ACTS
EFFECTING H-1B VISAS AND FAMILY-BASED VISAS
AC21: AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS IN THE 21st
CENTURY ACT (October 2000)
[For a list of articles
see below]
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.*
Non-Immigrants
and Immigrants
Deportation
and Inadmissibility
Unlawful
Presence
Expedited
Removal and Re-Entry After Deportation
Immigration
Acts Effecting H-1B and Family Based Visas
Reference
Tool for Waivers of Inadmissibility or Removability
Grounds
for Inadmissibility and Removability
Waivers
of Inadmissibility or Removability
Other
Avenues of Relief
Articles:
I-140 Premium Processing for H-out Situations: Update #2
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