Hello all,

"ONCE YOU APPLY FOR TPS, YOUR CURRENT STATUS BECOMES VOID". SO THINK TWICE BEFORE APPLYING. GET A FULL CONFIRMATION AT FIRST.

To come back to your original status once TPS ends, you should consult the uscis officer near your field office to get the 100% accurate answer.
I am making an appointment next week and get confirmation for my questions.

However,
Just to share the info that I received from USCIS Customer Representative.

They even don't have the answers to the questions I asked.

My question was:
1) Can H1B holders apply for EAD card thru TPS and work part time to another employer while maintaining full time with current employer and protecting H1B status ? Ans: "I Don't have an answer for that however, you can make an appointment to USCIS officer via our info pass and you will get all the information you need from him."

2) Can H4 apply for TPS ? Ans: "Yes, but current status becomes void and you will be protected by TPS". Can he/she come back to H4 after TPS ends? Ans: "You will get your full confirmation on that as well once you visit to the USCIS officer near your location."


Also,
EAD Card Holders: You can't have a two EAD card. (Thats for sure) Either you need to leave your OPT/H1B EAD Card and have TPS EAD Card or use your existing EAD Card. USCIS don't authorize two EAD card for the same person. If you plan to use TPS EAD card, once TPS ends, your employer need to file H1B, leave the country again and come back on H1B Visa.

So, H1B holders, I don't see any benefit on applying for EAD card thru TPS. ( I will get full confirmation on this next week as well)

All immigrant Visas can apply for TPS , EAD card and work but remember again, your current status becomes VOID. To know whether you can come back to the original status you had before applying to TPS, I don't have a perfect answer for that. But, if you have questions, I can ask with the officer next week and get answers.

Remember again, Once TPS is granted, your current status becomes VOID.


Good luck to all.

I tried to reply to all of these but it's just too much. Too many people asking personal questions.

Here is a general answer:

Imagine there are strong visas, and weak visas. Imagine TPS is in the middle. People with weak visas (F-1, F-2, B-1 B-2, H-4) will generally want TPS. People with strong visas (i.e. H-1B with pending EB visa application) probably don't want to mess things up with their employer while they wait for the green card. This is a personal choice and needs legal advice.

An immigration lawyer can give you these answers in a matter of minutes, not the 8-9 days it takes to get an InfoPass in major city USCIS offices. As @coolbuddy learned, the Customer Service Hotline people are not USCIS officers.

A lawyer will also explain things correctly in a way that is personal to you. This is especially true about issues of TIMING. USCIS doesn't care about you as a person; they can only tell you what the regulations say. Timing is personal to you and timing matters a great deal in these cases.

BUT I can save @coolbuddy the suspense . . . Let's assume TPS doesn't void H-1B. You take the TPS EAD and you work two jobs. THAT violates H-1B. The real question is: does it matter? Second question: can I still get a green card through an employer if working a second job is more important to me than H-1B status? Third question: will I have enough time? These are the real questions.

Thanks everyone for starting such a great conversation

Jamie Gorton
Law Offices of Jamie Gorton - (800) 655-0347

In a democratic nation, people deserve accurate information. All individual cases might be different, all the visa regulation and bulletin should be clear, which anyone can assess. However, hiding right information or difficulty to dissdisseminate information to right customer must be. A real help not a hogwash. Different people are procrastining their own interpretation, this is called chaos. Higher the chaos the system likely to explode.

Why is everyone blaming f1 and h1s for asking questions and labeling them as personal questions. I see all f1s and h1s are asking two questions.

f1: do we have to maintain f1 visa if we go on tps? and if we chose not to maintain can we gain h1, gc or other immigration benefits in the future?
h1b: Is it better to stay on h1 b for the future gc or take temporary status? or can both be maintained?

I think if someone clearly answers these questions then most the curiosities can be addressed.

Question: If an H-1B nonimmigrant obtains an EAD based on his or her TPS, can he or she
continue to maintain his or her H-1B nonimmigrant status?
Answer: A TPS beneficiary is granted an “open market employment” EAD. This means that the EAD gives him or her unrestricted access to employment in the United States. The fact that an H-1B nonimmigrant is granted this type of an EAD does not cause the alien to violate his or her nonimmigrant status, if he or she continues to act in accordance with the requirements of his or her approved H-1B nonimmigrant petition. However, the nonimmigrant will violate his or her H-1B status if s/he uses the EAD to engage in employment for a separate employer and leaves the employer listed on the approved I-129 petition.

So seems like it's no good for H1b holders. You can have 1 EAD at a time , but if are to lose job , you can use that as a back up

Khatebuda, thanks. but what if H1b drops his H1b and stays on tps? by the look of tps for other countries it usually gets renewed and Nepal is no way going to recover in less than 5 years. So why not stay on tps, work, or go to school and when it is about to expire come to f1 or h1b? h1b may be tough but one can go to school at any time and get an f1. or even better from Tps you can file GC straight if your employer is willing, because there is no restriction to change status from tps to others. Since there are tons of dhoti consultancies who are going to file gc after working for them for few years whats the problem?

@loperthapa

"f1: do we have to maintain f1 visa if we go on tps? and if we chose not to maintain can we gain h1, gc or other immigration benefits in the future?"

By definition, you do not need to maintain F-1 status if you go on TPS. However you cannot "change status" from TPS, you can only "adjust status" from TPS. "Adjustment of status" means "get the green card inside the United States without having to leave." "Change status" means "go from one non-immigrant visa to another." Example: B-2 -> F-1 = change of status. F-2 -> F-1 = change of status. TPS -> Green Card = "adjustment." Not trying to confuse anyone, this is just what they're called.

"h1b: Is it better to stay on h1 b for the future gc or take temporary status? or can both be maintained?"

Remember that H-1B does NOT lead to a green card, only an EB visa does. But because H-1Bs can last practically forever as long as there is a pending I-140, there is no sense in getting TPS *UNLESS* there is some problem with the employee/employer relationship. But again, it depends on how the person plans on adjusting status. If it's December and the employer can't get a labor certification than it would be a different story.

" So why not stay on tps, work, or go to school and when it is about to expire come to f1 or h1b?"

Remember that you cannot "change status" off of TPS; you need to leave the US and come back with a new visa. If you have overstayed your visa this is a big problem because of "unlawful presence."

Jamie Gorton
Law Offices of Jamie Gorton - 1 (800) 655-0347

Hi Jamie Gorton,
Thanks for expanding the discussion. I just become more interested now about adjustment of status. As you mentioned that through TPS, one can adjust status. Does it mean that if my sister who is US citizen, can sponsor me for Green card when I am in TPS? Usually it takes long years for visa number available, if she files now. In the mean time if TPS expires, what will happen. I am willing to sacrifice my j1 for family reunion.

Thank you Jamie, you made it so clear for me now. So overall it's not so simple for h1b and f1s since they can not do change of status from within the US at the end of TPS, but they can do adjustment of status, if i understood correctly. Would it be possible to summarize/copy paste all your inputs and create one single thread in sajha. I think there are so many valuable information in different threads by you and wish we could summarize all in one place , that would probably make it easy for lots of f1s and h1s. You're one true helpful spirit. Thank you so much for Helping us during this confusing time.

jamie gorton law firm looks really knowledgeable in it's field and he is the first here to answer general curiosity we have. I was saying some of the same thing but couldn't articulate in attorney's language lol I concede . so in general he is giving you insight but if you have unique personal needs get help from him as TPS seems like one rule doesn't apply to all. I personally prefer non nepali attorney for nepal immg. issue for various reason. Some people in NY with no attorney degree  and experience are creating filing help with $500 donation to PM relief's fund but I called it bullshit and political move. our ambassador looks like spending too much travelling air and spending money so what's the point. not all case are similar and TPS seems like like chess move so unique situation people get legal help. the question is do you provide out of state service ? not everyone lives in your state you know!

Looks like pretty much all the questions are answered.

Thanks Jamie Gorton for this useful information.

I should have used word "Suspended" instead of "VOID" for your current status. ( But again, that's what USCIS rep. told me)

@ suraj2062 and @ roomrent969:
If you are in H1b and get approval for TPS, your H1b will gets suspended and will be protected by TPS. And if you change your company from A to B, follow all the steps regarding "How to move to Employer B from A on H1B visa". If you simply change from A to B and your visa petitioner is still A, you violated the H1B status and you will be out of status once TPS ends. And since, H4 is H1B dependent, he/she will be out of status as well.

@ Gorton Law
I definitely can't risk my fixed 6 yrs of H1b status and apply for TPS. But, thank you so much for your valuable information.

Conclusion: Anybody can apply for TPS but need to maintain all the requirements to come back to their original status once TPS ends. ( As Gorton mentioned, H1b can't work on two jobs, can't simply change from company B to A and work to company B without changing the H-1B Visa Petitioner at USCIS, F-1 can't work more than 20 hrs/week , F-2 and H-4 can't work at all ).

Are there any questions that needs to be addressed for the USCIS officer ?

Good luck to all.

Gorton Law, I just did a quick research and found out you guys are a pretty well established and a reliable firm serving the New England area. If I have a personal query regarding TPS, what would your fee be for let's say a 10-minute session over the phone?


Thanks,

Question: If an H-1B nonimmigrant obtains an EAD based on his or her TPS, can he or she
continue to maintain his or her H-1B nonimmigrant status?
Answer: A TPS beneficiary is granted an “open market employment” EAD. This means that the EAD gives him or her unrestricted access to employment in the United States. The fact that an H-1B nonimmigrant is granted this type of an EAD does not cause the alien to violate his or her nonimmigrant status, if he or she continues to act in accordance with the requirements of his or her approved H-1B nonimmigrant petition. However, the nonimmigrant will violate his or her H-1B status if s/he uses the EAD to engage in employment for a separate employer and leaves the employer listed on the approved I-129 petition.

something helpful ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzGmIFaTzA8

So far what I understood is:
even if we are in H1B, we can apply TPS and maintain the H1B status(work with H1B EAD) so that if something goes wrong in H1B, TPS will protect us.
Now, my question is:
my H1B starts on October 2015. I am planning to go Nepal when H1B starts and get married and come back in November/December. Once I will come back (with wife after H1B stamping) then I will apply for TPS. Would that be OK or in that case, I cant apply for TPS?
If I cant apply for TPS at that time, another option would be apply for TPS before going Nepal, apply for travel document then go Nepal, get married, have wife's H4 stamping (I have travel doc so i assume i dont need to go for stamping in this case) and come back.
Which one of above would be the good approach?

Sajha keto :
I hope I will answer you question to the best of my knowledge.
It all depends on when you are coming back as well. The initial registration filing for TPS ends on 21st December 2015. If you are coming at least 10-14 days before that then I would suggest you to do that. Why go through hassle and spend money on AP. And if you can easily work on H1B and no plans of working on TPS EAD for other employer then there is no point in filing TPS early, before u go to Nepal.
The other good thing is that you are your wife will give interview together and it is helpful for her as you are there to explain things to consular.

Stupida:
I heard that if I travel without tps and again come back and apply for tps, I will not get TPS as TPS is granted because of the situation in Nepal but when I come back and apply, I would not be in that situation

@Sajha keto:

Since you mentioned H1b holders can apply TPS and maintain his H1b status, I have a question for you .

What will be your status once TPS gets approved? H1B or TPS ?? I know if you don't get an EAD , you won't be violating H1b status. But, so far what I have heard, your H1B will be terminated. And, you will be in TPS. Once, TPS ends and if you are working for the same employer and your H1b hasn't expired, you need to get a H1B visa from US consulate abroad providing the fact that you weren't violating any H1b requirements during your TPS period.

Apart from that,assume whatever I heard was correct, and still you apply for TPS, went Nepal with AP, and came back safely. How would you bring your wife here ?? TPS won't let you bring your wife here !!

Conclusion: We need a full confirmation what exactly TPS does for H1b holders !!!

Guys, I need help in understanding these--
i) Do you HAVE TO apply for EAD right when you apply for TPS or can you apply for this later?
ii) I understand there is a deadline for TPS (Dec 21, 2015). Do we have EAD deadline too?


Jai Nepal!!

@Adhibandhu:

Thanks for your information. I already read that long time ago. My question was, working part time with other employer and maintaining full time with current employer (i.e, stay with employer listed on the approved I-129 petition along with work part time with other employer).

Looks like, this is still violation of H1B. I will find the answer soon though. :)

But thanks again and good luck.

@ StatusPidit

Guys, I need help in understanding these--
i) Do you HAVE TO apply for EAD right when you apply for TPS or can you apply for this later?

First of all, though you don't want EAD now, you need to submit I-765 form along with I-821 stating you don't EAD. I think you cannot apply afterward for EAD separately. It is only Travel parole you can apply later once your TPS is granted.


ii) I understand there is a deadline for TPS (Dec 21, 2015). Do we have EAD deadline too?
If you want or don't want EAD, you have to submit Form i765 (EAD form).