Dobbs Ferry, NY Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

That depends upon whether your bachelor’s degree was earned in the US or if not, is the equivalent of a US baccalaureate degree – and whether it is related to the position that you will be sponsored for, which must be in a specialty occupation requiring a related bachelors degree. If your bachelor’s degree is not the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree, you might be able to qualify for H-1B specialty occupation status if you had sufficient related professional work to make up for the lack of a US degree. In immigration parlance, three years of such work can make up for one year of missing education. There is even the possibility of your master schooling being added to your baccalaureate schooling to give you the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree related to the specialty occupation. If you meet those conditions, your employer can sponsor you. For FY-2025, cap H1B registration season goes from 3/6/24 – 3/22/24. If you miss this registration, you would have to wait until next year for the next round. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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.

Generally, a foreign national who is married to a U.S. citizen, and who has entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection (with a visa), will be able to succeed in a marriage-based adjustment of status application to become a Permanent Resident (to get a "Green Card"). After being a Permanent Resident for three years, the foreign national then may apply to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. It is not possible to skip the Form I-130 and I-485 application steps and go directly from having a nonimmigrant visa to an applicant for naturalization. There are many issues and considerations to determining whether a foreign national married to a U.S. citizen will be eligible for these types of applications, and it would be wise for you and your husband to consult with an immigration attorney. After learning all of the relevant information about your husband, his immigration-related history, your marriage, etc., an immigration attorney would be able to advise about eligibilities, options and strategies, and would be able to offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.

In an application from B-2 to F-1, the usual inquiry of USCIS is when was the first contact with the school. This is seen as more relevant in determining the intent of the individual upon coming to the US than applying for a driver’s license or opening a bank account. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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.