1. Work normally with curtain working visa may be able to go to school part-time
A reader asks:
My I-140 was recently approved, and I have worked for so many years, and now I want to work part-time and study part-time. But my GRE and TOEFL have expired and want to take the exams again. Can I not be considered as an international student at this time?
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
The answer here is dependent upon your current underlying nonimmigrant status. If you have F-1 status or are planning to change your status to F-1 to go back to school and successfully obtain an I-20, you can certainly study part-time (although that would take away your ability to work in most circumstances, save for CPT, eventual OPT, and on-campus part-time work). If you are under F-1 and have valid OPT or STEM OPT, you can do part-time schooling so long as you are able to fulfill your OPT/STEM OPT work hourly obligations. If you are under a working visa (i.e. an H-1B, L-1, O-1, etc.), you may engage in part-time schooling so long as you are able to fulfill your hourly working obligation. For instance, if you are a full-time (40 hour per week) worker under any of these statuses, you can attend school at night and work 8 hours per day. Of course, you may need to demonstrate to USCIS that you are working 40 hours per week through proof of pay, W-2s, and attestations from your employer. If you are attending school, but not working the number of hours you are supposed to be working under your current working visa, then you risk violating your immigration status.
2. I-485 has been submitted and can only allow to leave the US under advance parole, or H, L status
A reader asks:
I already have an approved I-140 (EB2) before, and now I am applying for a new I-140 (EB3) with the same PERM. My question is while this I-140 is pending, can I leave the country and come back to the US?
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
The answer to the question depends in part upon whether you have already filed an I-485 adjustment of status application. If the adjustment has been filed and remains pending, you are only allowed to leave the US under advance parole or if you have H (specialized occupation) or L (intracompany transferee) status. If you are not at the point of filing for adjustment of status, the I-140 petition does not confer travel privileges. In that situation, your ability to leave the US and return would be dependent upon factors such as whether you have a valid visa for entry; whether you need to see a US consular officer for a visa to return and in that case, whether the visa that you are asking for has dual intent purposes. (You are obligated to disclose in a nonimmigrant visa application whether you have ever applied for an immigrant visa petition). In the event that you already have a pending I-485 based upon the EB-2 filing and are wondering whether you can travel while applying for an EB-3 visa status with the same PERM labor certification, that is able to be done through leaving the US under H or L status or advance parole based upon the pending I-485 application.
3. You have an unrevoked approved I-140, may be eligible for a 3 year H-1B extension/transfer
A reader asks:
I had approved I-140 in my previous company, and my H-1B has been used close to a total of 6 years and not much time left. If I am laid off and return to China at this time, wait a few years for the priority date to become current and then come back and use the remaining H-1B again, will the USCIS give me 3 years of H-1B or just the remaining of 6 years? I worry that the company will not give me an offer on the grounds that there is too little time left for the H-1B and the PD is current.
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
If you return to China and then come back to the United States more than 1 year later, you will be able to restart another 6 years of H-1B assuming that you “win” the H-1B cap lottery. However, since you would be subject to the lottery unless you apply for a cap exempt organization this may not an ideal solution.
If you have an approved I-140, under certain conditions, you may be eligible for extensions beyond your 6th year without leaving the United States (or coming back into the United States after a couple of years out). Assuming that your priority date is not current, but you have an approved (non-revoked) I-140, you may be eligible for a 3 year H-1B extension/transfer. If you have an unrevoked approved I-140, and your priority date has been current for less than 1 year, you may be eligible for a 1 year H-1B extension.
4. It has been more than 180 days since I-485 was submitted then you can change your job
A reader asks:
If I go to school while my I-140 is still pending, and wait for the priority date to become current, then find a related job, can I apply for I-485? I feel the biggest obstacle is going to school/study will lose my H-1B and my right to work.
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
Regarding your ability to apply for I-485 after finding a related job, you unfortunately are not eligible for porting since you have not yet filed your I-485 and thus cannot yet switch positions. Job portability, or the ability to move to a new job in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job offer for which an immigrant petition was filed is only available when an applicant’s properly filed I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more at the time that USCIS receives the request to port. In your case, it does not appear that you have filed an I-485. If your priority date is current at this time, you may file an adjustment of status application (with an intent to stay at your current job upon receipt of your green card), and then after 180 days have elapsed assuming your I-485 is still pending, then move to a same or similar position if you find one. But at this time, if you found a new job, you would have to file a new I-140 in addition to redoing the labor certification process if you are filing under EB-3 or EB-2 without Schedule A or NIW. You may be eligible to retain your current priority date so long as your I-140 petition is not revoked due to fraud, willful misrepresentation of a material fact, invalidation of labor certification, or material USCIS error. But aside from priority date retention, you would have to start your petition process over.
Regarding the schooling aspect of your question, you may go to school part-time under valid H-1B status. You can go to school so long as you are fulfilling your hourly obligations under H-1B status. For example, if you are a full-time worker (40 hours per week), you will need to work those 40 hours. If you are able to do schooling outside of those hours whilst still completing 40 hours of work per week, then there is nothing legally stopping you from going to school and studying. If you have an H-1B job that is part-time (say 20 hours per week), then you may go to school as long as you complete those 20 hours weekly. However, if you do not meet your work hourly obligations, you risk violating your H-1B status, which can complicate your I-485 application.