newacct

It is possible to get a nonimmigant waiver. You would apply for your visa, get denied, and if the officer recommends a waiver they will let you know what the next steps are. By the way, a "240-day rule" is not relevant here. If you had a timely-filed and non-frivolous Extension of Status pending, you would not accrue unlawful presence for the entire duration that it was pending, with no time limit (even if it takes years). The 240 days thing is only about the period you are authorized to work; it has nothing to do with unlawful presence. However, in your case, Extension of Status could not be filed since you were not in the US, so you had no Extension of Status pending.

You should not have been able to get H1b if your 2-year home residency requirement has not been satisfied or waived.

There is no such thing as an "overstay waiver". Waivers are only for bans. There is a ban for accruing 180 days of "unlawful presence" and then leaving the US. You do not accrue "unlawful presence" for the entire period that a timely-filed, non-frivolous Extension of Status application is pending, no matter how long it takes.

1. no 2. a re-entry permit might help, but nobody knows 3. whether she has a re-entry permit or not has no effect on continuous residence. Continuous residence would be based on the what actual periods she was in the US and her intent for her actual absences.

No. The AOS-based EAD is not dependent on your status.

It says to use Dates for Filing chart for family-based categories for AOS for Jul 2019, and that chart is not current for F2A, but at March 2019. It is unclear whether you can argue that you should be able to file based on Final Action Dates.

The USCIS AOS filing chart for July 2019 isn't out yet.

Yes, you can file I-485 even if I-130 is pending. Note that the chart that decides whether you can file I-485 in a given month is here.

No. They can only apply for naturalization after they have been permanent residents for 5 years. If your son is under 18, he can't apply for naturalization until he turns 18, but if you become a citizen before he turns 18, he automatically becomes a citizen without doing anything.

Exceeding 90 days of unemployment on OPT will cause you to immediately lose OPT and lose F1 status. However, you do not have to maintain status while I-485 is pending, and losing status after I-485 is filed does not affect I-485, as long as you don't work illegally.

1. It is not harmful 1,2. It doesn't matter if you take it with you or not. 3. It's not really "additional screening" but just having to sit in secondary screening for a while while they verify your AP in the computer system since it's in a different system than the one that's available to the immigration officer. But entering on an H1b visa does have the advantage that it gets you into H1b status, whereas entering on AP makes you a "parolee" without status.

Yes. In fact, if you are unmarried, your father wouldn't have to become a citizen before petitioning you; he can petition you immediately after he enters the US. The unmarried over-21 child of a permanent resident is in the F2B category, which has a wait for visa numbers of around 6 years for people born in most countries (longer for people born in Mexico and the Philippines). You would have to remain unmarried during this time. On the other hand, your sister petitioning you would be in the F4 category, which has a wait for visa numbers of around 13 years for people born in most countries (longer for people born in Mexico and the Philippines). So if you are unmarried, going through your father is much faster even considering the about a year it takes for him to immigrate, because F2B is so much faster than F4 (unless you are born in Mexico in which case F4 is faster than F2B). If you are married, your father petitioning you after he becomes a citizen would be in the F3 category, which has a wait for visa numbers of 12.5 years for people born in most countries. Combined with the 5 years to naturalize and the about 1 year to immigrate, this would not be faster than F4.

I doubt it. Did your spouse work in the US? The Social Security credits earned by your spouse during the period of the marriage would also count.

1. Yes. In fact, in California, you can apply for Medi-Cal immediately after becoming a permanent resident, without a 5-year waiting period (of course, assuming you meet the income requirements). In most other states you have to have been a permanent resident for 5 years before you can apply for Medicaid. 2. No impact on your status under current rules. No impact on naturalization. If you immigrated through family-based immigration, the sponsor(s) who filed I-864 for you could in theory be asked by the state for reimbursement for need-based benefits received before you become a citizen, but I do not believe California or any other state seeks reimbursement. 3. Not at all. Whether you have a job is not a factor in naturalization.

But what is your spouse going to do when your H1b status expires (and thus her H4 status expires), and your extension is still pending?