Date: March 7, 2015

From the Desk of:

Sashti Srinivasan,

Founder, www.globalmatri.org

Dear Parents of Brides and Grooms Living the World Over!

Our e-broadcast on Immigration update made two weeks ago on February 28 2015 re: H4 Spouses of certain qualifying H1B visa holders, being permitted to seek gainful employment in the U.S., brought in a spate of calls from Parents living in India and Singapore, concerned about their wards in the U.S., as to how that could favorably help facilitate seeking of matrimonial alliances for their wards?! Many of these questions demonstrate the naivety or lack of understanding by parents with regards to different situations of their wards in the U.S. on H1B and other visas, in various stages? as well as the rules governing the H1B visa holders in various stages in the U.S. So, this week, I thought I would devote this Newsletter to address the concerns Parents of Brides and Grooms, living in the U.S. under H1B in different stages, just to keep them well-informed! As it seems to impact much of their matrimonial search! I will pose some of the sample questions, about which the Parents called me from India, with some of my own brief answers below:

1. Question: "My daughter has applied for a Green Card (meaning she is on a H1B visa, transitioning to Green Card) - can she marry a boy who is on a "straight" H1B visa, not applied for Green Card (meaning whose Petition has not been filed for a Green Card)?"

Answer: By all means, she can marry the Boy on H1B visa (whose Petition has not been filed for a Green Card) ~ in this case, the girl has to include the boy (her husband) after matrimony, into her Filing for Green Card as her spouse and both of them would get their green cards at the same time, based on effective the date of filing of the Green Card application. And they can live happily ever after until they get their green cards in their hands! No pressure to leave the shores of the United States. If children are born to them, in the mean time, before they get their Green Cards, the children are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.

2. Question: "I have a daughter in India ~ can she marry a boy in U.S., on H1B visa, and come to the United States and seek gainful employment employment in the U. S. (and "not sit at home, on the bench"?! when she comes to the U.S.)?"

Answer: As clarified in our earlier e-broadcast, Eligible individuals include certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B non-immigrant workers who:

(a) are the principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with an H1B transitioning into a Green Card. In other words, the H1B worker must have submitted Form I-140 which has been approved (meaning he is in a status, transitioning from a H1B into a Green Card).

(b) those on H1B and who have been granted extended, indefinite stay beyond the 6 year maximum period (two terms of 3 years each under H1B), under sections 106 (a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000, transitioning from H1B ~ Green Card are also eligible to apply to work legally in the U.S.

So a bride from India getting married to one of the above two eligible prospects (under H1B transitioning into Green Card), and having necessary technical qualifications, would be eligible to seek work legally in the U.S. upon her arrival here. She will probably still come to the U.S. from India under a H4 status, after her marriage, and will have to apply for a H1B status (to work legally), as all other spouses living in the U.S. do, once in the U.S., with all necessary documentation, such as employment offer, and other pertinent papers.

Note: Spouses of those who are on a Straight H1B status (meaning those who are NOT transitioning into a Green Card status, under above two ground Rules), would be ineligible to seek gainful employment in the U.S.

All those seeking matrimony to H1B boys, may verify their exact visa status, within H1B, meaning whether they are on Straight H1B and/or transitioning into a Green Card Status under the above two rules. Caveat Emptor in Latin means, "Let the Purchaser Beware"! So exercise proper due diligence, in your "search and seek process" as you approach H1B status boys in the U.S. in seeking matrimony!

3. Question: "Can my son, now in the U.S. on H1B, apply for a Green Card?"

Answer: Application for a Green Card of those on a H1B status, must be sponsored by his Employer - he cannot make a direct application for a Green Card by himself; however, if the boy/girl has a PhD Degree from the U.S., and has amply demonstrated that his/her theory/contribution is very important to the Science and Industry or to his employer, and/or has filed for Patents on his/her thesis or work, or his/her Papers have been accepted and published in leading journals in the U.S., he/she can apply for a Green Card on his/her own (and does not need his employer sponsorship) on an "Express Expedited" status, for receiving Green Card, provided, of course, he or she meets the six criteria established by USCIS for "acid test" on his/her abilities of demonstrated/proven work in his/her own field! I understand that USCIS has tightened its six-point criteria for qualifying applicants for grant of a Green Card under this Program, so you will still need a very able and experienced Immigration Attorney, with expertise in this specific area, to do your filing!

4. Question: "Our son's Green Card application was filed in 2010? He has been saying for the last few years that he will be getting his Green Card next year! When may he look forward to receiving his Green Card on hand?"

Answer: The State Department reported in its February, 2015 Visa Bulletin that Indian EB2 applicants (with M.S. Degrees from the U.S.) who had filed before September 1, 2005, almost a decade ago, were now being reviewed for processing of Green Cards. Indian EB3 applicants (without a Masters Degree, just an undergrad degree from India) who filed their applications for Green Cards before December 22, 2003, are also presently being reviewed for processing of Green Cards. It is my understanding that approximately 7,500 ~ 10,000 EB2 applications are processed for Green Cards each year; reportedly there are over 250,000 applications pending under EB2 category alone effective September 1, 2005 till to-date, so you can do your math as to when your son whose application was filed in 2010 could get his Green Card on hand! at the rate at which Green Cards are processed each year, unless the quota for green cards under this category for India is increased substantially by Law. Don't expect this to happen any time soon!

5. Question: "My daughter is doing her M.S. in the U.S. as a Student? Can she seek matrimony to someone who is on H1B with his approved Green Card Petition?"

Answer: Yes, by all means! With the announcement by USCIS on H1B visa holders transitioning into Green Card Status, spouses being able to work in the U.S. legally, the stock value of H1B~GC boys has suddenly gone up by ten fold! Suddenly, they have become as good as U.S. citizen Boys! in being sought after! Brides on straight H1B, F1 visa status getting married to Boys with H1B-GC status (under the above two Rules) can be included into the boy's Petition for Green Card, eventually they both get the Green Cards at the same time, whenever that happens and can continue to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely, until they receive their green cards on hand. Suddenly, those with H1B~GC status have become as good as a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident, being sought after in matrimony. Many brides from India who were, heretofore, unwilling to relocate to the U.S. in matrimony, because they have to come here and "sit on the bench" so to speak, are now eager to step up to such alliances.

Note: Brides on straight H1B, F1 visa status getting married to Boys with H1B-GC status (under the above two Rules) can be included into the boy's Petition for Green Card, eventually they both get the Green Cards at the same time, whenever that happens and can continue to live and work in the U.S. indefinitely, until they receive their green cards on hand. That is why, the USCIS amended rules allowing H4 spouses to seek matrimony, under the above two rules, would greatly accelerate the culmination of so many weddings! Another thing it does is to facilitate relocation of the bride and/or the groom in matrimony, and still seek work under the newly announced rules by USCIS for H4 spouses.

6. Question: "I am on an L1 visa ~ can I seek matrimony to a H1B visa holder transitioning into a Green Card?"

Answer: Unless you have been sponsored for a Green Card by your employer from a L1 Status, L1 visas (non-immigrant visas) are not usually, easily transferable. They terminate when your services are transferred back to India, or at the end of your tenure/assignment to the Home Office. If you get engaged to a boy who is on a H1B~GC status, it may be a good idea to resign your present job, return back to India, get married to the boy, come back to the U.S. with a H4 status and then seek to convert it into a H1B, with a job offer, as you would then be legally permitted to seek gain employment in the U.S. with the status of your spouse under H1B~GC. You can even go back to work for your former company, if they will hire you!

The same (above) rules apply if you are on G4 visa working for World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations or its affiliates, or an employe of the Indian Embassy, under a G4 visa.

7. Question: "Our daughter, now in India, is being courted by a Green Card holder from the U.S. What should we do with this alliance?"

Answer: F2A ~ Spouses & Unmarried Children of Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders) - has retrogressed from May, 2013 to March 1 2013 ~ My guess is that it could take between 3~5 years in getting Green Cards for Spouses and children of Green Card Holders from India seeking to join their spouses (Husbands) in the U.S. Parents seeking matrimony of their daughters to Green Card Holders, beware! Unless, of course, the boy is about to become a U.S. Citizen very soon!

8. Question: "Our son's H1B visa is expiring middle of next year - his application for Green Card has not been filed ~ what are his options?!"

Answer: He has to leave the shores of the United States when his H1B visa expires. He can return to India to work in his Home Office or seek gainful employment in other Countries. Another possibility is to seek admission into Colleges and Universities in the U.S. to do a M.B.A., or a PhD Program ~ and when you get admitted, seek to change your Status to F1, as full-time Student, enrolled with at least 9 credit hours, to qualify under F1 Status. Many Indians, I know, have done this successfully! Mentally you have to be ready to become a full-time student for another 2 years, leaving your full-time job, and the nice salary it came with, every month, going back to your "School Days", some thing that you will probably enjoy! Financially, you should be savvy enough to be able to fund your schooling, lodging and stay in the U.S. for the next 2~3 years! with some luxury that you have gotten used to, like a car, insurance, your own apartment, etc.

Fortunately, Canada, bordering the United States, seems to have opened up its Express Entry for Permanent Residency. Like the U.S., Canada too is relaxing its rules governing Spousal Employment of those transitioning into Permanent Residency Status, from their Work Visa status. For more details on Immigration into Canada, see the second half of this News Bulletin: Seek a very good Canadian Immigration Law Firm to help you in that process, as not all U.S. Immigration Attorneys are well-qualified in Canadian Immigration Laws - VisaServe could be one of them!

Another possibility is to court brides in Canada, seeking well-qualified life partners; and there are plenty of them in www.globalmatri.org, seeking highly educated, well qualified bridegrooms!

DISCLAIMER: In the U.S. only a practicing Immigration Attorney can give legal advice on immigration matters; I am not a qualified and practicing Immigration attorney, thus cannot give specific advice on immigration matters! What has been discussed above, by way of sharing immigration information, is based on broad general guidelines obtaining (only) and may not apply to specific individual cases unique to them ~ exceptions to the rules always apply to specific individual cases and you should contact an Immigration Attorney on your specifics.' With the announcement of USCIS guideles re: H4 spouses of qualifying H1B visa holders, the stock value of brides and grooms transitioning from H1B~GC has shot-up by ten fold, at least in our matrimonial world! As it facilitates easy culmination of matrimony! It is as good as seeking and getting married to a Green Card Holder, because you have resolved the problem of NOT HAVING TO RETURN TO INDIA FOR GOOD! by marrying such individuals.

There are many kinds of visas on which a boy or a girl come to the United States, F1 (student visa), OPT, a straight H1B, H1B~GC, L1, J1, G4, B1/B2, TN visa, (each with a handicap) or a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) and/or U.S. citizen ~ while all most web portals show everybody as being here in the U.S., on "Work Permit" ~ which does not tell you a whole lot, when you want to seek that alliance with confidence and courage! to move forward! You're spinning you wheels with your subscriptions to those name brand web portals, sending "expressions of interest" "in dark" without even knowing whether the boy or the girl you are seeking, is the one that you would like to take the introduction forward with!

www.globalmatri.org offers a networking opportunity to all parents receiving this news letter, seeking matrimony for their wards ~ providing you with leads of brides and grooms, whose parents, just like you, are seeking matrimony for their sons and daughters, living in the U.S., Canada, Europe, U.K., Singapore, Australia, NZ, Brides from India, seeking matrimony, with NRI's