Can't get help anywhere I go...

[umeranyth 0]

OP's whole family is in US, I wonder how he could establish that he is not intending immigrant to the United States during F1 visa application

OP doesn't have to leave the US when he receives his I-20. This means he won't ever have to apply for F1 visa as long as he doesn't travel.

[umeranyth 0]

so thees absolutely no way I can get a job OFF campus?

Doing so would be illegal, and if you're caught, there will be harsh consequences. Not to mention this will go on your record when you're applying for AOS down the line ...

Your family should consult an immigration attorney experienced in these sort of matters immediately. Check this and other forums for recommendations, there are plenty that are supremely qualified.

Best of luck to you and your family.

[chill4xdude 0]

Only with express permission from USCIS. But chances are very very very slim. So don't count on it.

ah okay well that sucks... I guess the only option I have is to get married or get a Students visa as suggested above..

OP doesn't have to leave the US when he receives his I-20. This means he won't ever have to apply for F1 visa as long as he doesn't travel.

Sorry, but isn't the I-20 and F1 the same thing? I could have sworn it was - I don't mean to be asking a dumb question.

Doing so would be illegal, and if you're caught, there will be harsh consequences. Not to mention this will go on your record when you're applying for AOS down the line ...

Your family should consult an immigration attorney experienced in these sort of matters immediately. Check this and other forums for recommendations, there are plenty that are supremely qualified.

Best of luck to you and your family.

Thanks. We've been to 4 lawyers and they ALL told us that we cannot get AOS due to the fact that the property is closed down and it needed to be opened while applying for AOS. He is still working for the SAME company he transferred with but apparently the law is that property MUST be opened at the time of applying... Which is quite BS to me because he hasn't left the company... They suggested that we could appeal that stupid law, or clause, but it takes 2 years... And I have yet to find out how to do that online or elsewhere. Our status expires December 2014 so.. we literally have no time.

Edited August 15, 2014 by chill4xdude

[Mollie09 1,543]

Thanks. We've been to 4 lawyers and they ALL told us that we cannot get AOS due to the fact that the property is closed down and it needed to be opened while applying for AOS. He is still working for the SAME company he transferred with but apparently the law is that property MUST be opened at the time of applying... Which is quite BS to me because he hasn't left the company... They suggested that we could appeal that stupid law, or clause, but it takes 2 years... And I have yet to find out how to do that online or elsewhere. Our status expires December 2014 so.. we literally have no time.

I don't mean to be rude, but you've been to four lawyers who specialize in immigration law and they all told you the same thing, but you thought coming to an online forum would yield a better answer?

Edited August 15, 2014 by F1H1I130

[kzielu 1,153]

ah okay well that sucks... I guess the only option I have is to get married or get a Students visa as suggested above..

Sorry, but isn't the I-20 and F1 the same thing? I could have sworn it was - I don't mean to be asking a dumb question.

Thanks. We've been to 4 lawyers and they ALL told us that we cannot get AOS due to the fact that the property is closed down and it needed to be opened while applying for AOS. He is still working for the SAME company he transferred with but apparently the law is that property MUST be opened at the time of applying... Which is quite BS to me because he hasn't left the company... They suggested that we could appeal that stupid law, or clause, but it takes 2 years... And I have yet to find out how to do that online or elsewhere. Our status expires December 2014 so.. we literally have no time.

There's still something wrong with this story - the company can petition him for EB green card regardless of that - if they only want to. People can be petitioned on EB even if they are not is US and never worked for a company that will petition them. Only difference here is EB-1C vs. L-1A and lack of labor cert requirement.

You (or your father) wouldn't never be able to adjust status just because you want to, without company's involvement.

[Mark88 184]

There's still something wrong with this story

I think there is something missing, too....

[Boiler 46,201]

There's still something wrong with this story - the company can petition him for EB green card regardless of that - if they only want to. People can be petitioned on EB even if they are not is US and never worked for a company that will petition them. Only difference here is EB-1C vs. L-1A and lack of labor cert requirement.

You (or your father) wouldn't never be able to adjust status just because you want to, without company's involvement.

It would appear that they are no longer in Status, so nothing to adjust from.

And they have been here a very long time so if the GC was a priority, why was it not done then.

You come across cases like this every now and then, usually seems to arise through the company being sold, reorganizing etc, but the principal is the same.

[chill4xdude 0]

There's still something wrong with this story - the company can petition him for EB green card regardless of that - if they only want to. People can be petitioned on EB even if they are not is US and never worked for a company that will petition them. Only difference here is EB-1C vs. L-1A and lack of labor cert requirement.

You (or your father) wouldn't never be able to adjust status just because you want to, without company's involvement.

I think there is something missing, too....

This is what we thought, we actually think it didn't make any sense. But apparently we have "no options" and like I said the lawyers are saying they cannot petition for it because of this "clause". We had one lawyer even open up her law book and read where it says that the property transferred from must be in operation at the time of applying... so I am stuck, I still had hope but apparently I'll have to give up.

It would appear that they are no longer in Status, so nothing to adjust from.

And they have been here a very long time so if the GC was a priority, why was it not done then.

You come across cases like this every now and then, usually seems to arise through the company being sold, reorganizing etc, but the principal is the same.

Boiler, we are still here legally, I just checked the I-94 it says Expiration date: December 15,2014. My parents are still allowed to work here legally until that date, so we are still in Status... the whole situation didn't make sense to us so that's why I came on here hoping to get some advice because one would think that after being in this country for almost 10 years it wouldn't be so difficult to get AOS....

[chill4xdude 0]

I don't mean to be rude, but you've been to four lawyers who specialize in immigration law and they all told you the same thing, but you thought coming to an online forum would yield a better answer?

no need to be rude man, if you only knew how stressful this is....

[Mark88 184]

no need to be rude man, if you only knew how stressful this is....

I totally understand you. I myself had to talk to two lawyers and VJ basically gave me the answer I was looking for. IL's aren't the best source sometimes.

Boiler, we are still here legally, I just checked the I-94 it says Expiration date: December 15,2014. My parents are still allowed to work here legally until that date, so we are still in Status... the whole situation didn't make sense to us so that's why I came on here hoping to get some advice because one would think that after being in this country for almost 10 years it wouldn't be so difficult to get AOS....

Sadly you're not and Boiler is right. The day your dad lost his job, is the day the visas lost their validity. The I-94 does NOT count. The visa you(r dad) has is linked the job/company he came here for. In theory you have to leave the US the day he was terminated. USCIS does not have an official grace period when it comes to L1. However, it is reasonable for a person to stay for an additional week or so to wrap-up things, sell stuff, plan the return etc.

But we are talking a week or two, NOT months. You(r family) have been out of status since the last day of his job. The only way you would have been able to avoid it, would have been to file an I-539 on the last day of employment. This way you would all have had enough time, and could have figured things out while on COS. Also going from L1 to a green card would have been possible if you would have done it a couple years ago, and not now.

Sorry, your situation doesn't look good. You will all have to return to your home country.

[chill4xdude 0]

I totally understand you. I myself had to talk to two lawyers and VJ basically gave me the answer I was looking for. IL's aren't the best source sometimes.

Sadly you're not and Boiler is right. The day your dad lost his job, is the day the visas lost their validity. The I-94 does NOT count. The visa you(r dad) has is linked the job/company he came here for. In theory you have to leave the US the day he was terminated. USCIS does not have an official grace period when it comes to L1. However, it is reasonable for a person to stay for an additional week or so to wrap-up things, sell stuff, plan the return etc.

But we are talking a week or two, NOT months. You(r family) have been out of status since the last day of his job. The only way you would have been able to avoid it, would have been to file an I-539 on the last day of employment. This way you would all have had enough time, and could have figured things out while on COS. Also going from L1 to a green card would have been possible if you would have done it a couple years ago, and not now.

Sorry, your situation doesn't look good. You will all have to return to your home country.

Dude mark, my dad didn't lose his job. He has the job with the SAME company he transferred with. The problem is the PROPERTY he transferred from is closed. The company he works for is a chain... he is still working here LEGALLY.

I will not give the company name, but let me tell you what happened. We lived on the islands, where he worked for said company, he then transferred here with the same company. When we left the PROPERTY on the island closed down. He still has the SAME job with the company that filed for the L1 for us.. he didn't lose his job. We are still IN Status.

Edited August 16, 2014 by chill4xdude

[Mark88 184]

So I don't understand your problem: If you dad is still employed, he is still in status since he is working for the company he transferred here on L1. Even after December he still will be in status as long as the employment with the US subsidiary is still valid.

Maybe you're loosing something in translation: When you say the property closed, are you saying the company went bankrupt or decided to cease operations in St. Lucia ? Or do you mean they just closed the property and opened a new office somewhere else on the island?

[chill4xdude 0]

So I don't understand your problem: If you dad is still employed, he is still in status since he is working for the company he transferred here on L1. Even after December he still will be in status as long as the employment with the US subsidiary is still valid.

Maybe you're loosing something in translation: When you say the property closed, are you saying the company went bankrupt or decided to cease operations in St. Lucia ? Or do you mean they just closed the property and opened a new office somewhere else on the island?

The property closed down due to a hurricane, it didn't go bankrupt. They didn't open a new one on the island.

He works for a hotel, the hotel was closed due to a hurricane, then it wasn't reopened. The hotel he works for is a HUGE chain meaning they have properties all around the world, he currently works for the same hotel in the US, the thing is because the property closed down we cannot AOS according to the lawyers we've been too. Hope it makes sense now, even though it shouldn't be this hard to get AOS.. cuz it just pisses me off thinking about it.

Edited August 16, 2014 by chill4xdude

[Mark88 184]

The property closed down due to a hurricane, it didn't go bankrupt. They didn't open a new one on the island.

He works for a hotel, the hotel was closed due to a hurricane, then it wasn't reopened. The hotel he works for is a HUGE chain meaning they have properties all around the world, he currently works for the same hotel in the US, the thing is because the property closed down we cannot AOS according to the lawyers we've been too.

You can't AOS anyway. The employer would need to file for EB-1 without Labor Certification as someone else already posted here. This is entirely different process.

Usually big companies like Starwood, Hilton or the such, have own legal departments since they handle a lot of visas. Did you already try talking to one of the hotel groups lawyers?

[chill4xdude 0]

You can't AOS anyway. The employer would need to file for EB-1 without Labor Certification as someone else already posted here. This is entirely different process.

Usually big companies like Starwood, Hilton or the such, have own legal departments since they handle a lot of visas. Did you already try talking to one of the hotel groups lawyers?

Yes sir, we went to the hotel lawyers first, because they were the only ones we had contact with. They were the first people to tell us that they can't petition it for us because of the whole property he transferred being closed down thing, from then on we went to 4 different ones hoping to get something else, but that wasn't the case. He also cannot get a HB visa because he doesn't have a Bachelors.