Flushing, NY Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

It depends on your conviction. They might not hold you at all, and let you leave on your own. Hire an attorney to help you. Also, I am not sure why you would like to turn yourself in, rather than leaving the country, so an attorney's advice that you can get in private is a really good idea in this case.

First, lets clear the misunderstanding: L2 is not a green card, it is a non-immigrant visa given to spouses and children of L1 visa holders (so you husband cannot receive an L2 unless he marries someone who has an L1 visa or expects to receive it). L1 visa is a visa for executives, managers, and specialists who worked for a company abroad and is being transferred into that company's branch or affiliate firm in the United States. For instance, is a major bank in Japan wants to send its chief electronic security specialist to work in the bank's New York offices, that specialist would get an L1 visa. Technically, it is possible for a person with H1 visa to receive an L1: just imagine that the guy in my first example used to work as an electronic security manager at that Japanese bank 5 years ago; then went to MIT for a PhD, and was later hired by Chase on an H1 visa; if the Japanese bank would want to offer him a managerial position in its U.S. branch, our guy would change status from H-1 to L1. If this, or similar scenario applies to your husband, he would receive an L1 - and you and your children would receive L2 visas. With an L2, you can get work authorization. On the other hand, your husband's employer can file a green card petition for him. On such petition's approval, your husband would receive a green card. If you remain married, you would receive a green card, too. (Your children would receive green cards through their father even if you divorce him, unless you take custody and leave the U.S. with the children, before the green cards are received.) While you have your H4 as a derivative beneficiary of your husband's H1 status, your divorce would terminate your H4 visa status, and you would have to leave the U.S. (again, children can retain their H4 status and stay in the U.S. with their father, unless you obtain sole physical custody). Same applies to L2: if you derive your status from being married to the principal visa holder, then divorcing him terminates your basis of eligibility for the visa. As a practical matter, it is very unlikely that USCIS would learn about your divorce and revoke your visa (unless, of course, your husband informs them). And, without a notice of revocation, you can remain in the U.S. to the end of your current status as marked on your Form I-94. But you would not be able to renew your derivative status after divorcing your husband. The only way to remain in the U.S. legally then would be changing your status to some other: based on a petition from *your* employer or from your new husband, or based on your acceptance as a student into an accredited learning institution, etc. If your husband's employer gets a green card for your husband, and you and your children receive green cards as derivative beneficiaries, you will be able to retain the permanent resident status even if you divorce your husband the very next day after receiving your green card. As the final remark, if your husband is abusive towards you and/or your children, consult an immigration attorney: even if you are completely dependent on your husband, you are not defenseless against his abuse.

I have no way to know if there are any special circumstances in your case that make appointing an agent (other than yourself or your attorney) necessary, but this is the first time I hear about such a need. If you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (i.e., a green card holder) and have a mailing address, there is no reason for you to ask a third party to act as your agent in communications with USCIS. If your attorney is licensed to practice law, there is no reason he/she cannot act as your agent in all communications with USCIS, Department of State, and any other government agency that might be involved in the immigration of your wife and child.