Published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on February 2, 2018
Q & A.
How to Apply for a Work Permit While Awaiting an Asylum Decision?
I want help to apply for work permit (Form I-765 ) .
Mr. Lee answers:
If your asylum case has been pending 150 days and if you have taken no affirmative steps to delay the process, you are eligible to apply for an employment authorization by filing form I-765 application for employment authorization accompanied by proof that your asylum case has been pending for that amount of time. The application would be sent to either the Dallas or Phoenix lockbox of U.S.C.I.S. depending upon your place of residence.
Can I have Two H-1B Visas at The Same Time?
Employer A filed H1b petition last year and it got approved. Employer B filed H1b petition this year and if it gets approved, can I go for stamping through Employer B after stamping is done through Employer A. i.e if I have valid Visa stamp through Employer A, can I still go for Visa stamping through Employer B. Are there any chances of Visa getting rejected through employer B?
Mr. Lee answers:
You can have two H-1B's at one time with different employers as long as you are able to perform both jobs. In situations where an individual has an H-1B visa stamp from one employer, and quits and goes to a second employer which has an H1B approval, an H-1B visa stamp for the second employer is not necessary and the individual can travel using the first employer's H-1B stamp and carrying the current H-1B I-797 petition approval. So given the non-necessity of having 2 distinct visas there, there is the chance that even if you are working for both employers at the same time, a consular officer may believe that it is not necessary for you to have two H-1B visas. A consular officer may also believe that annotating the name of the second employer under the present visa would be enough. Finally if the consular officer believes that there are questions concerning the second H-1B petition, he or she may deny visa issuance. In that case, hopefully nothing that you would have said in the visa interview would cast doubts upon the validity of the already issued H-1B visa.
Marriage Visa vs Tourist Visa
My girlfriend for 3 years lives in the Ukraine but has been to my house 2 times on her tourist visa. She has stayed 6 months the first time and 4 months the 2nd time. She is coming back in one month and we planned on getting married here. My question is, after we go to the courthouse and get all licenses and have the ceremony, what would she need to do to begin working legally here? I have a business that she can work at, but want to know the process.
Mr. Lee answers:
The tourist visa is not a springboard which individuals should think that they can conveniently use to obtain permanent residence status. To DHS, the thought that someone would have the idea to permanently immigrate and have this intent prior to entry on a tourist visa is anathema as constituting abuse of the visa. Since you have so definite a plan to marry, the recommended path here would be for you to file a K-1 petition for her as a fiancée on form I-129F to have her come over on the proper visa. You would then have 90 days to marry once she arrived. K-1 visa processing takes approximately 6 –9 months.
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