Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/answers/alt/us-visa-faq/part6

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From: [e-mail] (B.G. Mahesh)
Subject: FAQ : alt.visa.us GC and Citzenship questions and answers (part 6 of 6)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: alt.visa.us
Summary: Frequently Asked questions for alt.visa.us (GC and Citizenship)
Keywords: FAQ alt.visa.us Green card and citizenship
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: EVB Software Engineering, Inc.
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 21:55:14 GMT
Approved: [e-mail]
Lines: 403
X-Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed are strictly those of the
          poster and not necessarily those of EVB.
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu alt.visa.us:4305 alt.answers:2277 news.answers:17064

Archive-name: us-visa-faq/part6
Last-Modified: March 31, 1994

Currently, the alt.visa.us FAQ is maintained by
B.G. Mahesh [[e-mail]]

Many FAQs, including this one, are available via FTP on the archive site
rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The path for this
faq is /pub/usenet/news.answers/us-visa-faq/part6. To get the FAQ by
E-mail, you should send a message to [e-mail] with
        send usenet/news.answers/us-visa-faq/part6
in the body of the message.

Please see part1 of this faq for standard disclaimers.

Questions marked with a + indicate questions new to this issue;
those with significant changes of content since the last issue
are marked by *:


                    Labor/GC
                    --------

Q. How many days/weeks/months does it take to get a Labor Clearance
   for GC?
A: [from B.G. Mahesh, [e-mail]]
   This depends on the state you reside. After you send in the responses
   for your advertisement it can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months
   [assuming the labor department did not find any problem with your case]

Q. What is involved in the labor certification?
A:  [from B.G. Mahesh, [e-mail]]
    o Prepare a job description for the job being offered.
    o Job must be "permanent".
    o Alien must be paid at least the minimum wages prevalent
      for the job in the geographical area of employment.
    o You need to advertise the job for 10 business days in your office
    o Advertise for 3 consecutive days in a newspaper.

    DOL [dept of labor] will send in all the responses they get
    for your advertisement and your employer needs to justify why
    you are better than other applicants. If the DOL doesn't approve
    your labor then you can't apply for labor clearance for the next
    6 months.

Q. Does the employer need to show the company's finances?
A:  [from B.G. Mahesh, [e-mail]]
    Basically the employer needs to demonstrate that the company is
    financially sound and it can afford to employ you. So your
    employer may have to show the company's finances.

Q. Should I apply for GC together with the H-1B, or after I get the H-1B?
A: [from B.G. Mahesh, [e-mail]]
   You can apply for GC with H-1B but it is advisable to wait for about
   3-6 months after you get H-1B to apply for GC.

Q: If one were waiting for a GC date to become current,
   after one got one's labor certification AND the 6 year
   limit on H-1B expires while waiting, will one have to
   leave the country ?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   Yes, unless you are close enough to getting a green card so
   that your adjustment of status application can be filed, so
   that you may get a work permit through pendency of adjustment
   status.

Q: Will all the GC wait come to a naught in this case , or can
   one wait for it outside the country ?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   You can MOST certainly wait outside the country.

Q: When Labor Certification has been recieved, is H-1B still the
   operating visa, or do you fall under some new status ?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   Mere receipt of labor certification does not change your status.
   You have to apply to the INS for change of status.

Q: Can one apply for GC through an employer while on H-1 for
   another employer?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   Yes.  The labor cert is for a job in future, which is
   currently available to test the labor market.  It is open
   for US workers.  The "alien" may only accept it upon receiving
   his/her permanent residence.  The H-1, however, is for an entirely
   different job.

Q: Can an applicant qualify for a GC without going through
   Labor Certification?
A: [from Jaap Akkerhuis, [e-mail] ]

  To qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher, INS requires
  meeting at least two of six criteria as follows:

    (1) Receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding
        achievement in the academic field.
    (2) Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievements
        for their members.
    (3) Published material in professional publications written by
        others on behalf of the person's work in the academic field.
    (4) Evidence of the person's participation either individually or
        a panel as the judge of work of others in the same or allied
        academic field.
    (5) Evidence of the person's original scientific or scholarly
        research contributions in the academic field.
    (6) Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles in
        scholarly journals with international circulation in the
        academic field

    In addition, the person must have at least three years of experience
    in the academic field. Such work while working on an advanced degree
    is not acceptable unless the person obtained the degree and the person
    had full responsibility for classes taught or, for research conducted
    toward the degree, it has been recognized within the academic field as
    outstanding. Such evidence can be in the form of letter or letters from
    current or former employers.

    So note that a PhD is not required (I don't have one).

Q: What category spouses of GC holders fall under?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   Family preference 2A.

Q: What is the waiting period for such cases?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   As of December 1993:
   Appx. 2.5 to 3 years for India.

Q: And, I had heard that there was a bill up for vote.  Do you have
   any information on this?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
    The proposed special noimmigrant "S" visas were never voted
    on in Congress.  The bill is on the back burner.

Q: What is the time-frame to get a GC if the spouse is an U.S. citizen?
A: [from B.G. Mahesh, [e-mail]]
   You will get a temporary green card as soon as you marry
   a US citizen. After 2 years that card will get a permanent
   GC [You have to prove/show to INS that the marriage is genuine].

Q. Does a parent (green card holder) who has filed for a green card for
   his/her unmarried child who is under 21 years of age, have to file
   another petition if the child turns 21 while waiting for the green card?
A: [from Suresh, [e-mail]]
   NO, the petition is automatically moved from category 2A (unmarried
   children under the age of 21) to category 2B (unmarried children over
   the age of 21--I'm not sure if this category includes married children
   also). The 2B category moves much slower than 2A.

Q: Can GC holders sponsor for their parents GC?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   US GC holder can *only* sponsor his/her spouse and unmarried children.

Q: If I gained lawful permanent resident status (LPR) through a
    previous marriage, can I petition for my current spouse to immigrate
    to the US based on my LPR?"
A: [From Brandon Nutter, [e-mail]]
   You may NOT file an I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) for

   E. A husband or wife if you gained lawful permanent resident status
      by virtue of a prior marriage to a United States citizen or lawful
      permanent resident unless:

     1) a period of five years has elapsed since you became a lawful
        permanent resident; OR
     2) you can establish by clear and convincing evidence that the
        prior marriage (through which you gained your immigrant status)
        was not entered into for the purpose of evading any provision of
        the immigration laws; OR
     3) your prior marriage (through which you gained your immigrant
        status) was terminated by the death of your former spouse.


Q: What does "current" mean?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
   "Current" means there is no waiting involved.  All people
    qualified for the category in question can immediately apply
    for adjustment of status (if within U.S.) or an immigrant visa
    (if outside the U.S.).


            GC Lottery
            ----------

Q: What is DV1 [Green Card] Lottery Program?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]

     The program is NOT finalized yet.  It is expected to be
     finalized in March 1994.  Applications for the program will
     probably begin to be accepted in May.  Please note, at this
     point, NOTHING is final.

Q: How does it work and who are not eligible from participating in
   this program?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]

     There is an annual limitation of 55,000 visas per year for
     diversity immigrants.  The U.S. Attorney General (acting
     through INS) will establish numerical visa quotas for each
     country.  "Natives" of each country will compete amongst
     themselves for the quota for that country.  "Native" is being
     defined as born within the territory of the foreign country,
     or entitled to be charged for immigration purposes to that
     foreign state pursuant to section 202(b) of the INA.

     The following countries may be excluded from the DV-I program
     for 1995: Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India,
     Jamaica, Korea, Mexico, the People's Republic of China,
     the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Vietnam (may
     be even Colombia, Haiti, and Taiwan).

Q: Which countries are included in the DV-1 program?
A: [From Duncan Frissell, [e-mail]]
   If you were born in any of the following countries, you
   can apply:

   Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada,
   Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (including
   Guadeloupe & New Caledonia), Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia,
   Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
   Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Sweden,
   Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
   Northern Ireland (including Bermuda & Gibraltar).

Q: Who would be eligible under the proposed regulations ?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]

     To be eligible, a person:

     1.  Must be a native of a low-admission foreign state
     (determined by the Attorney General in every Fiscal Year);

     2. must have at least a high
     school education or its equivalent (successful completion of
     twelve years of elementary and secondary education in the
     United States or successful completion in another country of
     a formal course of elementary and secondary education
     comparable to completion of twelve years' elementary and
     secondary education in the United States);
     or

     within the five years preceding the date of application for a
     visa, must have two years of work experience in an occupation
     requiring at least two years training or experience;

     3. May be in the United States or in a foreign country; and

     4. Who is in the United States need not be in lawful status.

     No more than one petition may be submitted by, or on behalf of,
     any individual for consideration during any single fiscal year.

Q: What are the proposed procedures?
A: [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]

          I. Form: The petition shall consist of a sheet of paper
     on which there shall be typed or legibly printed in the Roman
     alphabet the petitioner's name; date and place of birth
     (including city and county, province or other political
     subdivision, and country); name[s] and date[s] and place[s] of
     birth of spouse and child[ren], if any; and a current mailing
     address.

          II.  Submission: A petition shall be submitted by mail to
     the address designated by the Department for that purpose. The
     Department shall establish a period of not less than thirty
     days during each fiscal year during which petitions for
     consideration during the following fiscal year may be
     submitted. Each fiscal year, the Department shall give timely
     notice of both the mailing address and the exact dates of the
     application period, through publication in the Federal
     Register and such other methods as will ensure the widest
     possible dissemination of the information, both abroad and
     within the United States.

          III.  Mailing:
     o Petitions must be submitted by normal surface or air mail only.
     o Petitions submitted by hand, telegram, fax, or by any means
       requiring any form of special handling/acknowledgement will
       be rejected.
     o The petitioner must type or print using the Roman alphabet,
       on the upper left-hand corner of the envelope in which the
       petition is mailed,
                his or her full name and mailing address,
                the COUNTRY of which he or she is a native,
     as shown on the petition itself,  because of
     the need to sort the envelopes into six groups according to
     region, identification of the country of which the alien is a
     native on the envelope becomes indispensable. The Department
     will reject any envelope which does not bear this information.
     o Envelopes shall be between 6 and 9 inches (15 cm to 24 cm) in
       length and between 3 and 1/2 and 4 and 1/2 inches in width (9
       cm to 11 cm). Envelopes not conforming these specifications
       will be rejected.

    Note : *PLEASE* do not ask Rajiv Khanna any questions regarding
    GC lottery. If he receives any additional info the net will
    be informed immediately.



                      US Citizenship
                      --------------

Q: What is the time-frame to get U.S. citizenship if the spouse is
   an U.S. citizen?
A: [from Ashish Nedungadi, [e-mail]]
   The spouse of a US citizen gets a CONDITIONAL green card "immediately"
   after marriage.  After 2 years, the conditionality of this green card
   is removed(after successfully proving to INS that the marriage is
   legitimate).  The spouse is eliglible for his/her citizenship after
   3 years of receiving the CONDITIONAL green card.
   In a nutshell,
   3 years after obtaining one's green card(including the CONDITIONAL one)

   If you want to get more technical ["technical" may not be
   the right word :-)]
  [from Rajiv S. Khanna, [e-mail]]
  (a) Any person whose spouse is a citizen of the United States may by
      naturalized upon compliance with all the requirement of this title
      except the provisions of paragraph (1) of section 316(a) if such
      person immediately preceding the date of filing his application for
      naturalization has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted
      for permanent residence, within the United States for at least three
      years, and during the three years immediately preceding the date of
      filing his application has been living in marital union with the
      citizen spouse, who has been a United States citizen during all of
      such period, and has been physically present in the United States
      for periods totaling at least half of that time and has resided
      within the State or the district of the Service in the United States
      in which the applicant filed his application for at least three months.


+Q: Who can apply for U.S. citizenship?
A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, [e-mail]]
   Persons who are 18 years of age or older, who are lawfully
   admitted permanent resident aliens and who meet certain
   requirements (see question 3) may apply for citizenship.
   Aliens who have served in the armed forces of the U.S. are
   eligible for citizenship under special provisions.

+Q: When can I apply for U.S. citizenship?
A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, [e-mail]]
   Five years from the date of entry as a lawful permanent resident.
   If married to and living with citizen spouse in marital union for
   atleast 3 years before filing the application, the residence period
   is shortened to 3 years. You can file the application one month
   before the residence requirement is met. Also, you have to be a
   resident for 3 months in the state or INS district where you
   are filing the application.

+Q: What are the requirements for U.S. Citizenship?
A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, [e-mail]]
   There are four main requirements that must be met by every applicant.
          (a) Basic literacy in the English language.
          (b) Knowledge of U.S. history.
          (c) Five years of residency in the U.S.
          (d) Good moral character.

+Q: Under what conditions can I be denied U.S. citizenship?
A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, [e-mail]]
      (a) If you advocate or if you are a member of any organization
          that is opposed to organized government (i.e., if you preach
          and practice anarchy).
      (b) Membership in communist organizations.
      (c) If you advocate the overthrow of the U.S. Government by force,
          sabotage, violence or terrorism.
      (d) If you publish any material advocating the methods of item (c).
      (e) Exemption from services in the armed forces of the U.S.
          (unless the alien status does not permit the individual to
           serve on the armed forces or if the alien had served in the
           armed forces of his/her own country).
      (f) Desertion from military forces and draft evasion results in
          permanent ineligibility for citizenship.

+Q: Can citizenship once granted be revoked?
A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, [e-mail]]
   You bet.

+Q: Under what conditions can my citizenship be revoked?
A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, [e-mail]]
   If your behavior is not well disposed to the good order and happiness
   of the U.S. or if you concealed your wartime activities when applying
   for visas to enter the U.S. after World War II. Also, for example you do
   one of the following:
      (a) Refusal to testify before a congressional committee regarding
          alleged subversive activities within 10 years after becoming a
          U.S. citizen.
      (b) Establish permanent foreign residence within 5 years after becoming
          a U.S. citizen
      (c) Membership in an outlawed organization within 5 years after becoming
          a citizen.

   Denaturalization proceedings may be instituted against you for (a)-(c).

REFERENCES:
[1] Nancy-Jo Merritt, "Understanding Immigration Law," Makai Publishing group,
Scottsdale, Arizona, 1993.


--
B.G. Mahesh                     | Email: [e-mail]
Software Engineer            |        [e-mail]
EVB Software Engineering, Inc.     | FAQ maintainer of alt.visa.us