That’s what I’d like to try. I’m no longer married, but I AM my son’s only financial support. They refused to give me JFRV status because, though it comes with open work rights, you can’t get it unless you can be supported by the family member you’re joining. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in the first place, if you think about it. Anyway, a child can’t support me, so I can’t have JFRV status.
I can get APRC, or PARC, after the requisit number of years here, but that leaves me tied to one job until I can get everything done after living here that long.
I’d like to petition for an open work permit NOW because I want to be able to provide for my son to the best of my ability and still be legal. And I don’t like the idea that if something went sour at work (not that I think it will, I think I’ll love the new job), I could have to leave and start things over again, while still trying to be a good and steady parent. It’s just needless stress.
So, what do you think about this and could you recommend a good legal counsel?
How long have you been back in the States? If it’s less than 2 years, you might have some chance.
I managed to get an open work permit (back in mid-2002) on the strength of my 5 years’ legal work ending in mid-2000. The law is worded so that the work has to have been within 2 years of the application date. Problem is, you will/might still be tied to one job because the open work permit is good only for a specific job, and when I applied for a third one (the second went through fine, despite the date being more than 2 years past the end of the qualifying experience period) it was denied on the grounds that, although I was working legally on another OWP (two actually), the experience on which the application was based (the 5 years) were more than 2 years in the past.
:loco:
I was in the States for five years. Thanks for your reply, though. I have a job here, I just don’t like it that the visa is tied to that specific job, you know? They really need to have some other box for people like me to fit into. There are still lots of opportunities here for some of us, and I don’t want to have to violate the terms of my visa in order to take advantage of them and don’t want to limit my earning potential because I have a child to care for.
Tell me about it. I’ve been ranting for years that there needs to be some allowance for people who don’t happen to be married, but who do good work and are productive sorts, paying taxes and all that. It’s dead easy to get a work permit/residence if you want to get married. What about those of us who are trying to avoid loading the Taiwanese legal system with later issues? 
If they had thought about this before, I would still be living in Taiwan today.