S2NRI

Do you think flying to the US could be as easy as it, generally, is?

This year could, probably, be the last season of meeting expected barriers. From next year onwards, the citizens could kick off the visa filing process on April 1, 2019 encountering new challenges. Simultaneously, they should know more about the amendments or the USCIS updates.

This blog reads an update from the office of the USCIS-the immigration authority of the US. However, it was expected that the Trump administration would tweak the existing immigration policy. He has been known for his strict stance over the immigration policy. His blunt approach is a matter of worries for the NRI and Indian diaspora.

So! Here is all what you should know prior to filing the H1B visa application.

What’s the annual visa cap?

The H1B visa is the most sought after non-immigrant visa, permitting companies to recruit foreign employees in specialty occupations. If you look at the IT sector of the USA, its IT firms and other tech companies will emerge in a great need of the highly skilled workforce from the countries, like India and China. Interestingly, Indians win more than 60% of these visas.

What the Times of India has published is indeed noteworthy. It stated that the new fiscal year is going to kick off on April1, 2019. They will have to file petitions for H1B visas, as usually they do. But, the visa process will be a bit different in the upcoming year. As approved by the US office of Management and Budget (MOB), the US employers should keep in mind that:

• They have to pre-register on a digital platform for the annual H1 B lottery.
• The lottery system will filter 65,000 visa applications under the regular quota.
• Also, the master cap for this visa will draw 20,000 more applicants. These would be those candidates who are boasting an advanced degree from the US universities.
• The USCIS will invite the winner of the lottery system for its full-fledge visa application process. It includes enclosure of all necessary documents. Previously, the document attachment was a part of the first step, i.e. the lottery system. Simply put, the employers had to file upfront in April, together with all supporting certificates.

This amendment is introduced while keeping these points in mind:

• These amendments in the US immigration policy will spare the efforts of the companies that, often, input when it came to filing a petition. It’s so because many candidates were left unselected in the visa lottery. But, the companies had to go through the complete visa petitioning.
• The USCIS will be able to manage the intake and selection process for H1B visa more effectively and efficiently.

Why should Indians worry?

Besides the aforementioned advantages for the US immigration authority, the NRIs community and the NRI service providers are quite disappointed. They are afraid of the fact that the new rule could provide liberty to that authority. It may not fairly decide who can work in America.

This execution of the pre-registration program, as mentioned in the Form ETA 9035 (Labour Certification Form), which is effective from 19 November, can threaten the fair and random H1B lottery. This is what the managing attorney at NPZ Law Group, David H Nachman, told the Daily.

He also stated that the new labour certification will necessitate employers to reveal if they have put the details of the H1B workers on the third party websites. That mentioning could be utilized to filter the applicants who don’t require third party placements. It could also end up in a discrimination wherein the sponsoring companies that have less foreign applicants would win the lottery.

However, this amendment is a proposition that could take three to six months for making entry to the Federal Registry.  Besides, the public feedback can play a game-changing role in it.

 

Do you likely to settle in the US?

It’s easy, if you get a favour from the native of that country. The lawful or permanent citizen of that country should prove relationship with certain alien relatives. Thereby, the non-resident of India or of some other country can immigrate to the United States.

What is Form i-130?

The Form i-130 mirrors A to Z details of the immigrant who is sponsored by the lawful citizen of the US. What the relationship is between the petitioner and the beneficiary-it should be mentioned explicitly in the form I-130. It straightly asks about the adoption, step relationship, previous marriage and the immigration history of the NRIs.

As per I-130 instructions, this form is divided into six sections, from A to F.   Let’s catch a cursory look into what instructions are mandatory to fill into.

Part A: About Relationship

Do keep in your mind that the US citizen has a privilege to sponsor any of the spouse, parents, brother/sister or a child. On the flip side, the lawful permanent citizen/green card holder can sponsor the spouse or a child only.

1. Select the type of relative you’re sponsoring to.
2. If sponsoring an adoptive child,

• Select the type of relationship among biological/stepparent or adoptive.
• Submit additional proofs of your relationship, if it’s petitioned for an adoptive relationship.
• The marriage of the stepfather or stepmother should occur before the child turns 18. Otherwise, sponsoring a visa could be difficult for the child.

3. If sponsoring the parents,

• File a separate petition for mother and father respectively.
• It’s self-explanatory.

4. If you’re getting a permanent residency from the NRIs,

• Select ‘Yes’, otherwise ‘No’.

 

Part B: About Petitioner

This section is meant to churn about the sponsor or the petitioner in particular. The country of domicile would definitely be pivotal in the whole process. If he is a licit green card holder, he could easily prepare Form i-864, which is known as the Affidavit of Support.

What this section asks about the petitioner comprises:

• Last name in all caps at the foremost position
• The sequence of the name should be Surname in All Caps, first name and then, the middle name.
• Mention the domicile. If the native lives outside America for work purpose temporarily and has an intention to come back, his country of domicile would be the same (i.e. America).
• If the petitioner lives outside permanently, he should enclose some concrete proofs in support.
• State the marital status. It should be the most recent. It means that the divorcee might have solemnized the marriage recently. In that case, the marital status should be ‘Married’.
• Write maiden name. It determines the name of the women before marriage. Some women swap their last name with the surname of their husband after marriage.
• Type the ‘A number’ that consists of the letter A (for Alien) trailed by eight digits. The USCIS (Immigration authority of the US) assigns this number if you’ve applied for the permanent residency as an NRI/ or you’re a temporary resident/ or, have been deporting.

If you don’t have it, leave it blank. Avoid writing ‘none’.

• Make sure that the legal process pertaining to your divorce is wrapped up, if you have been re-married. Otherwise, you have to hire an attorney.
• The permanent resident should write ‘N/A’. If the citizenship comes through naturalization, write the number mentioned on the top right of your naturalization certificate.
• If you’ve attained the permanent residency through marriage with the native spouse, you can’t sponsor a new spouse for 5 years. If that spouse dies in that time period or the matrimony terminated and was proven that it was not intended to deceive, you can get the green card. Enclose the evidences of your married life with the US native, like shared rent receipt, child’s birth certificate, club membership, utility bills & insurance policies.

Part C: About Beneficiary (Alien Relative)

• Naming conventions in sequence: Last name in all caps, first name in small letters and middle name in small letters.
• Write the most recent marital status. If you’re married post giving a divorce, you should write ‘Married’.
• Write the maiden name that is the name of the woman before marriage.
• Mention the social security number, if any. It’s assigned to those who got the work permit or work visa in the US before.
• Put down ‘A Number’ (Alien Number), if there is any.
• If your spouse is a petitioner/sponsor, ensure that you’re divorced legally before getting married to the current spouse.
• Mention your legal status along with I-94 number, date of arrival and expiry date of the authorized stay. Otherwise, you have to put down ‘without inspection’, if your entered illegally.
• Write the name & address of the employer. If self-employed, write it down. Write ‘none’, if you’re retired/ housewife or house-husband.
• Consult the attorney, if you’re caught up in immigration proceedings.
• Pen down the name of all children from the current as well as previous marriage.
• Mention the address of your sponsoring relative as it’s yours to avoid the suspicion of the USCIS officials. If you’ve a concrete reason to put another address there, enclose the description.
• Mention your address of the country, if you live outside the US. Put ‘None’, if you stay in the US.
• Write or type the name of the beneficiary in the script other than the Roman script, like Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Chinese and Hebrew etc. Since doing so online is not possible, you can download and write it manually later.
• If you illegally accommodate the US and are going to exit, your spouse could be probed later.
• If you’re eligible to apply for the Adjustment of Status, you can apply for it. But if you don’t want to continue living in the US, you don’t need to mention the consular processing. Your illegal stay prohibits applying for changing the status. But, if you’re from outside the US, don’t mention the city.

Part D: US Citizen/Permanent Residents

• You can file more than one petition at a time for your spouse, children or relatives. Their proceeding would go simultaneously.
• Fill the matrimonial details carefully. If your previous marriages were short-lived and you’ve petitioned all/most of the times, you would undergo doubts. The inquiry regarding fraud could be initialized.

Part E: Contact Details

• Put down your signature, date and phone number

Part F: Contact Details of the Person Filling Your Form

• Ink the signature of the person who is neither beneficiary nor petitioner
• Provide details of the attorney/Solicitor, if he is filling this form.
• Don’t write the name of the friends or relatives who would have helped you in filling this form.