Does he have to go back?

[vanessamaagad 6]

15 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

H1B has a 6-year limit. Has he been on H1B for 6 years already? If so, he can't renew anymore and has to leave the US for a year.

 

Omg really??? But his company extens his contract for 2 years already all he need is the visa to stay.

[Mollie09 1,543]

43 minutes ago, vanessamaagad said:

 

Omg really??? But his company extens his contract for 2 years already all he need is the visa to stay.

Doesn't matter, he's not going to get a renewal past 6 months unless employer filed a I-140.

[vanessamaagad 6]

2 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

Doesn't matter, he's not going to get a renewal past 6 months unless employer filed a I-140.

 

What is the I-140 for?

[Unlockable 7,306]

 Everything will have to be done through his company. Your friend can't file for an extension. The company does. So if they say he has to go back then he should prepare to go back. Looks like the company may be in cya mode. If he has been here for 6 years then he has reached his limit. The company probably wants him to go back so they can either file a new visa for him or decide to cut ties with him. They would not sponsor for him to become a permanent resident so he should have always been aware that he would have to return.

[Mollie09 1,543]

11 hours ago, vanessamaagad said:

 

What is the I-140 for?

It's an employment-based green card application.

[Russ&Caro 1,548]

I have several friends who have gone through the H1B visa to green card process. Every one of these friends knew all of the US immigration laws to the letter. They could quote chapter and verse. Their intent was to continue to work and live in the US and they were not going to allow their own self-ignorance of the law be a factor in achieving their goals.

 

Your friend sounds like the opposite. To work on an H1B visa right down to the end of the time period allowed, and then start looking around for options is not wise. Then having a friend come onto an immigration forum and ask questions on his behalf is another indication of a lack of wisdom. Your friend needs to wise up in a hurry, do his own research, consult attorneys, talk to his employer and learn as much about immigration law as possible. If not, he'll probably be going back to Germany, soon.

[CEE53147 559]

He may have been on several different visa statuses that would allow for him to remain legally in the US for 7 years.

 

He really needs to meet with his company's immigration legal team to sort out his options.

[dnp2014 44]

17 hours ago, vanessamaagad said:

 

Omg really??? But his company extens his contract for 2 years already all he need is the visa to stay.

H1B visa holders can stay and work in the United States for a maximum of 6 years. Once they have reached their 6-year limit, H1B employees may either return to their home country or apply for permanent residency, also known as a Green Card, and begin the H1B to green card process.

Only a sponsoring employer can petition for an employee to change from H1B to green card status. H1B visa holders whose employers have elected to sponsor their green card should begin the H1B to green card process, in which the employee undergoes a change of status from H1B visa holder to permanent resident. Most technical workers fall under EB1, EB2, and EB3 employment-based Green Card categories.

The typical path to a green card from H1B status consists of a series of steps. The steps to green card from H1B visa status are outlined below.

Step 1: PERM Labor Certification

PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) is the first step in obtaining a green card from H1B status and is required for the EB2 and EB3 employment-based green card categories. Once the PERM labor certification is approved by the Department of Labor (DOL), the petitioning employer can file the Green Card petition. The PERM labor certification includes prevailing wage determination, recruitment, and ETA From 9089.

Prevailing Wage Determination

The first step is to obtain a prevailing wage determination from the DOL. The Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) request provides details to the DOL regarding the job duties, job requirements, and job location. The DOL will then issue the prevailing wage determination, which the employer will use as the base salary requirement for the job.

Recruitment

In this phase, the employer goes through a series of mandatory recruitment processes. This recruitment phase is intended to ensure that no qualified and willing American workers are available to fill the open position. There are three basic recruitment requirements: 2 Sunday newspaper job postings, a job posting with the state’s workforce agency, and three other advertisements.

ETA Form 9089

Once the prevailing wage has been provided and the recruitment steps are complete, the employer must file ETA Form 9089, Application for Employment Certification, with the DOL. ETA Form 9089 may be filed electronically or by mail.

Step 2: Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

Upon approval of ETA Form 9089, the petitioning employer must file Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. Form I-140 establishes that the alien is eligible for an immigrant visa based on employment and that the U.S. employer has the funds and assets necessary to pay the worker the wage advertised in the PERM phase. If the employee’s priority date is current, Form I-140 can be filed simultaneously with the I-485 Application to Adjust Status. This is known as “concurrent†filing.

Step 3: Form I-485, Adjustment of Status

Adjustment of status is the process of applying for permanent residency in the US and the final stage of the H1B to green card process. To file for Adjustment of Status, the employee must file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. During this phase, the employee may also apply for the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole.

Once USCIS processes and approves Form I-485, the employee will receive a stamp in his or her passport and later receive the physical green card, having successfully changed his status from H1B to green card holder.

[vanessamaagad 6]

3 hours ago, Russ&Caro said:

I have several friends who have gone through the H1B visa to green card process. Every one of these friends knew all of the US immigration laws to the letter. They could quote chapter and verse. Their intent was to continue to work and live in the US and they were not going to allow their own self-ignorance of the law be a factor in achieving their goals.

 

Your friend sounds like the opposite. To work on an H1B visa right down to the end of the time period allowed, and then start looking around for options is not wise. Then having a friend come onto an immigration forum and ask questions on his behalf is another indication of a lack of wisdom. Your friend needs to wise up in a hurry, do his own research, consult attorneys, talk to his employer and learn as much about immigration law as possible. If not, he'll probably be going back to Germany, soon.

Thank you! But i am only doing this without him asking me to do so bcoz i know this forum can help me or him get the answers he needed. I have been on this forum for 4 years now and i have asked people’s help or knowledge about immigration stuff. I believe there is nothing wrong with asking questions on his behalf just like me asking in behalf of my husband when i was still on the process of coming here in the US as he has no time bcoz of work or just like anybody else here asking on behalf of their spouses/fiancée. And i also believe this is what the forum is all about, helping each other.

[Russ&Caro 1,548]

1 hour ago, vanessamaagad said:

Thank you! But i am only doing this without him asking me to do so bcoz i know this forum can help me or him get the answers he needed. I have been on this forum for 4 years now and i have asked people’s help or knowledge about immigration stuff. I believe there is nothing wrong with asking questions on his behalf just like me asking in behalf of my husband when i was still on the process of coming here in the US as he has no time bcoz of work or just like anybody else here asking on behalf of their spouses/fiancée. And i also believe this is what the forum is all about, helping each other.

My post might have sounded more harsh than intended. Apologies. I was just trying to relate that unlike me and my wife, floundering around trying to do the immigration thing through marriage and knowing nothing, all my friends on long term work visas knew all the laws cold. And even though they knew everything about work visas, their status, how to get a green card, and obtaining citizenship, every one of them had an immigration attorney as well. Sounds like from an earlier post that your friend is wondering if he can do this without seeing an attorney. I'm not sure that's a good idea. If for any reason the company he works for decides not to get a visa on his behalf, it would be smart to know what an attorney would recommend in terms of other options. I really wish your friend the best of luck.

 

dnp2014's post above, looks like a good primer on steps he and his company would need to take to continue the journey.