I dont wanna stay away to my child for so long :(

I came here last year on H1 and got married to a GC holder in Aug 2001. My wife filed for my green card last year. now i have 3 months old son. my visa will be expired after 5 months and becuase i dont have job right now my employer will not apply for renewal. People say that i will have to go back to my country before my visa expires. It will be very painful to stay away from my wife and kid for so long.

I am currently working in 711 store and owner of that store says that he can file for employment based petition for my GC. Now my question is that:

Is it possible to file for my GC through 711 store sponsorship whereas i came on H1B (there is huge diffrence b/w these two jobs).

If YES, how long it will take to process?
what will be the situation when my visa expires?

Thanks for everyone

kim

I came here last year on H1 and got married to a GC holder in Aug 2001. My wife filed for my green card last year. now i have 3 months old son. my visa will be expired after 5 months and becuase i dont have job right now my employer will not apply for renewal. People say that i will have to go back to my country before my visa expires. It will be very painful to stay away from my wife and kid for so long.

I am currently working in 711 store and owner of that store says that he can file for employment based petition for my GC. Now my question is that:

Is it possible to file for my GC through 711 store sponsorship whereas i came on H1B (there is huge diffrence b/w these two jobs).

If YES, how long it will take to process?
what will be the situation when my visa expires?

Thanks for everyone

kim

I have a friend that is a district manager for Starbucks in Tokyo. He would love to come and work as he used to live here while he went to school. Please let me know if these franchise stores can sponsor.

The requirements are somewhat strict for employment-based petition. First the employer has to prove that he cannot find an American for this particular job. Second, the job has to be directly related to your study. And third I believe there is a minimum salary requirement.

Dear Kim,

Ask your employer to sponsor you then get labor certification but first your employer should have proofs of sufficient financial funds. Because your labor certification might be denied and the labor dept might inform the INS about you and they might investigate, so be careful with this.

My advice get an attorney for your case coz you'll need them. My friend was petitioned by her employer and now she's waiting for her green card, max 2 yrs waiting period.

Goodluck and God Bless!

I haven't had the chance to look into it a lot because I need to go somewhere right now but since your wife is a permanent resident, you can apply to have your status adjusted.

I could be wrong on this but it's listed on the eligibility that spouses of LPR's can apply too.

Info on getting permanent residence:
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/legpermres.htm


Eligibility:
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/LPReligibility.htm

jl above is right. Our company is sponsoring someone right now, and we had first to prove that no Americans were applying/available/capable of performing the work. This may be difficult for you since this job is unskilled per INS guidelines. It isn't impossible, though, and should be pursued. If no qualified, viable applicants are found, your boss/company should be able to help. It is a long process, though, so be patient, and good luck!

Thanks to all for their comments.

But one thing is still ambiguous, if my owner applies for employment based petition and of course it will take long to process the case. my current visa will be expired in 5 months then what will be my status? Will I have to leave and wait for my GC or I can stay and work.

Thanks

kim

Thanks to all for their comments.

But one thing is still ambiguous, if my owner applies for employment based petition and of course it will take long to process the case. my current visa will be expired in 5 months then what will be my status? Will I have to leave and wait for my GC or I can stay and work.

Thanks

kim

Once your application is filed, your status is "application pending" and you can stay here legally to wait for the result. However, I believe that you're not supposed to work once your visa expires and you'll have to wait for the extension.

The above application I meant is the application for H1 extension. You need to be in valid H1 status while waiting for the green card process.

is there any other way to stay here legally?

kim