Yermo, CA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

First of all, J1 is not a tourist visa. If you came on a J1 visa, it is possible that there is a condition attached to your admission, that, after your stay in the U.S. on this visa, you will live in your country for 2 years before you can get any visa or status in the U.S. (so-called 2-year foreign residency requirement). If your J1 visa has this condition, you cannot obtain a green card until you live in Russia for 2 years. There is a procedure to ask the government for a waiver of this requirement, but the waiver is very difficult to obtain. Second, if, in fact, you came on a tourist visa (B1/B2), or if your J1 does not have the 2-year foreign residency requirement, your wife has to file the tax returns. If there is any reason why she cannot do it, you will have to find a co-sponsor for your immigration. The co-sponsor has to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and have income that is above the federal poverty level for his/her family +1 (for example, co-sponsor has a wife, 2 kids, and an elderly mother who he claims as a dependent on his taxes, he has to make over $39,487 a year (family of 5 plus the sponsored immigrant). You need to know that, technically, your wife would not have to present her tax returns if you will have a co-sponsor, USCIS can give you very hard time about it, and your attorney will have to walk a very fine line with this issue. So, it will be better if your wife files tax returns for the last 2 years. Third, you do need to have a valid passport at all times. Russian Consul General in New York can issue a new passport for you, of course, but the procedure takes 3-4 months, so you will have to contact the Consulate well before your passport expires. Fourth, USCIS will not try deport you when you file the paperwork for a green card; they will do it if they deny your application.

You cannot do so immediately, but can file in April for a change of status starting next October. *H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa* You qualify for what is known as the H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa. You will need to have an employer agree to sponsor you for a job. It does not need to be a full-time position, but it should be related to your degree. Our firm can do the entire petition. Once we begin processing and get it filed, it normally takes about six to nine months to get the approval. Please note that H-1B's are very limited and are only available for small periods of time during the year. Therefore, Premium Processing discussed next should be used. If you want a work permit in an expedited manner, you can take advantage of the Premium Processing program at USCIS. This will allow you to have the expedited answer in less than one month. You will need to add $1,500.00 to the cost below for Premium Processing. There are only a limited number of H-1B's and it must be filed by April 1. However, it is still possible it will not get selected for this years allotment.