Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on July 26, 2019 1. I Am Being Sued in My Home Country 2. Do I Have to Register for Selective Service If I Have a Valid I-20 (F-1 Student) But My Visa Is Expired? 3. When Did I Start Accruing Unlawful Presence?

1. I Am Being Sued in My Home Country

I am being sued for bouncing checks in my home country. My family owns a business and I used to be a partner before I move here. Now the business is not going good and I’m being sued for bouncing checks.  Bouncing checks is felony crime in my home country but it’s from business matter..not a fraud or anything illegal. Will that be an issue when I renew my green card?

Mr. Lee Answers:
To be considered a crime for U. S. immigration purposes, there has to be an equivalent to the crime under U. S. criminal laws. However, that being said, you could very well spend a lot of time and energy in showing that there is no equivalent if it becomes an issue with U.S.C.I.S. when you renew your green card or with CBP when you return to the U. S. after a trip abroad.

2. Do I Have to Register for Selective Service If I Have a Valid I-20 (F-1 Student) But My Visa Is Expired?

I am an international student on F-1 visa in the U.S. and I have a valid I-20 until 2020.  But my visa has expired since I did not leave the country to get it renewed. Do I have to register for selective services?

Mr. Lee answers:
Individuals who are holding valid nonimmigrant status in the US are not required to register for selective service in the US. In your case, you would be maintaining legal nonimmigrant status if you had a valid I-20 and were still attending school on a full-time basis. Expiration of a visa is of no account as the visa is only good for traveling back and forth.

3. When Did I Start Accruing Unlawful Presence?

I was an F-1 student but I withdrew from school in November 2018 due to illness. I have stayed in the US ever since. In February 2019, I submitted a case with USCIS for reinstatement of my F-1 status but was denied in May 2019. I filed a motion within the time frame given. It’s been almost 3 months and I still have not heard back from them. I’m still staying in the US. I want to know whether or not I have accrued unlawful presence? If so, since when?

Mr. Lee answers:
Unlawful presence for you begin accruing in May 2019 when U.S.C.I.S. denied your F-1 reinstatement request. For an individual like you with a visa marked duration of status, unlawful presence only begins when you receive formal notice from U.S.C.I.S. of a denial or a negative decision by an immigration court.  If you win the motion, there is no unlawful presence. The Trump Administration’s attempt to change the law of unlawful presence unfavorably in a memo in August 2018 was enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on 5/3/2019.