Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith

Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.

New NIW Petition After a Recent Denial

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I’m considering to hire a lawyer for green card application. I applied green card under the NIW category before, however was rejected a year ago. I’m currently under H1b visa, my position will end in a month. I havn’t found another job yet. I attatched my CV here and would like to know if my case stands a chance. Thanks!

Deciding when to file an NIW petition is very important because any denials will follow you when you make a new application. On each application, you must disclose previous denials and the adjudications officer will pull your old file to see why it was denied and you the reasons for the last denial against you. At this point, I would recommend filing a new NIW only if you are able to overcome the reason why the last application was denied. We have handled many second filings with success but we will have to carefully review your accomplishments and the previous denial decision.

No COS/EOS Notation on I-94

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Hello, we are a couple from Europe, Lithuania, we are 48 years old. We had a B1, B2 Visa for ten years. The last time we came to America, August 24.2010. Visa is valid until August 25 , 2010. We received a migration authorization (Form I-94) until November 15, 2010, with the words: “Stay Limited No EOS / COS. In November 2009, we asked the Migration extend our presence in United States. The first received a letter from the migration of the month, it was the standard migration Letter saying that our request is registered and received a fee. A second letter received from the migration in February 2011 with additional questions – Why do we require an extension. Responded to questions until March 7, 2011. And March 30, 2011 we received last migration letter stating that our request is denied.
We still have not left the country, we want to find a migration lawyer who could help us. We very much want to stay in this country, and to have legal status ….. Do we still have possibilities if you can help us??? Do we have the chance to obtain legal status, or to sponsor – the employer’s green card??? How much could it cost if we have another opportunity for legal status of any??? Are we still in force 180 days?
Looking forward to any response from you. Thank you for your time prevented. I hope for your help.
With respect.
I sincerely thank you.

A CBP “No EOS/COS/AOS” notation is not binding on USCIS and you can still obtain an extension from USCIS. That being said, your case has already been denied and it looks like the 30 day window to file a motion to reopen/reconsider has passed so you will most likely need to leave the country. We can help you obtain new visas at the Embassy to study or work here. You may have some other options so please contact our office for more information and be aware that the 3 year bar kicks in when you are out of status for 180 days.

Visa Waiver (VWP) Overstay

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Hello, I came from France and I overstay my waiver visa. Now I want to file a (I-601 and I-212) without leaving the country is that possible? I still have 2 more years to go before I become a chemical engineer

Visa Waiver entrants are barred from changing their status or applying for residency (green card) in the US unless their green card sponsor is an immediate relative such as a spouse AND they apply while their I-94W is still valid (with some exceptions). We’ll need to review your specific case in further details before we can help you.

H1B Husband Doesn’t Want H4 Wife to Take Kids to India

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I am H1B working fulltime for one IT company. I have two kids One Daughter (7th Grade) and Son(Kindergarden).My wife wants to go back to india along with kids for which I am not interested due to career growth of my elder child. my question, Can I stop legally my kids go back to india. I am not bothered about my wife. Let her go toinida.

This isn’t really an immigration issue, it is more of a family law issue. In order to prevent your wife from taking the kids to India, assuming you are located in Illinois, you’ll need to petition the Circuit Court for custody of the children. Then you will have authority over where they will reside.

PERM Application Where Applicant’s Experience Was Obtained From Sponsoring Employer

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I am currently working with an employer in the US on H1b. I have been working in datawarehousing field for the past almost 5 years. Prior to the US, I had 4 years, 5 months experience in the same field before moving to the US.

Now, for EB2 category, I am waiting for my 5 years completion time. Once that is done, I want to apply for a green card with my employer. I wanted to know one thing though, will my experience with my current employer in the US be considered or not? Since the experience has been in Datawarehousing throughout these years, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

I have heard though, that the current employer experience is not considered. Is that true?

Apart from that, I would require the details and fee involved in the whole process and time frame for EB2.

Experience gained from the sponsoring employer cannot be used unless the job was not substantially comparable to the job offer. Therefore, it is possible to use the experience as we have successfully dealt with this issue before. Current PERM processing times are about two months and EB-2 processing is about 3-5 months.

Waiving the Meeting Requirement for an K1 Visa Application

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I am trying to secure a fiancee visa. The problem I have is that I can not obtain a passport due to owing child support. The question I have is there any other way I can get her here without traveling to her country? She lives in Uzbekistan. Is there another type of visa we can get so that she may travel here.

The law allows USCIS to waive the meeting requirement where there is extreme hardship or a long established custom. To put this in perspective, in 2003 the USCIS Office of Administrative Appeals (AAO) ruled that there was no extreme hardship in a case where the US sponsor refused to meet his fiance during the Afghanistan war because they could have met in a third country.  I don’t think your failure to pay child support would make you eligible for a waiver.

F1 Visa Stamping After a Successful Change of Status

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I came into the US with a visitors visa and my school managed to get me into F-1 status. I would like to see how i can get an F1 visa stamp in my passport so i may travel back home. Id like to find out what my options are.

The only way to obtain a visa stamp in your passport is to apply for stamping at a US Embassy outside of the US. While you can obtain a new visa status in the US, you cannot obtain the visa stamp without leaving the country. The US Embassies prefer that you apply for the visa stamp in your home country. This means that you generally have a greater chance of success there. However, since it is cheaper and faster to travel to Canada or Mexico, many people choose to apply there. Embassies in Canada and Mexico will only accept certain applicants so we will need to make sure that you are eligible before you leave the country.

E1 Visa Denied in Taiwan

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My E1 visa got denied at the US Consulate in Taiwan. I work at a food import company as a manager. The officer asked me what my daily job is when I was getting the interview, I forgot to explain to her that I am the one in charge the company while my boss leaves the country. (he has to leave for visiting suppliers overseas every 2-3 months.) I believe it is the reason why the officer think I dont actually work at a manager posotion,then the officer rejected my E1 Visa.  Should I  re-apply?   What kind of documents can help me to prove I really work as a manager position?

You can either reapply for the E1 visa in Taiwan (AIT) with stronger supporting documentation or we can petition the US Department of State and ask them to review the denial and instruct AIT to issue the E1 visa. We have taken both paths in previous cases and have had success in each. We’ll have to review your case in more detail to determine your best course of action.