Audubon, NJ Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

We have seen this become an issue in certain cases but not in others. In general, it should not be an issue since the green card is only physical indicia of LPR status and the fact that the green card expires does NOT mean that LPR status of its holder is eliminated. However, due to the fact that the naturalization process can be delayed for applicants for a variety of reasons we recommend that you do apply to extend the green card.

In general when an individual is in the U.S. and they petition for an H-1B then they are granted a change of status to H-1B and they get a new I-94. If your company did not ask for a change of status then you likely received an approved H-1B but you did not get the new I-94. If you leave the U.S. you will have to go for a stamping to return in H-1B status. You may be able to use the B-1/B-2 to effectuate an entry (assuming that the visa stamp is till valid) but then you will not be able to go on the payroll of the U.S. company. The best thing to do if you leave on a trip is to plan to do your stamping at a U.S. Consulate Office abroad. You can do this either in your home country or in e thir-country. If you do it in a country other then your home country the process is called TCP or Third-Country Processing. Often these cases are placed under Administrative processing unless you have a good reason why you are doing the TCP process.

You are allowed to attempt different avenues of immigration. The difficulty may be that you will not be qualified to adjust status to permanent residence in the country since you are already out of status. While there is an exemption that allows immediate relatives of US citizens to adjust status without leaving the country if they have overstayed, that exemption does not apply to the immediate relatives of permanent residents. If you have not been out of status for more than 180 days, you may decide to leave at this point after marrying your girlfriend who would then apply for your residence status which you could ultimately obtain after interview at the American consulate or embassy in your home country.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.