Published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on September 5, 2014

Q & A 1. 2. 3. 4.

Q&A 1.


Can I Exchange My Visa J2 to B Without Leaving the Country?


I have the J2 visa. I came here because my daughter needed liver transplant, but her father could arrange the J1 visa through his university in Brazil. My daughter had a transplant last year, but she is not released from the hospital yet and I have no idea when she will be. The problem is that my visa expires in June and I need to exchange to my tourist visa (I already have it on my passport). My question is: Can I exchange my visa J2 to B without leaving the country?

Mr. Lee answers:

A  J-2 holder can change status in the country so long as he or she is not subject to a two-year foreign residence requirement because of the J visa. The obligation of a J-2  is dependent upon whether the J-1 is subject. If not, you are free to change status to any one for which you are eligible as long as the application is timely and U.S.C.I.S. agrees to make the status change. The fact that you have a tourist visa in your passport has no effect on the adjudication.


Q&A 2.

I Didn’t Get Green Card

But an urgent matter came up and I need to go to my country. How do I come back the America? I already have the visa.

Mr. Lee answers:

When you say you already have the visa, the question is what visa? Also is your stay in the country expired or not? If you are overstayed in the country, your visa would automatically expire in most cases. If you have been in the U. S. for 180 days illegally, you would likely be barred for 3 years. If in the country illegally for one year or more, you would likely be barred for 10 years. If you are legally in the U. S. with status, you can return to your home country and return to the U. S. dependent upon the terms of the U. S. visa. If the visa is for being a visitor for business or pleasure, any quick return to the country may raise questions as to whether you have the proper non-immigrant intent.



Q&A 3.

Traffic Tickets and Employment that I Forgot to Add on N-400

I forgot to add 2 tickets that I got in 2004 and the other was 1998 or 1999. Also, I have a regular, full time job that I've been at for about 4 years but I forgot to add an On-call job that I have on the side. I'm not sure what to do now that the application has been sent. Can USCIS deny my application? If I add it when I go to the interview, can they put my file on hold?

Mr. Lee answers:

You will have another chance at the time of interview to inform the immigration examiner of the 2 tickets and the on-call job that you have on the side. U.S.C.I.S. will not have looked at your application seriously until the time of interview. Most U.S.C.I.S. officers would not put a case on hold just because an applicant did not put everything down on the application as long as the individual brings it up timely on the date of interview. I suggest that you obtain the dispositions of the 2 tickets along with any receipts to show that they were paid and also bring the tax returns that would show that wages were declared for your on-call job.


Q&A 4.

What is the Fastest Legal Way to Get My Wife Into the USA While We Are Waiting for Her I-130 to Process?

We met in October 2005 while I was in the Army and married January of 2011. I am now retired and settled in Virginia and want my wife to join me. She has been to the USA twice in the last year, both times using the USA/KOR Visa Waiver Program. I just submitted the I-130 this past Friday. When and how can my wife join me without negatively affecting her status?

Mr. Lee answers:

The best way is probably through the I-130 that you submitted already. U.S.C.I.S. has already said that it will be knocking the times down from 7 months to 5 months in the near future on I-130 petitions for spouses. If your wife comes over on the visa waiver program and attempts to adjust her status while she is here, U.S.C.I.S. may believe that she committed a misrepresentation in entering 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.

 
   
 

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