Frequently asked questions

Questions from the community, categorized and summarized. Answers marked Attorney Verified have been reviewed by a licensed attorney on our team.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Can my I-485 be denied even though I meet the eligibility requirements?

Yes — a May 22 USCIS policy memorandum reaffirmed that adjustment of status is a discretionary determination, so meeting the statutory requirements does not by itself compel approval. The memo signals closer examination of discretionary factors in both employment-based and family-based cases, with particular attention to status gaps, unauthorized work, prior immigration violations and inconsistent filings. Its full operational effect is still unfolding, and this is a situation to review with an attorney rather than self-assess.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Does leaving the U.S. on advance parole trigger the unlawful presence bars?

Since a BIA decision issued August 13, 2026, a departure on advance parole is treated as a departure for purposes of the unlawful presence bars — overturning the standard that had applied for over a decade. More than 180 days but under a year of prior unlawful presence corresponds to a 3-year bar, and a year or more to a 10-year bar, triggered at the moment of departure. Anyone with unlawful presence in their history should get a risk assessment before traveling; postponing travel is the conservative course while challenges to the decision are pending.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

I received a government notice saying I owe a huge civil fine. Is this real?

Notices of this kind have been issued as genuine government action, with individual penalties reaching as high as $1,820,352 — the firm reports 65,101 civil fines totalling more than $36 billion between January 2025 and mid-March 2026. Do not disregard one on the assumption that it is a scam, and do not respond to it without advice either. Have an immigration attorney review the notice promptly, because the response window is where the options are.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

My school stopped processing CPT applications. Has CPT been cancelled?

CPT has not been eliminated — after an August 2026 SEVP notice tightening review of CPT authorizations, some schools paused processing while they re-examined their own programs. CPT that is directly related to the major and an integral, required part of the degree program can still be authorized. Students already holding a properly issued authorization are not subject to any provision making it automatically invalid, though a school may re-review its programs.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

My application has been pending for years. Can I make USCIS decide it?

A mandamus action in federal court can compel an agency to act on a case that has been pending unreasonably long — it forces a decision rather than a favourable one, which is the distinction to understand before filing. The firm also uses federal district and appellate litigation to challenge unjust delays, denials and administrative errors more broadly. Whether the delay is long enough to be unreasonable is fact-specific and depends on the case type.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Can USCIS deny my case without asking me for more evidence first?

Yes, and more readily than before: as of August 5, 2026 USCIS expanded its authority to deny a case outright, without first issuing a request for evidence, where required initial evidence is missing. The practical consequence is that the initial filing is no longer a first draft — a gap that once produced an RFE can now produce a denial. Front-load the evidence rather than planning to supply it on request.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

What do I need to qualify for an E-2 investor visa?

You must be a citizen of a country that holds a qualifying treaty with the United States, invest a substantial amount of capital relative to the cost of the business, and the business must be an active, for-profit enterprise that generates more than marginal income. In practice applicants also need operational control, typically through ownership of at least 50%. E-2 is a nonimmigrant status: it can be renewed while the business operates but does not itself lead to permanent residence.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

I read that a court struck down how USCIS decides EB-1A cases. What happened?

In Mukherji v. Miller, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska vacated an EB-1A denial and ordered the petition approved, holding that USCIS's two-step "final merits determination" was unlawfully adopted under the Administrative Procedure Act. The court's reasoning was that EB-1A eligibility is set by statute and regulation rather than by unwritten agency standards, which would remove expectations that an applicant stay indefinitely at the very top of a field or keep accumulating new achievements. This is one district court decision, not a settled nationwide change in how petitions are adjudicated.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Can I get a green card without an employer sponsoring me?

The EB-2 National Interest Waiver allows a qualified professional to seek a green card without employer sponsorship where their work benefits the United States at a national level. It waives the job offer and labor certification that an ordinary EB-2 requires, which is why it appeals to founders, researchers and independent professionals. The burden shifts onto you to evidence the national-level benefit, and that is where these cases are won or lost.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

How much do I need to invest for an EB-5 green card?

The current thresholds are $800,000 for an investment in a Targeted Employment Area and $1,050,000 outside one, and the investment must create or preserve at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers. Approval first grants a two-year conditional green card; permanent residence follows approval of Form I-829 at the end of that period. These figures are subject to statutory adjustment, so confirm the amount current at the time you invest.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

What does USCIS examine when my EB-5 investment is a gift from my parents?

USCIS traces the entire chain: where the funds lawfully originated, how they moved before the gift, and how they reached the investment account, with no break in the path and no commingling with money of unexplained origin. Showing what an asset sold for is not sufficient — the record also has to establish what lawful funds acquired that asset in the first place. In a case the firm reviewed, a denial followed exactly there: the parents' original purchase funds were never substantiated and the sale proceeds were mixed with unidentified deposits.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

My OPT expires before my H-1B start date. Can I keep working?

If you were selected in the H-1B lottery and your employer filed a timely cap-subject petition requesting an October 1 start, cap-gap provisions can extend your F-1 status and work authorization to bridge the gap. It depends on being selected and on the petition being filed while your status is still valid, so the sequencing is what matters. Confirm your own dates with your DSO and an attorney rather than assuming coverage.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

What is an H-1B visa and who qualifies for one?

An H-1B lets a U.S. employer hire a foreign professional into a role that requires specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor's degree, most commonly in technology, engineering, finance and healthcare. The employer petitions for the worker rather than the other way round, so an H-1B is tied to a specific job and a specific employer. Because the category is capped, most first-time petitions must be selected in an annual lottery before they can be filed.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

My H-1B registration wasn't selected. What are my options now?

Once USCIS announces the cap is met for a fiscal year, a second lottery is not typically run, so an unselected candidate needs a different classification rather than another try that season. The routes worth assessing are O-1 for individuals who can document extraordinary ability, an F-1 STEM OPT extension where the degree qualifies, cap-exempt employers, and starting long-term employment-based green card sponsorship. The work is to evaluate these before the current work authorization expires, not after.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Can I change employers while I'm on an H-1B?

Yes — H-1B status is portable between employers. The new employer files its own petition, and you may generally begin working for them once that petition is filed rather than waiting for it to be approved, provided you were in valid H-1B status at the time of filing. You do not re-enter the lottery. What goes wrong in practice is sequencing: resigning before the new petition is on file, or starting work without confirming the filing receipt, removes the protection the rule was meant to give you.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

I have something in my history that might make me inadmissible. Is a waiver possible?

Waivers exist for many grounds of inadmissibility and are commonly filed during consular processing or alongside an adjustment of status application. Which waiver applies, and what it requires you to prove, depends entirely on the ground itself — some turn on hardship to a qualifying relative, others on time elapsed or the nature of the conduct. This is one of the areas where a general answer is genuinely useless: the ground has to be identified first.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Can my company transfer me from our foreign office to the U.S.?

The L-1 category exists for exactly this: a multinational company relocating an executive, manager or specialized-knowledge employee from a foreign office to a related U.S. entity. There is no annual lottery, which makes it more predictable than an H-1B when it fits. It requires a qualifying corporate relationship between the two entities and a qualifying period of prior employment abroad, so the company structure matters as much as the role.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

If I meet three of the eight O-1A criteria, will I be approved?

Meeting three criteria is the threshold to be considered, not the standard for approval. USCIS also weighs whether the evidence behind each criterion is itself strong and whether the record shows genuine recognition in your field, so a petition can satisfy the count and still draw a request for evidence or a denial. The firm's review of its own cases points at two recurring gaps: achievements clustered in an earlier period with nothing showing continued influence, and results that are the ordinary output of the field rather than distinguishing.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Can I reuse my O-1 evidence for an EB-1A petition?

The awards, press, letters and project evidence carry over as a base, but they cannot simply be resubmitted. O-1 and EB-1A are separate filings judged against different standards, and EB-1A applies a higher bar on field-level impact, so most of the record needs targeted updating and strengthening. An O-1 approval does not predict an EB-1A approval.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

My employer says my green card starts with PERM. What is that, and why does it take so long?

PERM is a labor certification: before sponsoring most EB-2 and EB-3 green cards, the employer must run a required recruitment process establishing that no qualified U.S. worker is available for the role, then file with the Department of Labor and wait in queue. That combination — recruitment on a fixed schedule, then an agency queue — is what makes it commonly take many months to over a year. It is the first of several steps, and the petition and the green card application each follow it.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

Our petition was approved. What do we have to keep doing as the employer?

Treat immigration compliance as a continuous system rather than a set of finished filings. Form I-9 must be completed within three business days of hire, and enforcement now classifies many I-9 errors as substantive violations that cannot be cured once discovered — missing or wrong dates, incomplete Section 2 attestations and missing preparer information are the common ones. USCIS has also signalled it will look back at prior filings, so H-1B, L-1, PERM and green card cases for the same worker need to tell one consistent story.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

I have a two-year green card through marriage. What do I file to make it permanent?

Form I-751 removes the conditions on a two-year green card, and it requires documenting that the marriage or adoption on which the status was based remains valid and ongoing. Timing is tied to the expiration of the conditional card, and letting the window pass creates a status problem rather than a paperwork one. Cases where the marriage has ended are still filable but follow a different route and need advice.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

What is a NOID, and how is it different from an RFE?

A Notice of Intent to Deny means the officer already sees grounds to deny the petition, which is a more serious posture than a routine request for more evidence. It is neither a denial nor something you appeal — it is an opportunity to respond, and the response has to address each stated concern directly with traceable evidence. Response deadlines are stated on the notice itself and generally cannot be extended.

AI-generated · Not attorney-reviewed

What does it mean when my priority date is not current?

It means no immigrant visa number is available yet for your category and country of chargeability, so the case waits — it does not mean anything is wrong with the petition. Cut-off dates are published monthly and move in both directions, and a backward move (retrogression) delays when you can file or be approved without affecting your place in line. Your priority date, category and country of birth together determine the wait.