1. Can I Enter on F-1 Visa While H-1 Application is Pending?
I am on F-1 visa (valid till May 2021) working on OPT EAD which is valid till January 2020. I am applying for H1 this year. If my H1 application is picked up in lottery, then can I travel outside the USA and come back on F1 visa while my H1 application is pending? If yes, then in the case that my H1 is approved, do I have to get my visa stamped to even start working on H1? or I can get it stamped the next time i leave the USA?
Mr. Lee answers:
The difficulty is that any travel outside the United States during the time that an H-1B petition is pending is considered an abandonment of the change of status portion of the petition. With your OPT EAD valid until January 2020, you can travel with the above restriction. You might be better off waiting until the H-1B petition is approved before traveling under your OPT EAD before October. Then it might be considered that you did not travel during the time that the H-1B petition was pending. If the change of status portion of your H-1B is not considered abandoned and you did request the change of status, you would not be required to have an H1B visa in your passport in order for you to begin work in October. Please note that I along with most of the lawyers discourage applicants even with EAD’s to travel at any time before an H-1B becomes effective in October or thereafter.
2. Pros and Cons of Applying for K-3 Visa After Submitting an I-130
I’m Venezuelan living in Panama, Married to my long time boyfriend since 01/07/2017, we got married in Fort Lauderdale and then I came back to Panama, he is a US. Citizen lives in FL, now we have to start our Petition for relative and we are uncertain what to do, we know we should start with a I-130 application, then wait for I-797 and Consular Processing. Is it a Good Idea to apply also for K-3 so I don’t have to wait separated from him?
Mr. Lee answers:
The pros and cons of filing a K-3 visa petition after submitting an I-130 would seem to be the following:
Pro – generally speaking, you would get the person here faster (approximately 3 months sooner under current processing times).
Con – you would have to pay another filing fee, fill out another petition, most likely face an adjustment of status process once the person comes in with the K-3 visa, and if the I-130 petition is approved and at the National Visa Center while the K-3 petition is still pending or also at the National Visa Center, the K-3 would be discontinued.
3. I’m a US Citizen. Can My Mother Stay Over 180 Days If I Applied for Her Green Card And It’s Still In-process?
Mr. Lee answers:
If you have already filed an I-130 petition and she has filed for an I-485 adjustment of status, she is allowed to remain in the U. S. while the application is being adjudicated. She is in a quasi legal state in which the illegal presence bar does not apply.
