confusedgal123

If anyone abandons their H1B due to family reasons and they have to leave the usa, can they not apply for tourist visa in the future or any other visa?

Is it true that you will not get tourist visa ? Can someone confirm this please.

another one of my fiances chickening out reasons. Help please

thanks
srab

Noorah101

If someone quits their job in the USA, moves back home, and abandons the H1B visa, of course they can still apply for other visas in the future...tourist visa, immigrant visa, student visa...etc.

By quitting and moving back home, they haven't done anything illegal.

Rene

confusedgal123

Thank you Noorah - for confirming...it did sound strange to me as well and this advice was supposedly given by a lawyer....

No hope....no hope...
srab

ian-mstm

With all due respect, perhaps you should consider a different fiance! The one you have seems so hesitant to move forward... it's almost as though he doesn't want what you want out of the relationship... and that will definitely affect your life.

Ian

confusedgal123

you have a point Ian .....but he is coming round. Understandably when someone has been living in a country for nearly a decade you can see their reluctance.

Finally, he has agreed to go back home for his H1B stamping, and then see if he can apply for a dependent visa to come to the uk. Does anyone know if this will create problems? Would either country (UK and USA) make a fuss about why he chose to keep his H1B and apply for UK dependent visa?

His US employer is willing to keep sponsoring him in the meantime. So if he gets his H1B stamped and his dependent visa to uk, at least he can split his time between usa and uk.

One final question until he files for I485 , is there a time limit on how long he can be outside the US.

Thanks again for all the responses - its been comforting in very stressful times!

Srab

Bluegrass Lass

Maybe this is one of those areas that I need to bone up on my information a bit. I didn't think the employer could continue to sponsor him if he was no longer in the country or working for them? Doesn't either of those actions invalidate the H1B? Or are you saying, CG, that your fiance will travel back and forth between the US and UK in order to keep his H1B active?

If that is possible, I didn't even know you could do that. Shows that I still have much to learn myself!

confusedgal123

Well I am not entirely sure - so still would welcome some clarity. But he would still be working for his US employer - remotely (as in from uk). And go back to the US from time to time until his I485 needs to be filed (which could be years).

But instead of applying for a tourist visa to the UK - I would much rather prefer he comes to uk as my dependent so there is no fuss at the customs when he travels regularly in and out.

tricky huh...there is no real easy solution here - unless obviously tomorrow they declare the eb3 category priority date as current...sigh

Ray

You cannot be on a H1 for 10 years straight ...

I think its a max of seven years

Noorah101

In my layman's opinion, this will plan will cause issues. Besides the issue of working remotely for the US employer (I have no idea if that's possible), it seems to me he would invalidate his case for becoming a US Permanent Resident, once he applies to live permanently in the UK.

He can't be a permanent resident in two places at once, and if USCIS realizes he's actually living in the UK instead of the USA, it seems that his US green card application would be moot.

I could be way off, just thinking out loud here.

Rene

dave2702

Well you can, once your 6 years are up, provided you've submitted your application for Permanent Residency you can stay on yearly renewals of the H1B for many more years until your priority date comes up

confusedgal123

Thanks for all the responses... Noorah - your thought process makes sense - I see your point too and I am not sure - we probably need to find out more on this.

He initially moved there as a student and he only moved to H1B in 2006...so he has had that for just 3 years.....

srab

newXgate

I believe you might be incorrect about the US GC application being affected by residence in UK. The premise of the employment based GC petition is that it is based on an offer of future employment by the petitioning employer. There is nothing to stop someone residing in the UK applying for a GC as long as they can demonstrate that the employer is really offering that job and can pay the salary. Once the employment based part of the application process (I140 petition) is approved the OP can apply using consular processing through the US embassy. In fact, that is how the GC process was supposed to work - the current tendency for those already in the US on NI visas to receive GC's using AOS was supposed to be the exception, not the rule. And whatever the OP does regarding UK permanent residency is irrelevant to the USCIS, as long as they satisfy the rules for residence in the US once they become a PR.

Noorah101

Thank you, I was thinking along the lines of marriage-based green card which I'm more familiar with.

Rene

confusedgal123

This is music to my ears - newXgate...are you saying that as long as the US employer continues to sponsor my fiancé while he is not in the US – he could still file for his I485 from outside the US using consular processing?

1.My fiancé’s I-140 has already been approved, and he is now waiting to file for I485, what does he need to do to ensure he can go for consular processing (CP)? Can he do this from the US embassy in UK, if he is living here at the time.

2. to ensure his GC application is still valid – what does he need to do? Does he need to work for the US employer from abroad, OR can his employer still sponsor him and as long as they show they are willing to offer him a job and pay his salary when he gets his PR? Is this sufficient?

3. Since my fiancé changed his status to H1B from student visa while in the US, he never got the H1B visa stamped onto his passport. Is this going to be a problem when he applies for consular processing from abroad – would you advise he applies for the visa stamping when he returns to his home country? He will be returning to his home country anyway to apply as for UK spouse visa.

Sorry for bombarding you with more questions, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting too happy before knowing all the facts. Thank you

Srab

newXgate

If your fiancé has reached the I-140 stage, he could elect to use what is called consular processing (abbreviated to CP) to file for his green card. Essentially this means that the processing takes place via the US embassy in London rather than at a USCIS processing centre in the US. You would need to inform USCIS that you wish to switch to CP by filing the I-824 form with the USCIS office that approved the I-140. Then you would do the remaining application steps via a US consulate.

This link provides a bit more information about the difference between CP and AOS.

I am not sure about whether he could file at the US embassy in London or whether it would need to be at the embassy in his home country. You would need to check the embassy website and/or contact them to determine this.

I believe that all that is required is that the employer have a credible, current job offer and that they can meet the salary requirements.

I don't believe this would be a problem as regards CP, since you are outside the country there is no requirement to prove your current status. There is a whole other issue of whether he can continue to use the H1-B if he is essentially resident in another country- this would require some professional advice to determine how to proceed.

PLEASE NOTE : I am not a lawyer. The advice I gave above is general, not specific to your situation, and may not be accurate in every respect. In your case I would strongly suggest having at least a consultation with an immigration lawyer, to determine the best way forward. For example, if your fiancé has had any violations of status he may be better off using AOS and not CP, or not - depending on the circumstances. There is also the issue of whether he can continue using the H1-B visa. And so on. Good luck.