be a good solution at this time, and a congressional fix will have to be done as the U.S. population grows older with not enough registered nurses to tend to the needs of the baby boomer generation.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 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.