[美國sth] COVID-19疫情下專題講座：美國移民政策的改變？ (講座筆記)

(疫情當下，在美國的我們或許有些人開始擔心移民政策是否有因而變動，Jack Sung律師的講座讓大家一探究竟，值得來看一看)

2020-05-09 

COVID-19專題講座 - Immigration changes (by Jack Sung)

·       Due to social distancing, the department of immigration may become more effective and will continue to accept new applications. However, fingerprint and interviews were temporarily canceled which means the interviews for some positions may not be necessary at this moment.

·       Trump's order will only affect the applications that had been sent out for a while and those who applied for green cards OUTSIDE the US.

·       The Department of Labor (勞工局) will continuously accept new applications under COVID-19.

·       COVID-19 may affect advertisements for jobs that companies may need to repost those ads to let more people see their posts.

·       Medical jobs (like nurses) may only look for local applicants due to the current situation.

·       Ph.D. students could check EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) (根據出版品) or Outstanding People (傑出人才) for green card applications. Before applying for either of the above, check the questionnaire first (questions to identify your achievements) to see if you're qualified or at least have some chance to fight for a green card at this moment.

For those who are under OPT and didn't get H1-B

1.       There will possibly be about 8-10% out of 100% of H1-B positions released around July due to the released positions from some companies which means those who had failed to get an H1-B visa at this point may have a second chance! (finger cross)

2.       "Day 1 CPT school" is a choice to stay in the US and those schools are basically located in Midwest. Indian people have known about this method for many years. However, on Day 1 CPT exists a tiny risk of transferring status from F-1 to H1. To solve this problem, you will need to fly out of the US and get your visa oversea first then come back to the US. (In short, you will need to change your status out of the US) If you need to apply to Day 1 CPT school, it is easy to change your status from F-1 to Day 1 CPT.

3.       "F-1 academic program" is also a choice to stay in the US which means you pursue another degree.

4.       "L1, L1B Visa" is an option if you would like to apply for H1-B but you hope to travel out of the US for some period before landing a job. Your boss could help you to apply for H1-B in this case, however, this thing only happens when the company you apply for has an overseas branch(es). Those who work oversea are suitable for this case as well.

5.       "Directly apply for Green Card", EB-2 and EB-3 usually take you two years to get the green card.

·       If you're currently applying for F-1, you couldn't apply for a green card simultaneously. (Green card application couldn’t be conflict with any other “immigration” related applications)

·       It is fine to apply for a green card during your F-1, however, once the green card application begins (when form 140 is submitted), you could not travel under F-1 status.

H1-B

1.       It's good timing to submit the H1-B application (starting this April).

2.       H1-B is now processed more efficiently due to COVID-19.

3.       To change the status to B2 (觀光簽證) or F-1 could be the strategy of staying in the US and continuously finding jobs. However, it is fine to leave the US and search for H1-B opportunities and then come back.

Q&A

·       President's administrative order could be applied to local and international H1-B and OPT applicants. However, when the order gets severe, it may be stopped by congress.

·       Having an attorney with you while applying for a green card will definitely be a good choice because the attorney could help you to look over and check all the documents in real-time.

·       You could apply for a green card while being OPT status.

·       $4000, $6000, $8000, and $12000 are the most common price for hiring a green card attorney.

·       COVID-19 Relief package ($1200) is a public “benefit” NOT a public “charge”, so it won't bring any impact to your green card application if you accidentally received it.

·       You can apply for H1-B and Green Card at the same time because H1-B is NOT “immigration” related.

·       EB-3 has lots of applicants this year and it may not be open until later this year.

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