Taiwan passport renewal + conscription = fucked?

Dracil

So I went to the Taiwan embassy today to get my passport renewed so I can get my H-1b renewed as well as finish my whole green card process.

They told me they can't renew my passport because I'm:
1) Of conscription age
2) Who never served
3) And I'm not a student
4) And I'm probably no longer a resident of Thailand so my "overseas resident" status may no longer apply either.

So because of this chicken and egg problem I think I'm fucked and am going to waste 1-4 years of my life and lose a good job because of this. I'm probably grasping for straws here but maybe someone on the forums has been in the same situation and has advice?

ceres

Find a good immigration lawyer.

Improvolone

You're probably not longer a resident? That's not something they can verify?

Just to clarify, you're from Thailand but live and work in the US?

UrQuanLord88

Google got me:
http://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/i140/482453229/expired-passport-can-my-gc-still-get-approve

The most important thing for you right now is not if you can apply I-140 or not, is your expired passport. ...
...By immigration law, people should hold valid passport when they stay in foreign country. You don't need to get a new stamp or I-94 after you renew your passport, just need to show both of the passports will do the work. Since your passport already expired last year, I am not sure how to make up the period in between last September and your new passport. You might need to consult with immigration attorney and also call Taiwan Bureau of Consular of Affairs ASAP because you are indeed out of status now.

Also, do you hold any other passports? You really want to have a valid passport because that is the only document that identifies your nationality. People seem to forget how important passports are but essentially without one you have no protections from any nation, which will put you in a very vulnerable position, especially if you are overseas.

You should talk to an immigration lawyer and/or find out if there are ways to defer conscription and get your passport renewed. From what I've read/heard, Taiwan is transitioning to voluntary conscription, with only a 3-4 month compulsory service.

Modern Man

ceres wrote: »

Find a good immigration lawyer.

I think the starting point should be getting a good lawyer in Taiwan to deal with this. Whether or not Taiwan issues you a new passport is not something a US lawyer can help you with.

If all of this is going to cause you immigration problems in the US, you may need to hire a lawyer here, too.

Thanatos

Okay... Given that you're talking about an H1-B, I'm guessing you're in the U.S. now, right? And you're a citizen of Taiwan? So what the fuck does Thailand have to do with anything?

Dracil

So I did talk to my company's immigration lawyers and it looks like I can actually stay in the US while I extend my H-1B status/get permanent residency even with an expired passport. There's a slight complication with my I-94 expiration time (which is the same as the passport) but that might not matter with the extension application. But still checking for any possible complications of renewing an expired passport from the Taiwan standpoint. But at least from talking to the lady there, it looks like once I have permanent residency documents I can keep my overseas status when I get a new passport, but again, something I need to verify (esp. on expired passports).

The reason Thailand came into play is because that's where I grew up, and that's where I got my original overseas status. I'm pretty sure I'm no longer a resident there because I need to get tourist visas whenever I go back now. I think I lost my residency for not going back every year or something sometime in the last 11 years. That, or simply not actually living there any more. But I'm checking with my dad (time zone difference) to see if that's really the case.