Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on November 29, 2019 1. Can I Ask An Asylum in New York Airport? 2. My Partner is On DACA and The Status Expires August of Next Year. We Were Wondering If Marriage Would Protect Him If And When DACA Expires. 3. If Someone Is In U.S. On Expired Visa, Is There Something They Need To Do Before Going Home

1. Can I Ask An Asylum in New York Airport?

I have question concerning an immigration to us. The situation is following. A man is a citizen of Armenia and has no visa for entering to US. But for Armenia there is no visa to come to Bahamas. There is a version to come from Armenia to New York and then to Bahamas. In New York airport a man will wait 7 hours for the next flight. So, the question is following: is it possible to ask for ASYLUM in the New York airport and in this way stay in US as an immigrant? Thank you for understanding.

Mr. Lee Answers:
Persons who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution can ask for asylum upon entering the US at an airport in any status. You would of course have to be in an airport in the U.S.  I am not sure whether you can enter the U.S. in the way that you believe that you can.  But assuming that you make it to New York, whether an individual is able to stay in the US and eventually become a permanent resident depends upon the judgment of DHS or an immigration judge (if asylum is not granted in the asylum office) or a higher appellate authority. Asylum claims must be based upon persecution or well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a social group.

2. My Partner is On DACA and The Status Expires August of Next Year. We Were Wondering If Marriage Would Protect Him If And When DACA Expires.

My partner is a visa overstay and entered lawfully. He has been on DACA, but since that seems to be expiring soon and we are thinking of going through marriage for a permanent residency and later, citizenship. His case seems a bit unorthodox because of his DACA status, and we were wondering if that would affect how this process would work?

Mr. Lee Answers:
Since your partner entered the US legally and is a visa overstay, marriage to a US citizen (I assume that you are) would be a way for him to obtain his permanent residence. Of course, the marriage must be bona fide in every sense – otherwise both of you may be liable for fines of $250,000 each and imprisonment for five years.

3. If Someone Is In U.S. On Expired Visa, Is There Something They Need To Do Before Going Home

Can they just buy a ticket home and go, or are there forms to fill out first like when they came here?

Mr. Lee Answers:
Generally speaking, someone in the US on an expired visa can purchase a ticket and return to the home country without too much trouble if no other factors are involved. He or she may have to fill out some information at the airport, but DHS will generally not stop anybody wanting to depart the US who has overstayed the visa.

Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on November 22, 2019 1. What Evidence Do I Need to Prove That a Person Didn’t Have to File His Taxes Because He Wasn’t Working? 2. Initiating H-1B Transfer After Entering the Country 3. Applying For a Re-entry After Deportation

1. What Evidence Do I Need to Prove That a Person Didn’t Have to File His Taxes Because He Wasn’t Working?

During 2016 and 2017 this person wasn’t working. He filed his taxes on 2018 for the first time. He is a sponsor for form I-864 and we need evidence to demonstrate that he didn’t have a job until 2016 (we got a RFE asking for the taxes and supporting documents for 2016 and 2017). I’ve been told that I can ask for a tax preparer letter but I don’t know how.

Mr. Lee Answers:
Your sponsor could explain in a statement to U.S.C.I.S. that he was not working during those two years, and supply any proof that he has supporting his statement. For example, a person who was a student would generally be able to supply a copy of the student body card, and transcript of schooling, or another could show that he was being claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

2. Initiating H-1B Transfer After Entering the Country

I am currently working for employer A on H-1B visa for over a year now. I got an offer from employer B in June 2019. Before employer B could initiate the transfer, I had to leave the country to attend to a family emergency in early July 2019. While outside the country, I got my visa stamped using employer A’s I-797 petition. The visa is valid through 2022 and does not list my employer name. Can I start the transfer to employer B right after entering US (within 1 week)? My plan is to resign from employer A only after the transfer gets approved Questions: 1. Will USCIS consider it as fraud if I file for H-1B transfer within 1 week of entering the country? 2. If the transfer gets denied, can I continue to work for employer A 3. Is consular processing safer

Mr. Lee Answers:
You may have a valid concern if employer B initiates the process for transfer within a week of your coming back to the US. Perhaps a more safe situation would be waiting to submit the petition until you have three pay slips following your reentry to the US. Generally speaking, as long as an applicant has not transferred to the second employer, he or she is able to remain with the first employer if the transfer petition is denied.

3. Applying For a Re-entry After Deportation

I was deported in 2011 and was banned for 10 years can I apply for an early reentry I have 2 US citizen children and I will soon marry there father which he is a US citizen.   
Mr. Lee Answers:
When you are ready, you can submit form I-212 application for advance permission to reenter the US after removal. You should of course fully document the application with all your equities including family members who are US citizens or permanent residents, hardship to all members of the family including you if your application is denied, and anything that you have done positively that can be looked at. If you are also barred because of unlawful presence in the US, you will also have to file an I-601 application to waive the bar of inadmissibility in which the primary concern will be proving extreme hardship to a US citizen or permanent resident parent or spouse if the application is denied.

Q&A’s published on the World Journal Weekly on November 17, 2019 1. Please Tell Us What to be Aware Of If Mother Sponsors Our Grandma for U.S. Immigration? 2. How Difficult Will It Be for My Brother to Immigrate With His Crime and Taking Into Account His Family Here in the U.S.? 3. Mother Passed Away Before Her Petition for Her Married Son Was Approved – What Can We Do Now For My Brother? 4. Thinking of E-2 Visa, Very Interested in L-1 Visa.

1. Please Tell Us What to be Aware Of If Mother Sponsors Our Grandma for U.S. Immigration?

My grandmother is 80 and lives in China. My mother is a US citizen and wants to sponsor her so that she can stay with us for the rest of her life. She wants to know what things she should consider before beginning the process like how long it’s going to take, what steps are involved, and what will be her liability.

Dear reader,
The best advice without regard to financial liability is to begin the process now. Under the current unsympathetic administration, there is the possibility of the category of US citizens applying for parents being curtailed. The recently blocked regulation on public charge which would make family-based immigration dependent not only upon a viableI-864 affidavit of support but on a variety of factors would disadvantage an elderly parent attempting to immigrate. Although the public charge regulation may become unblocked by the time that your mother has her interview for the green card, that is a circumstance over which no one has control except the courts. In terms of liability, this administration has shown a propensity to enforce the affidavit of support obligations, and that would mean that the parent would not be eligible for means tested benefits for a period of five years, and that the financial supporter would have to pay back means tested benefits taken by the parent with certain exceptions such as emergency care. The process is approximately one year or less and consists of an I-130 petition for alien relative processing by USCIS, and then further processing through the National Visa Center (NVC) and the American consulate in Guangzhou.

2. How Difficult Will It Be for My Brother to Immigrate With His Crime and Taking Into Account His Family Here in the U.S.?

My brother committed an assault on a storekeeper and injured him badly for which he was imprisoned for three years in the 1990s. He has a clean record since that time. He takes care of our green card mother (father passed away) in New York, has a wife although she is not legal, and three children who are US citizens and the oldest will soon be 21. My brother came to the US legally in 1995.

Dear reader,
Your brother is inadmissible as having committed a crime involving moral turpitude. He may also have been considered to have committed an aggravated felony, but the Supreme Court in 2018 voided aggravated felonies based on crimes of violence saying that the definition of a crime of violence was too vague. He came into the US legally, and so although he is not eligible for adjustment of status based upon a petition by his mother, he might be eligible to adjust status through a petition by his oldest child who is turning 21. He will require a waiver of grounds of inadmissibility for his criminal offense, and so would have to submit an I-601 application for waiver of inadmissibility when he applies for adjustment of status. Under current regulations, USCIS’s standard for adjudication where violent or dangerous crimes are  involved is a showing of exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to qualifying relatives who are US citizen or permanent resident parents, spouses, and sons and daughters. Whether he is able to obtain permanent residence will then be in the discretion of USCIS.

3. Mother Passed Away Before Her Petition for Her Married Son Was Approved – What Can We Do Now For My Brother?

My mother petitioned for my married brother nine years ago, but just passed away. The I-130 petition is still pending and has not been approved. At the time when my mother was sick and dying, my brother was allowed a visa to come and he stayed with her until she passed and only went back home to Malaysia after the funeral services. What can we do now to keep the petition? We do not want to start all over again as we already have nine years invested in the process and they are processing 2008 cases at this time

Dear reader,
It appears that you will unfortunately have to begin again. If your brother has skills under which he can immigrate to the US through employment, the waiting time is not long at all for persons born in Malaysia. Otherwise you could begin again petitioning for your brother by yourself and it is an approximate 12 year wait. Your mother’s petition is not eligible for humanitarian reinstatement as the petition was not approved prior to your mother’s passing away. It is also not eligible to be continued under another provision of law which allows petitions to continue where a beneficiary resides in the US at the time of the petitioner’s death as the condition is that the beneficiary must be resident in the US at the time and thereafter until the petition is approved, and your brother was only a visitor to the country.

4. Thinking of E-2 Visa, Very Interested in L-1 Visa.

We are born in China, but now hold Grenada passports. We were thinking of opening up an E-2 business in the US, but on second thought think that we would like to try with a visa like the L-1 that can convert to the green card. I own 30% of the company here that has 150 workers and total income of approximately $2 million USD. I have been working in the company as general manager for the past five years.

Dear reader,

Besides showing that a US company is or will be viable in the near future, an L-1 petition for an intracompany transferee requires that there be a relationship of controlling interest between the US and China companies. 30% of a 150 person company is not regarded by USCIS as controlling interest although such might be in a much bigger enterprise. If you and other people in the China company owned the US company in much the same percentages as all of you own the China company, such a relationship might be recognized for L-1 purposes. I note that usual L-1 arrangements are that one company is owned by the other, or two companies are owned by an individual or individuals in roughly the same percentages, or two companies are owned by a third company. Controlling interest is usually seen as 50% and over.

Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on November 8, 2019 1. I Have a Civil Lawsuit Against Me Because of A Car Accident.  How Do I Reflect This On N-400 Form? 2. What to Do on Form I-864 If My Husband Didn’t Have to File Taxes During Those Years? 3. I Am A Doctor by Occupation But Intend Not to Work in Medical/Health Occupation In USA Not Requiring National Board of Medical Examiner Certification

1. I Have a Civil Lawsuit Against Me Because of A Car Accident.  How Do I Reflect This On N-400 Form?

 The ticket got dismissed because officer put wrong name.  Officer mistakenly put my husband’s name instead of me.

Mr. Lee Answers:
A civil lawsuit is not relevant to naturalization proceedings as it is not criminal, which is the focus in citizenship determinations.  The ticket is another matter. You would answer the question pertaining to whether you have ever been cited “yes” in part 12, question 23, and explain the circumstances in box 29 that the ticket was dismissed. It might be prudent to obtain a copy of the disposition and either include it in the initial filing or bring it to the interview.

2. What to Do on Form I-864 If My Husband Didn’t Have to File Taxes During Those Years?

During 2014 and 2015, my husband wasn’t working, he was studying. He started working on 2016 and had to file taxes for the first time. Should we write a ‘0’ (zero) on questions 19.b and 19.c (page 6, part 6, form I-864) or leave them in blank? I tried to do some research and I read that some people wrote “N/A” but my Pdf program doesn’t let me write letters, just numbers.

Mr. Lee Answers:
Your husband can put down zero on the questions. Your husband should enclose an explanation as to why he was not working with perhaps a copy of his degree if he graduated.

3. I Am A Doctor by Occupation But Intend Not to Work in Medical/Health Occupation In USA Not Requiring National Board of Medical Examiner Certification

Like Nutritionist,Medical transcriptionist,or pharmacist so what shall I answer to question in form D 260″Are you a graduate of a foreign medical school seeking to perform medical services in the USA but have not yet passed the National board of Medical examiner examination or its equivalent”

Mr. Lee Answers:
Since you will not be working in medical//health occupations in the US that require the National Board of Health Medical Examiners Examination or its equivalent, you should answer “no” to the question since you are not seeking to perform medical services in the country.

Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on November 1, 2019 1. My Category Changed from F-2A to F-2B And I Got Welcome Letter From NVC 2. Working While On Tourist Visa 3. Paycheck As Proof of Employment For Post Grad OPT

1. My Category Changed from F-2A to F-2B And I Got Welcome Letter From NVC

They changed my category because I am aging out but email us that they processing my visa and will schedule interview. So there is any way I can go through interview I mean I got visa?I have read several stories that they got interview call but rejected due to age out process.For your information my father is LPR not a citizen so there is any process CSPA protect me as I must to be with my parents.

Mr. Lee Answers:
The determinative factor in whether you can go through with the interview is whether you will be considered under the age of 21. Age is frozen when the priority date is reached. You are also given credit for the length of time that the I-130 petition pended with U.S.C.I.S. before approval. If in doing the calculations you are under the age of 21 when your age is frozen, you can immigrate under the F-2A category.

2. Working While On Tourist Visa

While on a student visa I work for 1 month at a local pub to make extra money. I left US and tried to returned and was denied because I worked. 1 year later I applied and was deny because of insufficient ties. 3 years later I applied and still try to get around that question and was denied again. I was 21 then. Now I am 30 with career as a nurse. Do you think I should apply and just be honest?

Mr. Lee Answers:
Honesty is the best policy here. There is no guarantee that you will be given a tourist visa since such is given in the discretion of a US consular officer, but you appear to have changed your life and have more reasons to return to the home country. Ties and bonds with the home country are usually determinative factors in B1/B2 visa determinations. Good luck!

3. Paycheck As Proof of Employment For Post Grad OPT

I’m on OPT post grad visa and working as a steady/extra at the hotel. My employer cannot promise me any hours in a written form but for the next month I’m scheduled to work 40 hours every single week. Can I use my paycheck as a proof of employment since they cannot guarantee 20 hours per week in written form but they are telling me that I will have at least 30 hours every single week (they worked there for 4 years and never saw a steady extra worker who got less than 20 hours)? Would paycheck work as a proof of employment since it will show that I worked 40 hours?

Mr. Lee Answers:
OPT postgrad only requires that an individual work 20 hours a week in a field related to the schooling. I see nothing wrong with your being able to prove the 20 hours a week through your paychecks. I note that most paychecks have another part that shows the number of hours worked. Such would also help although it is not necessary as long as the rate of pay per hour is known.