U.S. Immigration Explained Blog

ACTS EFFECTING H-1B VISAS AND FAMILY-BASED VISAS

AC21: AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS IN THE 21st CENTURY ACT (October 2000)

This act made several changes to immigration law, some of which are very helpful.

In regards to H-1B visas, if you filed an employment based 1-3 Green Card and are unable to receive one because your country limit has been reached, you are able to extend your H-1B visa until your case has been processed and decided upon.

In relation to the above, if a Labor Certification Green Card case was filed, or an Adjustment of Status case (final state of Green Card through employment) was filed and 365 days have passed, the H-1B visa may be renewed for more than six years.

As an H-1B visa holder, if you decide to switch jobs, you no longer have to wait for your new case to be approved. As long as the case you filed is legitimate, you may work as soon as the government obtains the paperwork. However, if your original H-1B visa is expired, even by so much as one day, this exception will not apply to you.

If you applied for a Green Card through an EB-2 or EB-3 visa, and you have filed an Adjustment of Status which has been waiting for 180 days or longer with the USCIS, then you may transfer it to a new position as long as the job classification is the same as the job for which you applied for in the case.

FAMILIES UNDER THE ACT

This Act created two new visas. These visas are the V and K-3. The V visa is for non-U.S. citizens who are Green Card holders and have filed for their spouse or children prior to December 21, 2000, and have waited for three years for the petition to be approved. This visa permits work authorization and Adjustment of Status in the United States.

The K-3 visa is designed for couples who marry outside of the United States. The K-3 visa shortens the wait time for the newly married couple to be able to enter the United States in legal status. Before this Act was passed, if you married someone abroad, you would have to wait for him or her to receive a Green Card in order to bring them into the country, and this could take one year or longer. Presently, with the K-3 visa, the non-U.S. citizen spouse can enter the United States in four to eight months’ of their marriage and wait for their Green Card in the country.

FAMILY SPONSOR IMMIGRATION ACT OF 2002 (March 2002)

When a U.S. citizen marries a non-U.S. citizen spouse, the U.S. citizen must prove that they make a certain amount of money or have own other items or property of value, such as land, stocks, bonds, etc. The U.S. citizen spouse must do this on a form known as an Affidavit of Support. Unfortunately, there were situations when the sponsor (U.S. citizen spouse) died, creating serious problems for the non-U.S. citizen spouse. This Act now allows for certain substitutions.*