Starkville, CO Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Your husband’s employer can give verification in the form of a letter to U.S.C.I.S. that his H-1B extension petition for your husband was sent out on a timely basis along with your H-4 extension request. The employer can further provide a copy of the paperwork along with proof of delivery to U.S.C.I.S. Then it will be incumbent upon U.S.C.I.S. to search its own records for your H-4 extension filing. U.S.C.I.S. generally does not give grace periods past the last date on responding to a request for evidence. 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.  

You may be able to change your status (for example, to that of a student--F1), but if your J1 is subject to the two-year residency requirement, changing status would not eliminate that requirement.  Extending your J1 status would be up to your program sponsor.

The 2 applications are completely separate and you can apply for deferred action. *Dream Act - Deferred Action* As you may have heard, the DREAM ACT Deferred Action has now given the opportunity for numerous people to apply for the deferred action. This is not residency and it is not citizenship. However, if done properly, it does permit the issuance from U.S. Immigration of the approval of the Deferred Action, which in turn will allow you to get a work permit, remain legally in the U.S. for the duration of the approval of the deferred action and to be assured that you will not be placed into deportation proceedings. Additionally, this procedure will allow for us to apply for the DREAM Act Deferred Action even if you are in deportation / removal proceedings. Additionally, if you already have a removal or deportation order, we can apply for this relief. Finally, even if you or somebody you know is outside the U.S. that has been deported, but would have qualified, that person also is eligible to apply for the DREAM Act Deferred Action. Keep in mind a few advisals: 1. If President Obama is not re-elected, this form of Deferred Action may be denied and/or revoked; 2. There are no derivative beneficiaries that can apply for this type of Deferred Action. Therefore, there is a risk that you may get the approval, but your parents may be targeted to be placed into Removal Proceedings. However, at that point, depending on the particular case, we may be able to be retained to prepare and submit a Request for Prosecutorial Discretion. 3. If your DREAM Act Deferred Action is denied, there is always the risk that you will be placed into Removal Proceedings. However, the option for you to submit the Request for Prosecutorial Discretion is also open.