1. DACA Question
My dad is a US citizen and I am an 19 year old immigrant with DACA . Will he be able to help me fix my paper work or am I too late to get any help?
Mr. Lee answers:
If you entered the country legally, your father can probably assist you in adjusting status to permanent residence in the US without leaving. If not, you may still be able to obtain your residence status through the I-601A program under which your father would petition for you as his relative on form I-130, and when that is approved, you would be able to submit an I-601A request for a waiver of the 10 year bar for being here in the US unlawfully for a year or more. The I-601A adjudication would be based upon your establishing extreme hardship to your father if you could not return to the US. Assuming that the waiver is approved, you would complete your case by having it consular processed through the National Visa Center in the States and the US consulate or embassy in your home country. Kindly note that the I-601A program has a good rate of success, but also that its future may depend upon how vigorously Mr. Trump wishes to go after programs benefiting the undocumented.
2. I am on H-1B and My Prevailing Wage Request is Submitted.
If prevailing wage is more than what i get currently, can the employer increase before perm and will my GC process go fine or should employer maintain the same salary starting of prevailing wage request
Mr. Lee answers:
PERM labor certification applications require a prevailing wage determination of the offered position for the case to be filed with the Department of Labor (DOL). The prevailing wage must be paid at the latest at the time that the permanent residence application is approved. Whether the employer pays the prevailing wage prior to that time to the alien is not a primary concern of DOL, which is the protection of US workers. That means that DOL will want to be assured that the employer is offering that wage to the US workers who apply for the position, and that the employer is not rejecting US workers because the alien is willing to work at a lower rate.
3. I Have a Temporary Residency for 2 Years But He is Asking for Divorce.
I am from Venezuela and have been married over a year with an US citizen. How can I do so the divorce does not affect my residency?
Mr. Lee answers:
The best action is to gather together and keep in a safe place all evidence that you and he have had a bona fide marriage. When the divorce is finalized, you can submit the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence with all the proof of your marital relationship. If U.S.C.I.S. is convinced through the documentary evidence and/or interview with you that the marriage was bona fide, you would be allowed to have your conditions removed on the green card.
