If you have a question on immigration matters, write Ask-visalaw@visalaw.com. We can't answer every question, but if you ask a short question that can be answered concisely, we'll consider it for publication. Remember, these questions are only intended to provide general information. You should consult with your own attorney before acting on information you see here.

Q - I have a green card and the visa category on it says E22. It is a derivative visa of E21 (my husband's visa category) We had filed for I 824 and then got the green card in a year's time. My question is whether my green card is conditional or independent of his green card? If it is conditional what are the conditions?

A - Only green cards based on marriages to US citizens or based on investing large sums of money are conditional. The rest are unconditional and there is no need to prove a second time that the basis for the green card is met.

*****

Q - Our immigrant visa interview is already on February 7, 2006 and they said the visa will be given just a few days after. I would just like to know if it is possible that a member of the family goes to the US first ahead of the principal applicant.

A - Unfortunately, dependants may not precede the principal applicant in entering the the US after permanent residency is granted.

*****

Q - My mother visited me last year on B-2 visitor visa and she requested an extension after her 6 month stay. My mother and I went back home on November 20th and we didn't not get the approval letter until we left. I got the letter last week when I came back to US and the letter was postmarked on November 30th. She was granted to stay until 10/31/05 but she overstayed until Nov 20th without knowing that she didn't have visa. She had visited US several times before and left on time. Will it be a problem when she apply for another US visa? What are the consequences of this overstay?

A - She should be fine, but you'll want to keep documentation of the date the application was filed, when she left and when the notification was mailed by USCIS. If you can then show that you always acted in good faith, you will likely have not problems regarding the overstay period. She did not trigger a reentry bar because the overstay was only a few weeks. I don’t believe the visa was automatically cancelled due to an overstay since the extension was granted and the departure occurred prior to the notice being issued. This might be an issue to explore further with your immigration lawyer, however.

*****

Q - I have an H-1B visa. My employer just applied for a labor certification via PEPM. I am a part-time worker and a second employer has given me full-time work. I have not given up my current work. Can I have two jobs? If the second employer doesn't apply for an H-1B visa, can I do work for him? Can I employ myself?

A - Any employer can file a labor certification for a position even if the worker doesn't consent (or even know). However, the job must be full time in order to be approved. It should be okay to have more than employer filing a labor certification on your behalf and this is not all that unusual. You cannot file a labor certification in a self-employment situation. As for the second employer, you need to have a second concurrent H-1B approval in order to take on the additional work.

*****

Q - One of my friends, currently a Chinese citizen, is now on F-1 visa in the US .  She will become a French citizen next month and get a new French passport.  In theory, her Chinese passport becomes invalidated as soon as she becomes a French citizen.  When she comes back from France to the US , she will have a new French passport and the invalidated Chinese passport which has a valid US F-1 visa.  Will she still be able to enter the US ? 

A - I think she'll be fine as long as she has both passports when she enters the US - the one with the visa and the new one. The port officer should be informed that the preference is to now enter using the new passport, but the old passport is being presented because that's the one with the visa. I'm copying a colleague for an opinion on this.