Iron Mountain, MI Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

U.S.C.I.S. recognizes the fact that you can use a spouse’s last name once you marry. That being said, your H-1B approval most likely has the name that you are now using. If you wish the approval sheet to be changed, you would likely have to go through the H-1B amendment process. On the I-140 petition, your employer can attempt to explain to U.S.C.I.S. that you are now married and wish to use your spouse’s last name so that the I-140 petition reflects your desired name. When you file for your I-485 adjustment of status application if adjusting in the U. S. or DS – 260 if consular processing your immigrant visa, you can put in the new name, and your green card will then be spelled in the way that you wish. 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.  

Based on the facts you provided, you should be eligible to adjust status in the US. An attorney would have to review your case history to see if there were any other bars to adjustment. However, barring any other issues, you should contact USCIS to explain this issue.

You certainly can petition the immigration authorities for a work visa for this French national. The petition might be for an E visa, L visa, or H visa; to recommend the best option, your attorney would need to know much more about your business and about the particular worker when the information you provided. It is possible that your worker's credentials and the nature of his work for you in the U.S. might qualify him for an O or P visa. You might also consider filing a petition for an immigrant visa (so called "green card petition") for your worker; however, it is a long process, and most employers prefer to start it when the worker is already in the U.S. on one of the listed work visas. The processing times and the costs will vary depending on the visa you will end up petitioning for, but, to give you ballpark figures, E, L, O, and P visas can take from 1.5 to 4 months (unless you are willing to spend $1225 for premium processing and get the petition adjudicated within 15 days) and cost $325 (petition fee) (plus $750 or $1500 ACWIA fee for H-1 visa plus $500 FPD fee for H or L visa plus $2000 / $2250 P.L.111-230 fee for H1/L1 visas if your business is required to pay it). H-1B petition cannot be filed until April 1 and, if approved, it would allow your employee to begin working for you in the U.S. from October 1. Attorney fees in most cases range from $3500 to $8000, depending on the type of the visa requested and complexity of the circumstances.