Advance Parole
Work Authorization
Birth Certificates
Adjustment of
status vs. consular processing
Guidelines for Affidavit of
Support
Medical examination
- physician list
Photographs
Leaving the United States after an application for permanent residence is filed may result in the abandonment of your application. (There are exceptions for certain individuals traveling on unexpired H-1b and H-4 or L-1 or L-2 visas who have their receipts for their I-485 filings.) To travel after an application for permanent residence is filed, you need permission to travel and reenter the U.S. This permission is called an advance parole.
We will obtain an advance parole, if you need one, and if you are eligible, at the time we file your application for permanent residence. The advance parole is valid for up to one year.
We can obtain an advance parole after we file your initial application (and after we receive the receipt for that filing) and we can renew your expiring advance parole. Our office charges a nominal fee for this service, in addition to the filing fees charged by the Immigration Service. If you want to do this yourself, see From I-131 at the USCIS forms page. Please send us a copy of any parole you obtain for yourself. We do caution you however that the particular rules and requirements for obtaining advance parole change frequently. Our fees are nominal and we strongly encourage you to allow us to do this for you.
Individuals who have been out of status in the United States should not obtain an advance parole, and should not leave the U.S. without consulting our office. Failure to follow this advice can result in your being excluded from returning to the U.S. for ten years.!!!
Work authorization can be requested for you and your family members when an application for adjustment of status is filed, or after a receipt is issued for such a filing. We will request this for you at the time of filing, if you desire and if you do not have work authorization incident to your current visa status. This type of work authorization is only valid when you actually receive an "Employment Authorization Document" from the INS. It may take 90 days to obtain this. It will be valid for up to one year, and may be renewed as long as your adjustment of status application is pending
If you require a renewal of your work authorization, or if you require an initial work authorization after we have filed your adjustment of status application, we will be glad to take care of this for a nominal fee. Please consult our office. If you would like to handle this yourself, instructions are available at this link. We do caution you however that the particular rules and requirements for obtaining work authorization change frequently. Our fees are nominal and we strongly encourage you to allow us to do this for you.
Each applicant must have a birth certificate to support the filing of an application for permanent residence (I-485) or an application for an immigrant visa. (We always submit copies to the INS - unless they specifically ask for originals. U.S. consuls always ask to see originals.) The availability of birth certificates is determined by reference to the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual. For instance, in the case of India, it provides as follows:
Available. Prior to 1970, reporting of births was voluntary. Birth certificates of Europeans, Anglo-Indians, Armenian Christians, Jews and Parsis born prior to 1970 may be obtained from the State Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. No standard or uniform certificate is issued by the several authorities. In addition, acceptable certificates can often be obtained from the municipal and rural registration records which are maintained under the state laws. Europeans, Anglo-Indians, and Indian Christians are usually able to obtain church baptismal certificates.
Under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1969, births are required to be registered in almost all of the States and Union Territories of India. Birth certificates are available to any applicant born on or after April 1, 1970, upon payment of a nominal fee to the appropriate authority.
In cases where birth certificates from the authorities are unavailable or contain insufficient information regarding the birth or the parents, a sworn affidavit executed by either the parents, if living, or other close relatives older than the applicant, may be submitted. It should set forth the relationship between the deponent and the applicant, how well the deponent knows the applicant, date and place of the applicant's birth, the names of both parents, and any other related facts. Such affidavit, when a birth certificate is unavailable, should be accompanied by a document from a competent governmental authority confirming that the certificate does not exist, or no longer exists.
Anyone born in India after April 1, 1970 should be able to obtain a birth certificate. If a birth certificate is unavailable, affidavits may be substituted. (If unavailable, a certificate from the appropriate Registrar as to the unavailability of the birth certificate must be obtained.) If the birth certificate does not contain identifying information for the individual or of both parents, affidavits are necessary to supplement the birth certificate with the full names of the parents, the name of the child, and the date and place of birth. The affidavit must be from someone old enough to remember the birth, who has personal knowledge of the facts, must identify the person giving it, state how they are aware of the facts, and give the name of the child, the date and place of birth, and the names of the parents. Two affidavits are required - from different people. If a birth certificate would normally be available, then an additional document from the applicable governmental authority stating that no registration exists, should also be submitted. Sample Affidavit
Adjustment of Status vs. Consular Processing
- advantages of adjustment from the company's standpoint:
advantages from employees standpoint
INS regulations require affidavits of support from sponsoring family members (family based cases only) which indicate that the sponsor - or sponsor and cosponsors - have incomes exceeding 125% of the poverty level income as determined by the Federal Government. These Guidelines are published yearly, and for 2003, are as follows:
2003 P
OVERTY GUIDELINES48 C
ONTIGUOUS STATES AND THED
ISTRICT OF COLUMBIASize of family..............................Guideline
1 ................................................ $8,980
2 ................................................ 12,120
3 ................................................ 15,260
4 ................................................ 18,400
5 ................................................ 21,540
6 ................................................ 24,680
7 ................................................ 27,820
8 ................................................ 30,960
For family units with more than 8
members, add $3,140 for each
additional member. (The same
increment applies to smaller family
sizes also, as can be seen in the figures
above.)
As of September, 2004, passport style color pictures are used for ALL applications which require photographs.