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Mr. Smile Face Hat
Sep 15, 2003

Praise be to China's Covid-Zero Policy

Michael Scott posted:

The OP hasn't replied once to this thread made 3 months ago.

Immigrations processing takes time!

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Davethehedgehog
Jun 7, 2003
Choose me, I am warm!

flavor posted:

Immigrations processing takes time!

Ha! At least people have stepped into the breach.

Incidentally the agency involved in my interview never answered my calls, told me they would call me about an hour ago, and guess what? They haven't. Fuckers.

lol internet.
Sep 4, 2007
the internet makes you stupid

flavor posted:

So what's so great about replying to questions that a person is too lazy to google and that can be perfectly found an answer to if they would only bother? I'd say those warrant a lmgtfy.com 100%. How am I running something valuable into the ground?

I'd rather see things in here that are "advice from the experts" questions, not "Do I need a passport to file paperwork?" level things. Come to think of it, that tax question wasn't even an immigration question.

I have looked into it myself but I'm looking to ask about people's experience with it. As it was mentioned, it's being stepped up and "enforced" now.

As before, it really wasn't a requirement. I had co-workers who were born in US and have citizenship but lived their whole lives in Canada and have never filed taxes. They're just as baffled as well with the situation.

This is relevant to immigration because it's US citizens living abroad.

Mr. Smile Face Hat
Sep 15, 2003

Praise be to China's Covid-Zero Policy

lol internet. posted:

This is relevant to immigration because it's US citizens living abroad.

No, the thread title is "Ask me about US immigration", which means people immigrating (= moving into) to the US. It's not about "emigration" (which is what you're asking about) or just any "immigration".

Groda
Mar 17, 2005

Hair Elf

flavor posted:

No, the thread title is "Ask me about US immigration", which means people immigrating (= moving into) to the US. It's not about "emigration" or just "immigration".

Emigrate from this thread.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

MeinPanzer posted:

I'm a Canadian looking to begin a PhD in the US next fall. My girlfriend, who is also Canadian, will be coming with me, but chances are she won't have any work lined up and she won't be studying herself any more. We also aren't planning on staying more than the length of my PhD (5-6 years). We are considering getting married, but we will have neither the time nor the money to have a proper wedding before leaving next year, and so we'd rather wait if we can. Would it be better for us to get officially married? What do we need to know about immigration law?

Ok, so I am not sure what you mean by 'coming with me'. Being your girlfriend doesn't confer her any immigration benefit, so in terms of coming to the US she will need to have her own status - that means she needs to get a job, be studying, something. She could come with you for like, 90 days as a visitor, but otherwise she needs her own status. She can't just tag along with you. Now as a Canadian it's relatively easy for her to work in the US using a TN, but she'll still need an offer.

If you get married, she can come to the US with you as an F-2 (I am assuming you'll be here on an F-1). She can't work or do very much, but she would be able to hang out here for the duration of your studies. So if you're not getting hitched she needs her own boat.

lol internet. posted:

As before, it really wasn't a requirement. I had co-workers who were born in US and have citizenship but lived their whole lives in Canada and have never filed taxes. They're just as baffled as well with the situation.

This is entirely not my area, but just because people have been doing a thing doesn't mean they have been doing it right. If they have lived and worked their whole lives in Canada, then there hasn't really been a great opportunity to enforce it. This sort of thing usually catches up to you when you go to the US, actually file taxes and then the IRS says 'Huh, hang on a sec...' or when your American assets get grabbed. It's not like the IRS is going to deploy attack teams to Thailand to extract 1040s from ex-pats.

It's also very possible that they haven't really been earning enough for it to be an issue for them, depending on what they're doing.

Edit: I say this because one of the things that is most frustrating to hear in immigration is someone saying 'What do you mean I can't do X, I know a guy who did this and he's been doing X for years!' Great, your friend is breaking the law and hasn't been caught yet. It happens. Go ahead and jump in the same boat, but burn my business card first.

Ashcans fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Nov 12, 2012

MeinPanzer
Dec 20, 2004
anyone who reads Cinema Discusso for anything more than slackjawed trolling will see the shittiness in my posts

Ashcans posted:

Ok, so I am not sure what you mean by 'coming with me'. Being your girlfriend doesn't confer her any immigration benefit, so in terms of coming to the US she will need to have her own status - that means she needs to get a job, be studying, something. She could come with you for like, 90 days as a visitor, but otherwise she needs her own status. She can't just tag along with you. Now as a Canadian it's relatively easy for her to work in the US using a TN, but she'll still need an offer.

If you get married, she can come to the US with you as an F-2 (I am assuming you'll be here on an F-1). She can't work or do very much, but she would be able to hang out here for the duration of your studies. So if you're not getting hitched she needs her own boat.

Thanks for the answer. If we get married, what would she have to do to be able to work in the US? Also, if we will be moving next September, how soon would we have to get married?

Mr. Smile Face Hat
Sep 15, 2003

Praise be to China's Covid-Zero Policy

Ashcans posted:

Edit: I say this because one of the things that is most frustrating to hear in immigration is someone saying 'What do you mean I can't do X, I know a guy who did this and he's been doing X for years!' Great, your friend is breaking the law and hasn't been caught yet. It happens. Go ahead and jump in the same boat, but burn my business card first.

In that spirit: A friend of mine's Indian parents are permanent residents of the U.S., but live in India and only come here once a year to visit my friend. I remember from way back when that staying outside the U.S. like this should carry the risk that their permanent residency could be revoked at any time on the basis of lack of residency. Yet they haven't had a problem for many years apparently. (According to my friend, they apparently wouldn't care too much.)

My main question is: My friend is considering doing the same for a few years. I've tried to tell him that he'd be running a big risk, but he would have none of that. Is there any option for him to spend a few years mainly abroad and to come to the U.S. once in a while without losing his status?

Mr. Smile Face Hat fucked around with this message at 13:08 on Nov 13, 2012

An Cat Dubh
Jun 17, 2005
Save the drama for your llama
^^He can look into applying for a Reentry Permit. It will allow him to return to the U.S. after being abroad for up to 2 years. Info can be found here.

MeinPanzer: As Ashcans mentioned, if you were to get married your wife would be allowed to stay with you in the U.S., but she would not be allowed to work. She would need a whole separate visa, such as a TN (as Ashcans also mentioned) in order to work in the U.S. that is not at all dependent on her being married to you.

An Cat Dubh fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Nov 13, 2012

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Yea, a Reentry Permit is the way to go, it will protect his residence while he is out of the country. You can extend it for an additional two years, and then technically get further extensions in one-year increments. But after the first two (so four years) USCIS is likely to question your intent to return more closely.

Some people live outside the US with a green card for years and never have problems with it. The enforcement method is basically 'officer at airport looks at your passport/card, notices absence, decides to act on it'. So people can get away with it because an officer doesn't notice/care. The bad side is that basically any time they travel, the officer can say 'Wait a minute, you haven't lived here in years! I'm revoking this card, go back to India'. More likely, actually, is that they will receive a warning, and be allowed to enter - but now their file is flagged and if they keep messing around they will lose the card. It's a dumb enforcement model.

MeinPanzer posted:

Thanks for the answer. If we get married, what would she have to do to be able to work in the US? Also, if we will be moving next September, how soon would we have to get married?

An Cat Dubh covered this. If she wants to work she needs a work status. The advantage to getting married is that if she can't find work (or finds a job and then loses it later) she has another way to stay with you in the US. Otherwise she would have to return to Canada.

There isn't really a clear and fast timeline on when you would want to get married. Getting married two days before you come to the US might raise some questions, though. On a non-immigrant application it's unusual for the officer to question the validity of a marriage unless it seems really nuts or fraudulent on its face. So you could pick a date that works for you and make a little event of it without freaking out too much about the timing.

Mr. Smile Face Hat
Sep 15, 2003

Praise be to China's Covid-Zero Policy
Thanks to both of you, I'll relay that to him.

An Cat Dubh
Jun 17, 2005
Save the drama for your llama

Ebjan posted:

I am an American citizen and my son was born in the Netherlands. I haven't filled for citizenship for him. Can he apply himself once he is 18? Or is that too late?

This is a bit back in the thread, but I noticed no one has answered you, so I'll give it a try. When was your son born and where are the two of you living now? If you are living outside the U.S., you can get a Consular Report of Birth Abroad from the U.S. embassy where you live, but it needs to be done before he is 18. You also need to meet certain requirements to confer U.S. citizenship to your son. Have a look at the U.S. embassy website where you live to see if you meet the requirements and what you need to do in order to get the report (which basically is a certificate of U.S. citizenship).

Fragrag
Aug 3, 2007
The Worst Admin Ever bashes You in the head with his banhammer. It is smashed into the body, an unrecognizable mass! You have been struck down.
just a vague question in an ancient thread, but I've been thinking about moving to the US some time after graduation, so in like 5-8 years. I'm currently living in Belgium and hold a Belgian nationality as well. Thing is I've lived in Los Angeles already but we moved away when I was 8, after my dad's H-1B visa expired. During that time I had an Indonesian naionality.

How will this affect my chances receiving a visa to live in the US? Will it make things more complicated, more easy? Let's assume I already have a job lined up as well.

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Hey,

I have BS/MS/PhD (Physics/EE/EE) degrees from the US and I am currently working at a major tech company in the US. I still have 5 years left on my H-1b.

I am thinking of applying for a green card. Is there any benefit to having my bother (a green card holder) sponsor me? (I doubt my company will help with the green card application as I still have so much time left on my H-1b.)

Thanks.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

If your brother is a green card holder, he can't sponsor you. He could sponsor his wife and kids, that's it. In order for him to help, he would need to naturalize and petition once he is a citizen.

There is currently a 12 year wait for siblings of US citizens (as in, people who started the process in May 2001 are currently eligible to receive green cards - assuming you aren't from Mexico or the Philippines) So it is not like that is going to be an immediate help to you anyway. On the other hand, if you are concerned that you will not be able to get sponsored any other way, it makes sense to start as soon as possible so that you can get in line.

But your brother needs to naturalize first. Until then he can't help you.

joepinetree
Apr 5, 2012

theHUNGERian posted:

Hey,

I have BS/MS/PhD (Physics/EE/EE) degrees from the US and I am currently working at a major tech company in the US. I still have 5 years left on my H-1b.

I am thinking of applying for a green card. Is there any benefit to having my bother (a green card holder) sponsor me? (I doubt my company will help with the green card application as I still have so much time left on my H-1b.)

Thanks.

Given your credentials, you could apply for a green card yourself based on what is called a national interest waiver.

See this link:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...000b92ca60aRCRD

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

joepinetree posted:

Given your credentials, you could apply for a green card yourself based on what is called a national interest waiver.

See this link:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...000b92ca60aRCRD

Thanks guys.

I'll ask my boss later this year to see if the company could sponsor me (he offered this to me when I was hired but I told him that there is no immediate rush).

Pro-PRC Laowai
Sep 30, 2004

by toby

An Cat Dubh posted:

This is a bit back in the thread, but I noticed no one has answered you, so I'll give it a try. When was your son born and where are the two of you living now? If you are living outside the U.S., you can get a Consular Report of Birth Abroad from the U.S. embassy where you live, but it needs to be done before he is 18. You also need to meet certain requirements to confer U.S. citizenship to your son. Have a look at the U.S. embassy website where you live to see if you meet the requirements and what you need to do in order to get the report (which basically is a certificate of U.S. citizenship).

I've also looked into this quite a bit. The CRBA makes it easier, but if the plan is what I think it is (let the kid decide for themself what they want instead of forcing it), best plan of action is to slap together a documentation kit and keep it stashed away. Proof of relation (DNA tests), photos, documentation of eligibility to pass on citizenship. And then you just let it sit there. Anything happens to you and the kid's fine. After 18, it's a different form, but pretty much the same process, the only difference is that they will never have a birth certificate that says anything about the US on it.

Per visa stuff. The consular staff policy is to urge some sort of resolution of status in the event of a possible citizenship claim, however, if the applicant is in a rush, or they cannot definitively determine status based on materials in front of them, they are to issue a visa as normal. While urging them to gather materials to support the claim. Nothing says you have to do it though. Pretty simple.

edit: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/153156.pdf
Here's that document on policies :)

Pro-PRC Laowai fucked around with this message at 10:22 on Mar 16, 2013

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

It seems that temporary visits are considered to be an immigration issue, so here goes. I'm a citizen of a non-VWP country, but a permanent resident of a EU VWP country. This year I'd like to come to the US for my vacation, but here's the catch: I was already denied once like 4 years ago. No reasons were given, of course, but I suspect this didn't help:
  • I worked in a small company and was paid in cash
  • Probably didn't handle the "why did you come here?" question perfectly, should've stopped at "it was my parent's call"
  • I have friends and relatives in the US.
I now work at a megacrop and would handle such questions better, of course. But the last point remains, and in fact, some of my relatives are the ones who invited me. So, any suggestions on how to handle this? They can provide me with an invitation with accommodation and promises to feed and take care of me or whatever, but I'm not sure if this would help or hurt me: wouldn't this increase my chances of overstaying and living out of their closet, according to Uncle Sam's understanding?

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

When you say you were 'denied', do you mean that the US consulate refused to issue you a visa, or that you actually traveled to the US and were denied entry at the airport/border? Now that you have been refused entry, it means that you need to apply for a visa (it's not clear to me whether being a permanent resident of an EU country makes you eligible for the VWP anyway, but it doesn't matter now).

Having been denied entry before is an issue, but it's not insurmountable. It just means that at that time, the officer wasn't convinced that you didn't have an immigrant intent when you travelled. It does mean that you need to take your application seriously and do your best to ensure that you can convince them this time. Here is a basic checklist of stuff:

1) Do not lie/obfuscate about the prior denial. The officer will know, and if he asks you about it (ie, 'Have you ever been denied entry?') he is testing you, not actually looking for that information. Be honest about it, but don't go into excessive detail unless asked. It should be enough to say 'Yes, I was trying to visit my family four years ago for X, but was refused.'

2) Having friends in the US doesn't matter, but having immediate family (like parents) is kind of a flag. So the question is, do you also have family where you are now? Can you show that? If your parents are in the US but you have siblings/cousins/etc in your current country, it can't hurt to bring along some pictures of you at the latest family gathering.

3) Buy a round trip ticket, so that you have a very clear itinerary of entering and leaving the US. Have your parents (or other family) provide you with an invitation is good, but make sure that it says that your visit is temporary and that you will be returning to your current residence. So like, 'Mobby is my darling child/cousin/etc and I miss them terribly, they would like to come and visit us for three weeks. During this time they will stay with us and I will bake their favorite cake, and then they will return home to continue their vibrant and promising life there.'

4) You want to be able to show as much connection to your current residence as possible. So a letter from your employer saying that you are still employed with them in good standing, that you're taking some vacation and will be returning to work is useful. So are bank statements showing that you have substantial assets in that country. Or your lease, showing that you still have X months left in your apartment. I'm assuming you don't own any property, but if you do, that is a huge plus. Heck, just evidence that you have stuff (like a car) is useful. If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend, that helps. Basically, make a list of every tie and connection you have to your current life and say 'can I document this in some way?'

Ok, so final thing. Do not lie in any portion of the application process or interview. Sure it might seem tempting to say 'Oh no, I don't have any relatives in the US - I am going there to see Disney World!' but you don't know what information the officer has, and if you slip up and get caught in a lie you will absolutely be denied and you can face much, much more serious issues trying to come to the US in the future. Having said that, you are not under obligation to volunteer information unless asked - you don't have to tell them that when you were a kid you used to dream about living in NY, for instance. Also, watch out for fishing questions where they are trying to gauge your intent indirectly. Answer those truthfully, but be sure that you can't be misunderstood by the officer.

joepinetree
Apr 5, 2012

theHUNGERian posted:

Thanks guys.

I'll ask my boss later this year to see if the company could sponsor me (he offered this to me when I was hired but I told him that there is no immediate rush).

I think you should always start a green card process as soon as possible. You may be in no rush, but the system is incredibly slow. I know a teacher of foreign languages where the labor certification process took 4 years because her position required a foreign language. Hell, just so you have an idea of how slow the system can be: I received my green card in 2011, and the other day I received an automated email about my green card process. They had finally gotten around to updating my case history to indicate that the green card had been delivered to me.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Well, once the green card process is underway, you can extend your H-1B indefinitely. It's a pain, but at least you aren't running out of time. A more common situation is that an employer keeps putting the process off, saying 'Oh, not right now, you have time', etc, and then suddenly the employee finds themselves running out of H-1B time and realizes that their employer never really intended to file for them - now they're stuck trying to find a new company that will sponsor them, and a ticking clock for it to happen.

Having said that, a lot of legit companies are going to want to wait something like a year or 18mos before starting the process, because that avoids them doing it for people that they are going to discover are terrible and they don't want to keep on. So not having it rolling in your first year is not a problem. I would definitely talk to your supervisor (AND HR) and get a firm timeline, though. Then hold them to it, and if they keep waffling, get out of there.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009


Whoa, thanks, that's a lot of useful information! I should've been clearer there, I was not issued a visa after the interview at the consulate, but at least was smart enough not to try to enter anyway :downs:. I'm single, but do have my parents here, as well as a lease, two cars, and some other property to show. I'll try to arrange the invitation, tickets, and all the other stuff as you suggest, and hopefully this would work out better this time. Thanks again for the detailed guide!

redreader
Nov 2, 2009

I am the coolest person ever with my pirate chalice. Seriously.

Dinosaur Gum
I tried for years to get my green card through work, but my company did tons of layoffs and the lawyer (for a well known internet company) hosed up my application by saying something on it that was untrue (no, he didn't tell me he was doing that and refused to show me the labour certification application for perm, or whatever it's called). Eventually I moved companies because after my green card application was put in an audit queue then denied, I was told they'd re-apply. At that point they did layoffs so we had to wait another year and I only had 1.5 years left on my visa.

My new company started the H1b -> green card application process on EB2, then I married my (american) wife and I got my green card about 3-3.5 months after I sent the application in. The interviewer was satisfied with what we had to say/show (We've lived together since 2010) so it was easy.

If you have the choice of doing it through work or marriage, don't bother with work, seriously. I wanted to do it through work because I wasn't sure if it would put weird pressure on my marriage or anything but really, that didn't change anything.

One thing of note is that the documentation required for marriage green cards is entirely different from the documentation required for merit-based/work-based applications so it's a bit of a pain in the rear end to switch over. I spent ages gathering all of the new documentation.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

Alright, as I just now got the invitation, I have a few more questions before I go for it:
  • Is there an official form for the letter of employment? I googled some, but they all seem to be made just by some guy and as a result are as good as mi
  • Do any other documents, like the apartment lease, car titles, bank statements, etc., need certified translations?
  • How big of a deal is having a return plane ticket at the time of application? As much as I hope to get the visa, I'd like to avoid plucking down a grand for the tickets and then going through the cancellation bullshit, if possible.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

To answer your questions:

1) No, there isn't any standardized format. What you google around and find is probably ok, and many companies have a standardized way they provide employment verification. Ideally it should be signed by an actual person though, some companies provide letters through an automated service which aren't regarded as well by the consulates. As long as it has the relevant info it should be ok.

2) Anything you want to present as evidence should be accompanied by an English translation. Preferably, you shouldn't provide that translation yourself because you are an interested partner. Many consulates do have people that read and speak the local languages fluently, but it's not guaranteed and they are under no obligation to get those people to help. The less work you make the consulate do for your application, the better. So get things translated, preferably by a service but by a third party would be ok in a pinch.

3) Not having a ticket is ok. In fact, many consulates have a section on their website that says 'Please don't make any plans until after your visa appointment, because you might be denied!' so you could always print that and bring it with you, along with copies from Expedia or whatever of the flights you plan to take. (You can actually see that language at the bottom of this page, for example - check the consulate you will be attending, though). As a sidenote, some booking services let you 'reserve' a booking for 24 hours or something before you have to purchase it, so you could also do that do show what your plans are without actually putting down the cash. The other option is to skip the cheapest tickets and buy one that has a better refund option attached.

What you definitely do not want to do is buy a one way ticket or something like that which can be interpreted as an intent to go and not return. The consulate shouldn't blame you for not wanting to drop a ton of money on a gamble, but you should be able to say what your plans are, like 'Well, I haven't booked the tickets yet, but I am planning to fly back on the 29th on Delta 6042, here's a copy of the itinerary I will book once I have my visa'. If they ask you how/when you plan to return and you stare slack-jawed, that is not going to help you.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
So, I'm a Russian-born UK citizen, and I've wanted to move to the US since basically forever.

I'm about to receive a Masters degree in Computer Science from a leading British university, and a friend of mine in the US has a small business and wants to hire me as a FTE. He lives out in the sticks, though, so he genuinely cannot find somebody local to do the work for him. H-1Bs for this FY disappeared in a <24 hour feeding frenzy this year, but actually couldn't he just sponsor me for a green card directly? He's already (informally) done a labor cert and come up short in his local area, and I believe that an MSc counts as an "advanced degree" for an employment based visa, and this category doesn't have any associated backlog.

This seems a little too easy, he said he'd ask his lawyer about it but is this actually a viable course of action?

Failing that I could always try riding the H-1B train next year and maybe work for a few years in Canada in the meantime. The only real reason I want to move to the states is that virtually all of my friends live there. I'm not really a native British person and I like the atmosphere in the US far more than I like the one in the UK. Well, that and I'd like to do some sort of tech work other than "write a terrible ASP.NET thing for ten quid an hour" or "prostitute yourself to a bank".

joepinetree
Apr 5, 2012

Mr Dog posted:

So, I'm a Russian-born UK citizen, and I've wanted to move to the US since basically forever.

I'm about to receive a Masters degree in Computer Science from a leading British university, and a friend of mine in the US has a small business and wants to hire me as a FTE. He lives out in the sticks, though, so he genuinely cannot find somebody local to do the work for him. H-1Bs for this FY disappeared in a <24 hour feeding frenzy this year, but actually couldn't he just sponsor me for a green card directly? He's already (informally) done a labor cert and come up short in his local area, and I believe that an MSc counts as an "advanced degree" for an employment based visa, and this category doesn't have any associated backlog.

This seems a little too easy, he said he'd ask his lawyer about it but is this actually a viable course of action?

Failing that I could always try riding the H-1B train next year and maybe work for a few years in Canada in the meantime. The only real reason I want to move to the states is that virtually all of my friends live there. I'm not really a native British person and I like the atmosphere in the US far more than I like the one in the UK. Well, that and I'd like to do some sort of tech work other than "write a terrible ASP.NET thing for ten quid an hour" or "prostitute yourself to a bank".

While theoretically it is possible to do a green card straight away, in practice it is not possible because it can take a while to process one. Also, you seem to be misunderstanding a few basics of the process.

You can't "informally" do a labor certification. Labor certification isn't just looking for an American to do the job and failing. It has a number of very specific steps that must be followed, and the process has to be fairly recent when actually applying for it. Labor certification was by far the part of the process that took the longest for me, and that was the most annoying. Very small things can entirely derail the PERM application. There are pretty clear guidelines on what must be done: the ads looking for Americans to fill the position must be posted in a number of places, the requirements must match exactly the guidelines required (in terms of minimum qualifications, salary, etc) and even then the process takes a long time. The first time my wife tried to get her labor certification, she was denied by minor things in the application. Just to give you an example:

- the employer is supposed to post a note advertising about the position in the place of employment itself. This note has to then be submitted with the application. My wife's 1st application was denied because this note did not have the name of the employer written in it, because apparently the company's logo with its name isn't enough, the text has to have it as well.

As for processing times, labor certifications can take anywhere from 3 months to a little over a year.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Basically, yes your friend could do a PERM-based petition for you based on hiring you at his business. But the PERM process is probably the most inherently convoluted and difficult areas of immigration, and he should really, really, just find a law firm that does business-related immigration and talk to them. Ultimately, if he wants to do it, he should have a lawyer handle the whole thing because it isn't one of the things where you can just read the instructions and get by.

There are tons of snags to trip up a case, like ensuring recruitment is handled properly, that the position requirements are legitimate and justified, that any applicants are handled appropriately. It's a nightmare and you need someone to hold your hand through it.

Also worth noting that even if he starts the process soon, it would be some time before it would actually mature. Prevailing wage, recruitment, application period, then the PERM processing and the I-140 processing, you could easily be looking at a year even if it isn't audited. So you might want to think about the H-1B for next year anyway.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Can I do contract work for him from overseas in the meantime, or is that a no-no? I mean, given the cost involved it's probably not worth his while, I suppose.

Thanks for the responses so far

joepinetree
Apr 5, 2012

Mr Dog posted:

Can I do contract work for him from overseas in the meantime, or is that a no-no? I mean, given the cost involved it's probably not worth his while, I suppose.

Thanks for the responses so far

From the perspective of American immigration authorities, yes you can. It would be no different than working for an American company abroad. The key problem would be around the tax authorities in both countries. I.e., how he would report the contract on his end and whether he needs to register in your country in some way or form. The only way this would affect your immigration process would be if he mistakenly claimed the work was being done in the US.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Awesome :) thanks for taking the time to reply, I really do appreciate it

angel opportunity
Sep 7, 2004

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Uncle Jam posted:

What is the reasoning to let people in for higher education, like PhDs, only to make it incredibly hard for them to stay afterwards? It seems really dumb to me to educate people to the highest standards so you can send them back to their country.

My job involves issuing J-1 (research visas) for a major state university.

We have hundreds of people come here every year contributing to research that makes us a lot of money and which gives prestige to the university. Unless the J-1 Visitor is extremely skilled (and usually western European), they usually are paid by their home government or a scholarship from their home country. From China, Brazil, and Colombia, for example, we have people with Master's Degrees and PhD Degrees doing medical or agricultural research making $1,500/month (close to minimum wage!). They usually have to pay for their own health insurance as well.

A researcher on a J-1 visa can stay here for up to five years.

The US makes it very easy for people to come study here and then to live here long enough to be milked for cheap research and skilled labor. On the J-visa, if you stop working for the host university, you have to leave the country within 30 days. This allows the government to strictly control who is coming in and to make sure they won't be a drain on the system. You have to prove you can support yourself during the duration of your research; if your scholarship is cancelled or if you suddenly lose funding in any way, you have to leave.

I would say 20% of the people who come on J-visas are actually being employed with full benefits. Most fully-benefited J employees are Post-Docs. SOME of our visitors get paid very well, but they are usually already extremely successful in their home country. Most of the people we have come here are doing cheap labor for us even though they have advanced degrees and even though we probably are profiting hugely off of them being here. They do it because the employment situations in their home country are bleak and coming here looks very good on their resume. Even though the pay is pretty bad by our standards, it's worth it to them and it's just enough money to live off of while doing the program. It also gives them a good opportunity to do research and get published etc.

angel opportunity fucked around with this message at 20:40 on May 24, 2013

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

I think the current situation is mostly a result of how poorly the system has aged. Most of the immigration system, with minor changes, dates from the 1960s. At that time there were certainly people coming to the US for university, but many of them would be leaving afterward (being either Europeans basically studying abroad, or people from developing nations would would return home with their education). Of the ones who didn't, well, at that time there were so few that they could reasonably expect to get a work visa and then transition toward permanent residence. The H-1B cap was never reached prior to the 1990s.

Fifty years ago, foreign students in the US were an exception and an oddity. If you told someone then that there would be US universities where the majority of the masters or PhD programs would be filled with foreign students, I doubt they would have believed you at all. It was never anticipated. So now we are in a situation where there are too few work visas even to cover the people graduating from US universities, never mind people educated overseas who want to come here.

There have been some stop-gap measures implemented - for a while the cap was raised above the 85,000, but that expired and congress didn't care to renew it. There is currently a system that allows people in STEM fields to extend their student work authorization for an additional period. But the basic problem is that the system is old and wasn't designed for the current world, and it needs to be revised. Until we get some sort of comprehensive reform it's going to continue to be a mess.

Sidenote: one of the reasons we are here is because of how university costs and admittance has changed in that same time. Foreign students pay full fare (and then some) so universities who want that sweet cash have every reason to stock their programs with them

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

Thanks to your great help, Ashcans, I just loving nailed the interview :smug:. Just one final question that I messed up and didn't ask right on the spot: what's the validity period on the B-2 visas, and would I be able to, say, go to Canada and back in within a week? I didn't realize that a) I might want to go to Canada from New England and b) I might not be allowed to do that.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Unfortunately, that's going to depend entirely on what your visa actually says. When you get your passport back, your visa will look something like this:


(thanks to the State Dept for this handy image!)

So the things you want to check are the validity dates (issue and expiration) and the # entries. Most of the time, a B visa will be issued with an 'M' for entries, meaning that you can use it as many times as you want during the validity period. But sometimes, for one reason or another, the consultant will only issue it good for a limited number of entries (usually one or two; I've never seen a visa good for anything besides 1, 2, or M. I guess there isn't any point in giving someone 7 entries instead of as many as they want). If you only have one entry, well, you probably shouldn't go to Canada. If you have an M (or enough spare entries to use) you can go ahead and take the visit provided you come back to the US before the expiration of your visa.

B visas range from multiple entry, ten-year visas to single entry 30 day ones; I would be surprised if you were on the lower end of that, though.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

As I needed to start discussing the plans with my hosts ASAP, I emailed a question to an address I dug up on the consulate website. The reply was that it's 60 months and multiple entries, which is as good as I could've wished for, hopefully this is also what's actually going to be in my passport :). Thanks again for the information, it's going to be very helpful for confirming what I actually got.

Archer2338
Mar 15, 2008

'Tis a screwed up world
So if I am currently a F-1 student at a university (with plans to get work in the US, hopefully), how would I go about obtaining a green card/eventual citizenship? Is there a way I can get a green card as a student?
I know marriage is a thing, but what are some other options?
The only US-citizen family member is my uncle (paternal).

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Not really, no. There are basically two ways to get a green card: through your family, or through your employment. It doesn't sound like you have any family to petition for you, so the only option on that front would be if you were to marry a USC (or permanent resident).

So that leaves getting one through employment. As you are currently a student, your best bet here is to use your Optional Practical Training (or CPT, if you are doing that) to find a company that is willing to hire you long-term and apply for an H-1B for you. Once you are working there, you have bought yourself some time for the company to start a green card process for you, or for you to find another company that will take over your H-1B and do that.

The student visa is a non-immigrant category, so it doesn't track into residence and citizenship. You have to jump from there into one of the other statuses that have a better track toward residence.

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EssOEss
Oct 23, 2006
128-bit approved
Assuming one wins the green card lottery, are there any limits on what one must do? E.g. if you do not move to the US permanently in X months, you lose the green card, or that if you move out of the US again for N months you won't be getting back?

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