Archive-name: us-visa-faq/part2 Last-Modified: April 11, 1994 Currently, the alt.visa.us FAQ is maintained by B.G. Mahesh [mahesh@evb.com] Many FAQs, including this one, are available via FTP on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The path for this faq is /pub/usenet/news.answers/us-visa-faq/part2. To get the FAQ by E-mail, you should send a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with send usenet/news.answers/us-visa-faq/part2 in the body of the message. Please see part1 of this faq for standard disclaimers. Questions marked with a + indicate questions new to this issue; those with significant changes of content since the last issue are marked by *: General ------- Q. What is this FAQ about? A: [from B.G. Mahesh, mahesh@evb.com] This FAQ has some information about J1, H-1B, Green card and other visas. Q: Is their a internet site from which I can download any info regarding immigration? A: PS: If you have any questions about gopher and anonymous ftp PLEASE don't ask me. Ask on news.newusers.questions and/or alt.gopher [ from Ravinder Bhumbla, rbhumbla@UCSD.EDU] NAFSA (the association of international educators) regularly sends out updates about changes in immigration laws to its mailing list, inter-l@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu (you can subscribe by sending mail to listserv@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu). An archive of these updates (which may be useful to you) is accessible by gopher at the following place: Name=NAFSA Updates (Federal Regulations) Type=1 Port=70 Path=1/ON/INTERNATIONAL/ln38nafsa/REGS/UPDATES Host=yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU [from B.G. Mahesh, mahesh@evb.com] Look into ftp.cs.umd.edu:/pub/cyrillic/us_visas/* Login as anonymous. If you don't know how to ftp please get some local help. [from Rajiv S. Khanna, rskhanna@access.digex.net] The following documents are available by anonymous ftp on netcom1.netcom.com, netcom2.netcom.com, etc. through netcom9.netcom.com. The documents are found in directory "/pub/rskhanna" and indexed as follows: DV1Proposed F-1M-1Visas K-VisasforFiance E-1E-2Visas H-UsageFor1994 VisaBulletinMarch1994 Files are updated new info on almost daily basis (if there is any new info that needs posting). Please let me have your comments/suggestions on how to improve the information. Q. Are there any books regarding Immigration? A: 1. [from newswatcher, juro@umich.edu and Venerando, rosario@pn83.petnet.med.umich.edu] Immigration Made Easy: The Insider's Guide". Authors: Martha S. Siegel, Laurence A. Canter Publisher: Sheridan Chandler Company, c1991 Tuczon Arizona, USA, 1991-1992 edition. Cost : approx. $90 As far as I know, the book also contains a vast number of forms such as I-129B, IAP-66, I-485, etc., etc. used by INS and consular processing centers. The Sheridan Chandler Company also publishes separate bulletins and info. relating to immigration. Information on how to subscribe to these bulletins is provided on the book itself. NAFSA also has a publication entitled "Adviser's Manual of Federal Regulations Affecting Foreign Students and Scholars". Inforamtion about the book is available via gopher. 2. [from Alberto Molina, alberto@cybernet.cse.fau.edu] Name: Immigration Procedures Handbook Publisher: Clark, Boardman & Callaghan Address: 155 Pfingsten Road Deerfield, IL 60015-4998 Phone: 1-800-323-1336 Cost: $145 + 6.5 percent S&H + state tax 3. [from Eiji Hirai, hirai@cc.swarthmore.edu ] The Rights of Aliens and Refugees: The Basic ACLU Guide to Alien and Refugee Rights_, 2nd edition, by David Carliner, et al. Price : $7.95 + S&H You can ordered it from ACLU Dept L. P.O. Box 794 Medford, NY 11763 4. "Labor Certification Handbook - Companion Volume To: Immigration Procedures Handbook" by Austin T. Fragomen, Steven C, Bell Clark Boardman Callghan, NY 1992 Q: What does XX non-immigrant visa mean? A: [from many-many on the net!] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Visa Type | Dependant Visa | Description | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | A | | Diplomat | | | | Foreign Government Officials | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | B-1 | | Visitor's visa [Business] | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | B-2 | | Visitor's visa [pleasure/tourist] | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | C | | Aliens in Transit Visa | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | D | | Crewman | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | E | | Treaty Trader or Treaty Investor | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | F1 | F2 | Foreign Student Visa, | | | | Dependant cannot work | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | G | | International Organization Employee | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | H-1B | H4 | Work Permit [Temporary Worker] | | | | Dependant cannot work | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | I | | Foreign Information Media[Journalist]| ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | J1 | J2 | Exchange visitor/scholar/post-doc. | | | | Student can work off-campus if | | | | International Student Office gives a | | | | letter of authorization. May be | | | | subjected to 2 year presence in the | | | | home country requirement. | | | | Dependant can work but needs to get | | | | needs to get the permission from INS | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | K1 | K2 | K1 - for direct fiancee of US citizen| | | | K2 - for children of fiancee | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | L-1 | L-2 | Intra-Company Transferee | | | | See L1 Visa section of this FAQ for | | | | more details | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | M | | Vocational Student | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | N | | Parents of certain Special Immigrants| | | | special immigrant status | | | | (retired officers/employees | | | | previously accorded G-4 visa status) | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | O | | aliens of extraordinary ability in | | | | the sciences, arts, education, | | | | business, or athletics | ----------------------------------------------------------------------| | P1 | P2 | Renowned artists, entertainers and | | | | athletes coming for internationally | | | | recognized or culturally unique | | | | performances | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Q | | Participants in international | | | | cultural exchange programs which | | | | provide practical training, | | | | employment and which involve the | | | | sharing of history, culture | | | | traditions of the applicant's country| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | R | | Certain religious workers | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | NATO | | Representatives and staff of member | | | | states to NATO | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. Are there any lawyers who can be reached by email? [from B.G. Mahesh, mahesh@evb.com] A: This is an easy one :-) LAW OFFICES OF RAJIV S. KHANNA Voice: (202) 466-2113 1129 20th Street, NW, Suite 400 Email: rskhanna@access.digex.net Washington, DC 20036-3403 Q: Are there any mailing lists? A: [from B.G. Mahesh, mahesh@evb.com] Yes! send mail to rskhanna@access.digex.net asking him to add you to his visa bulletin mailing list. Q: How to select an immigration lawyer? A: [Muralidhar Rangaswamy, mrangasw@cat.syr.edu] Please treat this as my $0.02 worth on the subject of picking an immigration lawyer. While there is no hard and fast rule on determining whether an immigration lawyer is good or not, the following points would be worthwhile considering in the selection process. (1) Check to see if the lawyer is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). (2) Also check if the lawyer holds an important position in the local or state bar association's immigration committee. (3) Look up the yellow pages of your phone book to obtain the tel# of free attorney referral services. Call them and ask for an opinion about the attorney you are considering. (4) Make sure that there are no restraining orders from the supreme judicial court that prohibits the attorney from practising. (5) Check prior experiences of the attorney with cases similar to that of yours. In particular, find out if the attorney has been successful in the past. (6) Finally, in your first consultation with the lawyer, feel free to bring up all questions and details pertaining to your case (this includes legal fees, processing time etc). (1)-(6) are issues that must necessarily be considered but are not sufficient. These are merely guidelines for choosing an immigration attorney. These are by no means comprehensive. Please feel free to add your suggestions or comments to the above list. Q. Is there a list of "recommended lawyers" ? A: [from B.G. Mahesh, mahesh@evb.com] Rajiv S. Khanna LAW OFFICES OF RAJIV S. KHANNA 1129 20th Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036-3403 Phone : 202-466-2113 Fax : 202-785-1741 Email : rskhanna@access.digex.net [from Th. Bullinger, thomas@idx.kodak.com] Santosh Pawar 1000 East Ave. Rochester, NY 14607 Phone : 716-461-4074 [from Alberto, alberto@cybernet.cse.fau.edu] The Law Offices of Ronald Freeman in NYC, specifically Jenny Nieves at that office. Their phone number is 800-522-5275. [from hirai@cc.swarthmore.edu] Peter T. Baumann, Karren A. DeSeve, Jon Landau 437 Chestnut St. Suite 905 Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone : 215-925-0705 [from Kannan Varadhan, kannan@catarina.usc.edu] Ms. Deborah Youtsey Bartlett and Weigle Co. LPA 432, Walnut Street, Cuite 1100, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Phone : 513 241 3992 Fax : 513 241 1816 [From Rob Lingelbach, rob@xyzoom.info.com] Steven W. Blalock (Blalock and Gray) 11726 San Vicente Blvd #650 Los Angeles, CA 90049 Phone : 310 447 5665 [from Muralidhar Rangaswamy, mrangasw@cat.syr.edu] Steven A. Clark Flynn & Clark P.C., One Main Street, P.O. Box 25, Cambridge, MA 02142. Phone : (617)-354-1550 Fax : (617)-661-2576 [From Ranganath Dandi, dandi@killians.gsfc.nasa.gov] Thomas Williams Ste. 1501 5205, Leesburgh Pike Falls Church, VA 22041 Ph: (703)-845-8800 Fax:(703)-998-0328. [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, RANGASWAMY@zircon.plh.af.mil] Steven A. Clark Flynn & Clark P.C., One Main Street, P.O. Box 25, Kendall Square, Cambridge MA 02142-0001 Phone : (617)-354-1550 Fax : (617)-661-2576 [From Dr. M. V. Ramakrishna, krishna@ramanujan.chem.nyu.edu] Mr. S. Gayathrinath 299 Broadway, Suite 603 New York, NY 10007-1901 Phone : 212-791-4210 Fax : 212-571-7405 Q. Are there any lawyers you don't recommend ? A: Please see disclaimer section before you read any further ;-) [From Rob Lingelbach, rob@xyzoom.info.com] Neville Asherson (Asherson & Klein) 9150 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Q: What are the numbers for "Ask Immigration" Telephone Information Systems operated by INS. A: [from C. Huda Dodge, dodgec@ucs.orst.edu] INS operates "Ask Immigration" Telephone Information Systems, through which you can access recorded messages about various immigration topics. The information below is taken from the INS brochure on this system (Form M-243). One can access the recorded messages from the following telephone numbers: Albany, NY (518) 472-4621 Newark, NJ (201) 645-4400 Albuquerque, NM (505) 766-2378 New Orleans, LA (504) 589-6533 Anchorage, AK (907) 271-4953 NYC, NY (212) 206-6500 Arlington, VA (202) 307-1501 Norfolk, VA (804) 441-3081 Atlanta, GA (404) 331-5158 Oklahoma City, OK (405) 942-8670 Baltimore, MD (301) 962-2065 Omaha, NE (402) 697-9155 Boise, ID (208) 334-1821 Orlando, FL (407) 826-5870 Boston, MA (617) 565-3879 Philadelphia, PA(215) 597-3961 Buffalo, NY (716) 849-6760 Phoenix, AZ (602) 379-3122 Charleston, SC (803) 724-4350 Pittsburgh, PA (412) 644-3356 Charlotte, NC (704) 523-1704 Portland, ME (207) 780-3352 Chicago, IL (312) 353-7334 Portland, OR (503) 326-3006 Cincinnati, OH (513) 287-6080 Providence, RI (401) 545-7440 Cleveland, OH (216) 522-4770 Reno, NV (702) 784-5427 Dallas, TX (214) 655-5384 Sacramento, CA (916) 551-2785 Denver, CO (303) 371-3041 Salt Lake City, UT(801) 524-5771 Detroit, MI (313) 226-3240 St. Albans, VT (802) 951-6658 El Paso, TX (915) 532-0273 St. Louis, MO (314) 539-2532 Fresno, CA (209) 487-5091 St. Paul, MN (612) 854-7754 Harlingen, TX (512) 425-7333 San Antonio, TX (512) 229-6350 Hartford, CT (203) 240-3171 San Diego, CA (619) 557-5570 Helena, MT (406) 499-5288 San Francisco, CA (415) 705-4411 Honolulu, HI (808) 541-1379 San Jose, CA (408) 291-7876 Houston, TX (713) 847-7900 San Juan, PR (809) 766-5280 Indianapolis, IN(317) 226-6009 Seattle, WA (206) 553-5956 Jacksonville, FL(904) 791-2624 Spokane, WA (509) 353-2129 Kansas City, MO (816) 891-0603 Tampa, FL (813) 228-2131 Las Vegas, NV (702) 384-3696 Tucson, AZ (602) 670-6229 Los Angeles, CA (213) 894-2119 West Palm Beach, FL(407) 844-4341 Louisville, KY (502) 582-6375 Memphis, TN (901) 544-3301 TDD Users: (202) 307-1512 Miami, FL (305) 536-5741 Milwaukie, WI (414) 297-3565 People who don't like electronic answering services should stay away from this system. For quick reference, especially if you live in one of the cities listed, it is really quite convenient. One must push the # of the recording you wish to hear (and in Portland, OR at least, one *must* listen to a message before you can talk to a real person). If you don't know the #, you have to listen to a menu list of options. To make things easier, this "Message Guide" was printed in the brochure: 101 The INS 102 How to report aliens illegally in the US... 103 PRC nationals 104 The INS Outreach program 105 Where to mail applications 106 Reporting your change of address to INS 107 How to obtain copies of documents 108 Immigrant visa availability list 109 Filing appeals and motions 201 Who is eligible for legalization 202 Employer sanctions 203 Family fairness program for legalized aliens 204 Anti-discrimination protection under immigration law 205 How to apply for PR status if resided continuously since 1972 206 Special agricultural worker program 207 Systematic alien verification for entitlements program 301 Filing petitions to sponsor an immediate relative 302 " " to sponsor prospective immigrant employees 303 How and alien in the US can request to change status to PR 304 When a US citizen marries a foreign national outside the US 305 How to file a joint petition...to remove conditional status of PR 306 Immigration benefits for adoption before 16th b-day 307 Orphan petitions 308 Application for asylum in the US 309 PR for recipients of approved asylum applications 401 How to obtain an alien residency card 402 Applying for a replacement " " " 403 If you never received you " " " 501 Nonimmigrant or temporary visas 502 How to request an extension of temporary stay 503 Change of status from one nonimmgrant class to another...for work 504 Applying for a replacement I-94 arrival/departure document 505 Temporary visitor's visa 506 A fiance/fiancee visa 507 Requirements for class. as a nonimm. temp. worker (H1, H2 & H3) 508 Requirements for class. as a J1 or nonimm. exchange alien 509 L-1 visa status for intracompany transfers 510 Requirements for class. as an E1 or E2 ... treaty trader or investor 601 Permission to go to school 602 Student visa extension 603 Permission for foreign student to work 604 Visas for spouse & dependent children of foreign students 605 School transfers for F1 & M1 foreign students 606 How to maintain your student status 701 Departure from the US by permanent residents 702 Student travel outside the US 703 Travel authorization for refugees 704 How to request emergency travel 705 Travel by an alien whose PR application is still pending 801 Citizenship and naturalization requirements 802 " for children born outside the US 803 Naturalization based on military service 804 Derivative citizenship for children of US citizens 805 Residency requirements for naturalization 806 How to file for naturalization on behalf of a child 807 Replacement of certificate of citizenship or naturalization 808 How to renounce or forfeit US citizenship Q: Which is the best time to change this maiden name to the married name and how to go about it? A: [From Rajiv S. Khanna, rskhanna@access.digex.net] In terms of immigration documents, all papers that are filed should list spouse by her married name and "also known as XYZ (Maiden name)." Most INS forms provide a space for "Other Names USED." Now if it is too late and a green card in her maiden name has already been issued, INS has a form for it. I believe you have to apply for reissuance of GC, same form as if your GC had been stolen or destroyed. If anyone knows any different, please correct. Q: What is form XXX ? A: [From B.G. Mahesh, mahesh@evb.com] N-400 : Application for Naturalization N-600 : Application for Certification of Citizenship I-90 : Application to Replace Alien Registration Card I-130 : Petition of Alien Relative I-131 : Application for Travel Document I-485 : Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjustment of Status I-600 : Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative I-765 : Application for Temporary Employment Authorization Q. Wish List Need to add info regarding Citizenship, visitor visa.. If you have any info regarding these please email your questions/answers to me directly. -- B.G. Mahesh | Email: mahesh@evb.com Software Engineer | mahesh@sett.com EVB Software Engineering, Inc. | FAQ maintainer of alt.visa.us -----cut here-----