leeen21

Thanks for this - I've run into plenty of "notario publicos" in Mexico. I'll send the link along to my friend so he can be aware. The part about pardons threw me too. Even if the employee was deported or had a ban, the phrasing was super weird - enough to throw up red flags about this "lawyer/recruiter" for sure.

And would probably at least know how to spell business. 🤦‍♀️

That's super creepy honestly. Jeez. You gotta question everything!

I'm here. I've been keeping an eye on the conversation, but didn't see any questions that needed answers. I relayed to my friend to not respond with any of his or his business's information to the email he received. Like I said before, I don't know the circumstances of this previous employee's employment with him, why he is no longer in the U.S., etc.; I was just asked if the email looked legitimate or not.

BIG yikes. I responded to my friend and told him to steer clear. Thanks to all for the input!

Yeah, I agree on the no shortage front. I think a lot of people not super familiar with immigration think that it's fairly easy to bring someone to the U.S. (whether it's as an employee, spouse, etc.), but those of us on here know that it's nowhere close to being easy. I think he's probably unaware of the high bar needed for employment-based visas (or seasonal situations, like you mentioned).

Yeah, the Yahoo email address was a red flag to me, even though I do know lawyers where I live on the border in Mexico that use them. But the bigger red flag was the attempts to sound official while unknowingly sounding way off ("job visa," "process pardons with USCIS," etc.)

Ah gotcha. Honestly, I'm not sure the circumstances that led to him no longer being in the U.S. / no longer working for my friend - that's a good question. I basically just wanted to help him parse out if the email he got was legit, and it looks like it's absolutely not.

Yep, I tend to agree with you. Not sure I understand the question. 100% agree. It threw up some red flags to him - that's why he asked for my advice.

I am a USC petitioning for my husband and stepdaughters, but I'm posting here for a friend of mine (seems like since I've started this process, I am everyone's go-to for immigration questions 😀). He's a franchise owner of a couple restaurants in the U.S., and he has a former employee that now lives in Mexico that he would like to help bring to the U.S. through an employment-based visa (if that's even possible). I believe he's already discussed this with the former employee because my friend received an e-mail from a place called LaborMexy, which seems to be a recruiting agency for companies for workers from Mexico. He wanted to know if the e-mail he got looked legit, and I really don't think it does, but wanted the opinions of all of VJers who are much more knowledgeable than me. The lawyer and company do exist, so maybe the spelling errors are due to a language barrier issue. Still, to my knowledge, employment-based visas are petitioned by the employer in the U.S., NOT by the employee in the foreign country through a lawyer, correct? Also - any insight into what "process their pardons with USCIS" means would be great.

June 2022 I-130 filer here! I submitted 4 I-130 petitions (my spouse and three stepdaughters) on June 2. I filed online, so I got the NOA-1 immediately and got the mailed version several days later - Nebraska Service Center. I filed the I-129F for K3 on June 13, and it arrived to the lockbox on June 22. I received the NOA-1 for that on June 27. I know there's conflicting reports about the potential advantages or not of filing the K3 paperwork, but I don't mind paperwork, so I didn't mind doing an extra step. If it helps, fantastic! If it doesn't, no biggie. Best of luck to us all!

When your brother and his wife got married through the Registro Civil (civil registry) in Mexico, one of the requirements is providing a certified copy of the termination of a previous marriage. If her previous marriage was never registered at the Registro Civil and was only a religious ceremony, then it's my understanding that it is not recognized as a marriage.

@pushbrk excellent insight, thank you! In my research, I have often come across your replies and have found them very helpful. I definitely plan to make myself a student of the NVC stage in the next year!

Yup, planning to continue gathering evidence for the NVC stage/interview, as you mentioned! Thanks

Ok, that's what I thought. Thanks! I know there's no way to really speed up the process - just trying to be prepared as possible for when the time comes. Thanks!

After 2 months of gathering documents and evidence, I've finally submitted the I-130s for my husband and our three stepdaughters! We submitted online, so I've already received NOA1s for all four applications. They are in Mexico (so CDJ consulate, aka very busy and backlogged), so I'm trying to do as much as I can now to speed up the NVC stage (have documents ready, etc.). Can we start gathering documents now (like his police certificate and my employment letters/pay stubs/etc), or will they be considered out of date by the time we reach that stage? Is there anything else I can be doing to be prepared for the next step? Thanks so much - this forum has been a lifesaver!