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.
Do the two years that a J-1 holder has to spend at home be continuous or can this time be done in successive chunks, as long as it amount to two years?
The two years do not need to be continuous and can be spread out over time.
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I’ve got a question regarding health grounds of inadmissibility. Could be the person with diagnosis “epilepsy” considered as inadmissible on the current law basis.
No, it is not a communicable disease and does not fall under the health grounds of inadmissibility. Epilepsy would otherwise not be a problem UNLESS for some reason it rendered you incapable of supporting yourself financially and you would become a public charge (which, as far as I know, is not a problem with epilepsy).
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Hi once again, My friend who is a tourist is in the U.S. at the same time she studies online to have a degree in an I.T. Course. Is she violating her status because she is a part time student but she’s not actually attending class but studying online from a U.S. campus. Does she violates her status as a tourist? thanks and more power.
Hmmm…I’ve never had this question come up before. I doubt the INS has ever issued an opinion on this. I suppose a key distinction between online studies and live studies is the fact that the student can complete the program without entering the US. So this is not really different than taking one’s homework with them on a tourist trip here or simply coming to the US to engage in research as part of one’s studies which would be an acceptable B visitor activity. But, to be honest, I am merely guessing here. More than 3000 lawyers subscribe to our newsletter and I will invite any of them to contact me if they have heard anything about this issue.
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I have no further information on Interbank. You might find an article we published on our site a few weeks ago interesting. The article discusses recent changes to the law which offer some protections for people adversely affected by the mess. It is at http://visalaw.wpengine.com/02oct1/2oct102.html.
It was stated in your Bulletin of Aug 24 2001, that Mr.Geisler & Mr.Connor of the Interbank Group had been found guilty of visa fraud and money laundering. They probably were to be sentenced later this year. Is there any further development in the matter. Does the now introduced Alien Adjustment Entrepreneur Adjustment Act in the Senate change things in such matters. As a number of people had invested in such companies as the InterBank.
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My present visa expired in the month of September and new H1 is filed by another company in the same month.i have the new LIN number with me.Is it possible to transfer my H1 to another company on the basis of LIN number or should i wait till my present H1 approval .
If you have been in H-1B status and have not had any violations, then you should be able to transfer to a new H-1B employer upon the filing of a change of status application rather than waiting for the approval of the change application. Most lawyer recommend you wait for the filing receipt to arrive before switching. And, of course, you face a risk if the change application has been denied and you have already left the original H-1B employer.
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I’ve got a question concerning a natural born child. If the mother is American and has lived in the US all her life, the child is American. Does the foreign father have any rights as the father of an American child as far as getting a green card or passport or citizenship?
I presume the mother is not married to the father or otherwise does not wish to sponsor him. The child can sponsor the father for a green card after the child is 21.
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I would like to know if two people can get married by phone and have the marriage count for immigration?
Depends. First, the marriage ceremony conducted via telephone would need to be legal in the place it is performed. Second, the marriage will actually need to be consummated by cohabitation between the parties after the ceremony. The Immigration and Nationality Act defines “spouse” in a manner that excludes parties that are not physically in each other’s presence. So this would exclude telephone, proxy, radio, video and similar absentee marriages unless they have been consummated.
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