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vsivarama
10-30-2020, 08:47 AM
Not sure ! I have seen people being dems before getting GC and moving to red camp the day GC arrives :)

Yes, you are right and I have seen those people. I do not see things as D's vs R's issues. That's why I commend the old timers in this group like Q, Spec and others who are principled and consistent on issues (immigration here). And just because people flip from D to R does NOT necessarily mean they are anti-immigrant. It just means some other issue has taken up no 1 priority in their life since they do not have to worry about immigration anymore. There are plenty of issues in the world and frankly to a third party, they are all more important than someone's immigration status. But to most people in this forum immigration is probably one of the top priorities. Does that make us bad people? I don't think so.

vsivarama
10-30-2020, 08:53 AM
I suppose everyone is pissed off with the Bulletin, especially the EB2-I folks . For EB2 , if we assume a backlog of ~1.5K GCs per month until April 30th 2010 , we will have about 15K GCs that they will need to issue to clear the 2012 backlog.
So with 30K extra green cards in just EB2 and moving dates by just 3 weeks , they will certainly waste GCs again as it won't go past April 2010 . This is just another stalling tactic by USCIS to prevent India from getting GCs. Who ever gets elected is not going to lift a finger for us. The 120K SO is an unintended consequence (so lets not praise anyone) and looks like they doing everything to prevent the issuance of this SO, or the most of it .

BTW for the last fiscal did they issue 144K GCs or did they waste 20K as reported ?

Your argument might have merit when it comes to EB2 as most of the cases are prejudicated. As far as EB3 is concerned, People from May, 2010 just applied for 485 this month. So it does not really matter if the FAD moves past May 2010, No one is getting greened in a month of applying 485. Not throwing in the towel yet.

AceMan
10-30-2020, 09:02 AM
All fair points and by mid 2021 lotsa Q1 filers (like us) would be mostly done with admin. processing of adjudications and could be click away when the visas become available (assuming no interviews by then). Obviously painting an optimistic scenario here.

2009 might have little over 4000 applicants remaining.

2010 has little over 22,500 approved 140’s from India. If if you take the most optimistic count the total numbers for 2010 from India is not going to be less than 30,000.

Under one month movement for Eb2 and 1 and half month movement for Eb3 is way below the par rate for 2021. We got 10 more months to see if things speed up by 2nd quarter.

delguy
10-30-2020, 09:28 AM
I don't understand your extreme pessimism here. The filing dates were never moved this aggressively in the past decade. This is already unprecedented, I would give a couple more months before doom scrolling here.

Most likely the Filing Dates moved because uscis need money to survive plus they have planned fee increase for adjustment applications to go in effect from Oct 2 which got striked by a court on Sep 30th. So to me this was simply an exercise to mop up money. The way FADs didnt move as per the Spillover from FB is an indication that they still prefer to waste visas than issue them to backlogged countries.

vedu
10-30-2020, 09:33 AM
That's not a rule. Its been a general practice with exceptions.

So far, I didn't see any exceptions to general practice this year. Hope things change in the second quarter for everybody's benefit. Until then, I would like to stick with the most conservative scenario and not be disappointed afterwards. Some of this optimism/pessimism also springs from the fact that people on this forum who filed their I-485 recently are in a different state of mind (happy, so optimistic) than other people like us who have filed our I-485 ten years ago (sad, so pessimistic)!

vsivarama
10-30-2020, 09:44 AM
Most likely the Filing Dates moved because uscis need money to survive plus they have planned fee increase for adjustment applications to go in effect from Oct 2 which got striked by a court on Sep 30th. So to me this was simply an exercise to mop up money. The way FADs didnt move as per the Spillover from FB is an indication that they still prefer to waste visas than issue them to backlogged countries.

Putting things in context here -

Sept 2019 Visa Bulletin EB2 FAD - 01 JUN 2009
Sept 2020 Visa Bulletin EB2 FAD - 08 JUL 2009
Oct 2020 Visa Bulleting EB2 FAD - 01 SEP 2009
Nov 2020 Visa Bulletin EB2 FAD - 22 SEP 2009

Maybe you are right but the stats so far are encouraging.

suninphx
10-30-2020, 10:51 AM
Yes, you are right and I have seen those people. I do not see things as D's vs R's issues. That's why I commend the old timers in this group like Q, Spec and others who are principled and consistent on issues (immigration here). And just because people flip from D to R does NOT necessarily mean they are anti-immigrant. It just means some other issue has taken up no 1 priority in their life since they do not have to worry about immigration anymore. There are plenty of issues in the world and frankly to a third party, they are all more important than someone's immigration status. But to most people in this forum immigration is probably one of the top priorities. Does that make us bad people? I don't think so.

Just to be clear, I don't paint people as good or bad people based which political party they belong to. Both parties have some outstanding leaders.I was simply countering your point by saying that dems may not have much to loose if they choose to benefit more on FB side than EB side, as EB people tend to change the political affiliation based on GC situation (this is just my observation and may not be general phenomenon. Neither I am suggesting it's good or bad. It's just a personal choice people make). And I certainly don't think either party is anti-immigration.

srimurthy
10-30-2020, 10:58 AM
Hello folks - I am in a strange situation and do not know how things will transpire. I am current in Nov bulletin with EB2I PD Sep 2009. My EAD/AP is going to expire on Dec 12, 2020. Will they be issuing me a new EAP/AP combo card? My DL is going to expire on the same day Dec 12, 2020 and I am not sure how I should proceed. I
am worried that I will have to be off payroll if EAD is not issued on time. Any suggestions?

I guess you don't have to be off payroll as you already applied for EAD extension and after you receive the receipt it can be considered and can continue working.

srimurthy
10-30-2020, 11:05 AM
So far, I didn't see any exceptions to general practice this year. Hope things change in the second quarter for everybody's benefit. Until then, I would like to stick with the most conservative scenario and not be disappointed afterwards. Some of this optimism/pessimism also springs from the fact that people on this forum who filed their I-485 recently are in a different state of mind (happy, so optimistic) than other people like us who have filed our I-485 ten years ago (sad, so pessimistic)!

Vedu - I missed the boat in 2012 as my PD is late 2010 (Sep), and I am still pessimistic that anything will materialize in the next one year. Ideally USICS could have left the FADs in Dec 2011 or 2012 to get any idea of the filings for both EB2I and EB3I.
It is ridiculous playing around by moving dates to 2015 without the ability of moving the FADs sufficiently last year. They could not plan and move to Apr'2010 for EB2I and EB3I where most of the applications have been lying in Q for 10 years, so expecting FAD to clear 2011 and get into 2012 this year is plain fantasy.

idliman
10-30-2020, 04:26 PM
Well this is an interesting read from Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys of her law firm.

Why was there so little movement in the November visa bulletin? Is there any chance that the dates will move more in the coming months?AnswerWe are not sure why there was not more movement in the November 2020 Visa Bulletin. Our best guess is that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been receiving a flood of I-485 filings over the past several weeks, and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) – which is in charge of the visa bulletin – is waiting for more data before determining how far to move the cutoff dates. Our hope is that, within the coming months (and perhaps as soon as in next month’s visa bulletin,) the USCIS and the DOS will be able to take stock of the remaining immigrant visa numbers for this fiscal year, and then continue to advance the cutoff dates. In the meantime, we are hoping to hear input from Charles Oppenheim, the Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the DOS, as to what we should expect from the coming visa bulletins. (29.Oct.2020)



We can sit here analyze the heck out of VB. Surely things are happening that are beyond our control. An indication might be seen in recent interview of S.Miller in NBC for his plans for the 2nd term of his president.

rabp77
10-31-2020, 09:03 AM
Congratulations to all who are current in the Nov 2020 VB. Could you please post your updates regarding your case in this google spreadsheet. This will help monitor progress, and answer any questions.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14iEldrpq252TDvuTcSVet6j1EZDK6pSIyE4sxfQdgOw/edit?usp=sharing

rocketfast
10-31-2020, 12:24 PM
Congratulations to all who are current in the Nov 2020 VB. Could you please post your updates regarding your case in this google spreadsheet. This will help monitor progress, and answer any questions.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14iEldrpq252TDvuTcSVet6j1EZDK6pSIyE4sxfQdgOw/edit?usp=sharing

I am curious on why there is a trend of creating google spread-sheets when there is already a trackitt tracker for I-485 applications here:
https://www.trackitt.com/usa-immigration-trackers/i485-eb

eb2jun2010
10-31-2020, 01:19 PM
I got to know yesterday that my company will be acquired in 2 weeks by another company. My pd is June, 2010 eb2 and we sent the 485 package on Oct 20th. I am still waiting for the receipts and hope to get them before the acquisition. Is my 485 in pending status even though I did not receive the receipts?

If the job responsibilities and location remains the same, do we need to amend 140?
What if the company name changes?

I will be reaching out to our existing company attorney to understand my next steps.

Thanks in Advance!

gaurim17
10-31-2020, 03:49 PM
Hello gurus,

I have been a lurker on this forum since 2012 when my PD became current for the 1st time. PD is 12/10/2009. Great information here and always love to read the analysis. I was hoping the dates would move closer to my PD in Nov bulletin but unfortunately that has not happened. Still hoping to be current in couple of months. I have a question regarding 485 J. I have not received any RFE since I applied for 485 in feb 2012. I have changed jobs in the last 8 years, applied AC21, etc. Recently I was promoted and the immigration lawyer said that new position is not more than 20% change in duties, so he doesn’t see an issue.

In the past when I have asked the lawyers to apply for 485J, they have asked me to wait for RFE. Given that I am so close to being current and if 485J takes a couple of months to approve, do you all suggest that I insist that the lawyers apply for 485J?

EB2IndSep09
10-31-2020, 05:04 PM
Well this is an interesting read from Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys of her law firm.


We can sit here analyze the heck out of VB. Surely things are happening that are beyond our control. An indication might be seen in recent interview of S.Miller in NBC for his plans for the 2nd term of his president.

Well I agree with your statement Idliman that things are beyond our control.

The answer to me looks biased and this is my take based on experiences of my known associates and me.

The law firm helping my employer and employees did not send the AOS documents till last day possible (the signatures were taken in the middle of this week). And we all hundreds and hundreds of people got confirmation yesterday 10/30 that the files were sent out to USCIS. I heard same story from many of my friends that were dealing with big law firms across the board that the petitions were not sent out up until 10/28 through 10/30.

So my take is law firms tried to keep the two organizations in dark as far as possible (to keep the dates status quo) and the organizations just retaliated by not moving the dates as we all expected them to. Hope in next 2-3 weeks the flood of applications are going to be reviewed and more appropriate data will be available for the organizations to take an informed decision on FA Dates.

mesan123
10-31-2020, 05:18 PM
Well I agree with your statement Idliman that things are beyond our control.

The answer to me looks biased and this is my take based on experiences of my known associates and me.

The law firm helping my employer and employees did not send the AOS documents till last day possible (the signatures were taken in the middle of this week). And we all hundreds and hundreds of people got confirmation yesterday 10/30 that the files were sent out to USCIS. I heard same story from many of my friends that were dealing with big law firms across the board that the petitions were not sent out up until 10/28 through 10/30.

So my take is law firms tried to keep the two organizations in dark as far as possible (to keep the dates status quo) and the organizations just retaliated by not moving the dates as we all expected them to. Hope in next 2-3 weeks the flood of applications are going to be reviewed and more appropriate data will be available for the organizations to take an informed decision on FA Dates. This might be true too... As USCIS would not be able to guess the load... yeap i heard same story from most of my friends using big law firms... i dont know what they gained doing this , as many were so stressed with their cases not filed till last date...

gkjppp
10-31-2020, 05:45 PM
Hello folks - I am in a strange situation and do not know how things will transpire. I am current in Nov bulletin with EB2I PD Sep 2009. My EAD/AP is going to expire on Dec 12, 2020. Will they be issuing me a new EAP/AP combo card? My DL is going to expire on the same day Dec 12, 2020 and I am not sure how I should proceed. I
am worried that I will have to be off payroll if EAD is not issued on time. Any suggestions?

Congrats, getting GC in hand may take a couple of months for you. At least in Texas, they approve DL for a year while you are waiting for your EAD/AP renewal. Take an appointment and check with the DL office, you should be good.Congrats once again.

EB20112021
10-31-2020, 07:30 PM
EB3 2011 here as well. Thx for asking :)

inspired_p
10-31-2020, 10:29 PM
Question (EB3-I oct 2010) - how many months after the PD becomes current in FAD the GC is issued ? Filed 485 in October; and assuming FAD becomes current may 2021 will the GC issued before Oct 2021

rabp77
11-01-2020, 08:37 AM
I am curious on why there is a trend of creating google spread-sheets when there is already a trackitt tracker for I-485 applications here:
https://www.trackitt.com/usa-immigration-trackers/i485-eb

I believe it's mainly because trackitt data cannot be downloaded, people find it easier to follow in google sheets.may be we should just contact the admin of trackitt so the can add this feature, and we can have one source.

rabp77
11-01-2020, 08:43 AM
Once it becomes current, the time to approval can vary from 3weeks to 3 months in most cases. The major factor impacting the is wheather there is an rfe. If there is no RFEs, mostly approvals come within 3-6 weeks. In some cases with rfe, it could even take 5 months. But those are exceptions. Also assuming here that the rfe is responded to in a few days.

newsletter1978
11-01-2020, 11:53 PM
Gurus, do you think FAD EB2I will advance by one month or more in next bulletin

SINCE0909
11-02-2020, 12:55 AM
EB2i movement in Oct VB - 7 weeks
EB2i movement in Nov VB - 3 weeks
EB2i movement in Dec VB - 1 week?
Let’s hope for the best

bluelabel
11-02-2020, 10:30 AM
Gurus, do you think FAD EB2I will advance by one month or more in next bulletin

As per July 2018 EB2I pending inventory there are 10727 cases from July 2009 to April 2010. Out of 261000 GC available for FY 2021, EB2 quota is 74780 and India gets 7%(5235) plus spill over.

DOS can issue maximum of 27% of available EB GCs each quarter. If the spillover from 27%(20191) of EB2 is applied quarterly to EB2I then dates should move to May1st 2010 in December Bulletin otherwise 2-3 weeks is the minimum movement we should see.

JULY 968
AUGUST 801
SEPTEMBER 1006
OCTOBER 1127
NOVEMBER 1000
DECEMBER 1148
JANUARY 1086
FEBRUARY 1074
MARCH 1273
APRIL 1244

ak7419
11-02-2020, 02:13 PM
This statement from CO is patently false. There is tens of thousands of people from EB-India who are simply waiting for a visa. No processing is needed. All they have to do is simply allocate the visa.

I am one of those but still processing is needed to issue RFEs, isn't it? Almost all of them have expired medicals and we also need to submit 485J. Staff needs to open all of these cases, identify the ones that need RFEs, issue them, wait for their response, re-process the case and then issue GC. Perhaps that is what CO is referring to?

vsivarama
11-02-2020, 10:45 PM
Good News ! I would assume very small nuisance removed for EB applicants, but this is huge for FB applicants I am sure.

It may improve the 485 processing times, but my how much? That is the real question.

srimurthy
11-06-2020, 09:23 AM
All,
I have moved the Elections and impact discussions to a new thread:
https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2914-Elections-Results-and-Impact-Discussions

longwaitgigu
11-10-2020, 11:07 AM
Why all downgrade petitions go to trxas

vsivarama
11-10-2020, 01:21 PM
https://www.uscis.gov/i-485-addresses
It is based on the state one resides. All EB based on I140 are filed either in TX or AZ. I am not sure if the workload transfer applies for 485.

For non downgrade cases you are correct. But if you look at the link, cases to be filed along with i-140 just have the Dallas lockbox address. If you either have a receipt of i-140/approval notice along with your application, then it would depend on your location. So all downgrade cases by the virtue of not having a receipt of i-140 will go to Dallas. Now will it be processed in texas or be transferred to a different location, that's a USCIS call. Anyways, none of this matters as long as we keep getting the receipt notices.

gcconnect
11-11-2020, 09:41 AM
Any chance of VB this week?

I hope from this month at least FAD should move minimum 2 to 3 months for EB2I and EB3I

Any predictions number gurus :)

Pundit Arjun
11-11-2020, 09:46 AM
Any chance of VB this week?

I hope from this month at least FAD should move minimum 2 to 3 months for EB2I and EB3I

Any predictions number gurus :)

Just take it easy and enjoy the month of Nov, gcconnect :).
I have taken Nov 30th as the day the VB will be out - Better to keep the expectations low and plan for a good holiday season. Zen mode after many years of being there and getting disappointed - LOL

Positive
11-11-2020, 02:56 PM
It was filed with Dallas lockbox but the notification came from the National Benefits Center (Receipt number starts with MSC). It’s a regular EB2 case, no downgrade.

My downgrade application was mailed on the Oct. 9. No word yet, checks are yet to be cashed. I have wondered what I will do if they reject it because it was filed as a standalone I-140 for EB3 and not an amendment. I am not worried about running out of time, it will likely be decided this month. The worry is if I want to file as an amendment even if there is time to do so.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-11-2020, 06:09 PM
My downgrade application was mailed on the Oct. 9. No word yet, checks are yet to be cashed. I have wondered what I will do if they reject it because it was filed as a standalone I-140 for EB3 and not an amendment. I am not worried about running out of time, it will likely be decided this month. The worry is if I want to file as an amendment even if there is time to do so.

From what I have read, the issue with rejected I-485 downgrades have to majorly do with them being having filed in premium. So attorneys started adjusting for that and recommending to first wait for the receipts first before seeking premium processing.

Positive
11-11-2020, 08:06 PM
From what I have read, the issue with rejected I-485 downgrades have to majorly do with them being having filed in premium. So attorneys started adjusting for that and recommending to first wait for the receipts first before seeking premium processing. Thanks, that is reassuring.

inspired_p
11-12-2020, 05:39 PM
Whats the prediction from December Visa bulletin?

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-12-2020, 06:30 PM
Whats the prediction from December Visa bulletin?

Wouldn't it be fun if the DoS asks the admin to go pound sand and massively move the dates?

Pessimistic view is the EB2-I will move to Nov 22, 09 and Eb3-I moves to May 1, 10

1312011_eb2I
11-12-2020, 06:58 PM
Logically, they should move FAD for both Eb2 and EB3 to 1 May,2010, since almost all the cases are pre-adjudicated and just need a Visa.
Thoughts?

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-12-2020, 08:53 PM
Logically, they should move FAD for both Eb2 and EB3 to 1 May,2010, since almost all the cases are pre-adjudicated and just need a Visa.
Thoughts?

That's what I was also expecting, or at least the dates moving 3 months in Oct and Nov so that as a whole it can move toward May 2011 at a gradual but consistent pace. But nothing is logical and if this continues they will end up wasting visas at the end of the fiscal. The only hope is a new admin coming in Jan and setting things straight and use all the numbers available at least for this fiscal and check if Congress is going to do anything about spillover for FY2022. That's why Democrats not having the Senate is a double edged sword. No immigration reform but no other bills will also pass. That's just my opinion.

gcconnect
11-12-2020, 09:00 PM
Wouldn't it be fun if the DoS asks the admin to go pound sand and massively move the dates?


Sounds like Thousandwala:D . Diwali wishes are pouring from Admin.

1312011_eb2I
11-12-2020, 09:05 PM
Prediction, EB3I will be 1 May 2010 , EB2I will be 15 Nov 2009.

ak7419
11-12-2020, 10:09 PM
Logically, they should move FAD for both Eb2 and EB3 to 1 May,2010, since almost all the cases are pre-adjudicated and just need a Visa.
Thoughts?

They can move as much as they want but the applicants who were current since three months have not even received RFE :(

1312011_eb2I
11-12-2020, 10:34 PM
So, what I understand is , current processing time for I-485 is up to 45 Months , timer will start once FAD is current, correct?

ak7419
11-12-2020, 10:40 PM
So, what I understand is , current processing time for I-485 is up to 45 Months , timer will start once FAD is current, correct?

45 months might be an exaggeration but it is taking anywhere from 3 to 6 months.

qesehmk
11-13-2020, 09:28 AM
Happy Diwali to all. May you and your loved ones live happier healthier and more prosperous lives!

As you celebrate Diwali don't forget India's farmers who have been forced into selling their produce at below cost prices since 1947 and have been driven into abject poverty today. To the extent you can support fair prices for agricultural produce in India.

1717

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-13-2020, 10:44 AM
Happy Diwali to all. May you and your loved ones live happier healthier and more prosperous lives!

As you celebrate Diwali don't forget India's farmers who have been forced into selling their produce at below cost prices since 1947 and have been driven into abject poverty today. To the extent you can support fair prices for agricultural produce in India.

1717

Happy Diwali to you too, Q and everyone else here!

inspired_p
11-13-2020, 01:08 PM
We received Biometric appointment for 1st December.

raradhya
11-13-2020, 02:51 PM
We received Biometric appointment for 1st December.

Thank you for the update. looks like you filed on 23rd October. did you receive the receipt notice along with appointment letter?

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-13-2020, 03:25 PM
I know there was some debate on A numbers and whether they change. Well, I was trying to look up my wife's case and they couldn't find it and when we received the notices, her A number was different than what was previously issued for OPT EAD. So it looks like it can change between applications maybe between F1 and other types.

Spectator
11-13-2020, 07:43 PM
Friends, happy to inform you all that we just received the approval notice. Extremely thankful to q and spec for the forum, comments, encouragement and advice. You guys rock. Hoping the queue keeps moving ahead fast, and we see lots of approvals in the next year.
rabp77,

Congrats on your approval.




I've updated the FACTS & DATA PERM section (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/forumdisplay.php/59-PERM-Labor-Data) with the full FY figures for FY2020.

mesan123
11-14-2020, 07:45 AM
Friends, happy to inform you all that we just received the approval notice. Extremely thankful to q and spec for the forum, comments, encouragement and advice. You guys rock. Hoping the queue keeps moving ahead fast, and we see lots of approvals in the next year.. Congratulations rabp77 on your approval

ak7419
11-14-2020, 12:03 PM
If the response to a service request came from Texas Service Center, does it mean that my I-485 case is being handled by TSC? My receipt number starts with LIN.

longwaitgigu
11-14-2020, 08:07 PM
Inspired p
Did u file at Texas service center?
And file eb2 to eb3 downgrade in premium

imdeng
11-15-2020, 04:14 PM
I've updated the FACTS & DATA PERM section (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/forumdisplay.php/59-PERM-Labor-Data) with the full FY figures for FY2020.

Thanks Spec. I took another look through the numbers - and man is the situation dire!! More than 50K/year PERMs for India and like 13K for China - and no regulatory relief on the horizon. Covid will help matters for long suffering folks - but those that entered the queue in last couple years are looking at decades of wait.

Interesting that EB-2/3-China will likely be the big sufferer going forward as well. They will soon need spillover as their annual demand will significantly outpace annual quota - but the giant backlog of India will suck up any spillover.

inspired_p
11-15-2020, 11:10 PM
Inspired p
Did u file at Texas service center?
And file eb2 to eb3 downgrade in premium

It was filed in Nebraska - EB3 fresh application with PERM

longwaitgigu
11-16-2020, 08:43 AM
It was filed in Nebraska - EB3 fresh application with PERM

What is date of filing of i485 in October
Was it file with i140?

longwaitgigu
11-16-2020, 10:28 AM
What is date of filing of i485 in October
Was it file with i140?
Also from which state u applying?
I am hearing pure downgrade r going to texas
Rest to Nebraska and Vermont

inspired_p
11-16-2020, 11:06 AM
Also from which state u applying?
I am hearing pure downgrade r going to texas
Rest to Nebraska and Vermont

Yes Concurrently filed from California . Mine is not a downgrade application.
Receipt Date 22nd Oct 2020

Moveon
11-16-2020, 12:58 PM
Thanks Spec. I took another look through the numbers - and man is the situation dire!! More than 50K/year PERMs for India and like 13K for China - and no regulatory relief on the horizon. Covid will help matters for long suffering folks - but those that entered the queue in last couple years are looking at decades of wait.

Interesting that EB-2/3-China will likely be the big sufferer going forward as well. They will soon need spillover as their annual demand will significantly outpace annual quota - but the giant backlog of India will suck up any spillover.

Yes , that seems to be a steady 50K just for India and another 12K for China. Thanks Spec as always for gathering all the data .
If you assume that there is one dependent for a primary (I guess its 2.2 in reality ) , that will be 100K GCs just for India . Optimistically if remove duplicate filings and both spouses filing , I guess that will still be a minimum of 70K GCs needed each year just for India and another 10K for China . Those filing for GC or those who have filed over the last 4 years desperately need not just reform to the existing GC process (removal of country quota) but also a one time GC grant of about 400K GCs to remove decades of waiting .
With the current state of immigration , i guess the only hope is for kids to file for your GC if you file today .

inspired_p
11-16-2020, 01:02 PM
Friends, happy to inform you all that we just received the approval notice. Extremely thankful to q and spec for the forum, comments, encouragement and advice. You guys rock. Hoping the queue keeps moving ahead fast, and we see lots of approvals in the next year.

Congratulations !

inspired_p
11-16-2020, 01:06 PM
Yes , that seems to be a steady 50K just for India and another 12K for China. Thanks Spec as always for gathering all the data .
If you assume that there is one dependent for a primary (I guess its 2.2 in reality ) , that will be 100K GCs just for India . Optimistically if remove duplicate filings and both spouses filing , I guess that will still be a minimum of 70K GCs needed each year just for India and another 10K for China . Those filing for GC or those who have filed over the last 4 years desperately need not just reform to the existing GC process (removal of country quota) but also a one time GC grant of about 400K GCs to remove decades of waiting .
With the current state of immigration , i guess the only hope is for kids to file for your GC if you file today .

It is a dire situation. When I filed in 2010, people were saying it will take a decade for getting greened an that seemed unjust and unfair. Now it seems it will take a decade to move 1 year of PD. Its a tragedy that no one in power considers this a gross injustice.

Moveon
11-16-2020, 01:26 PM
It is a dire situation. When I filed in 2010, people were saying it will take a decade for getting greened an that seemed unjust and unfair. Now it seems it will take a decade to move 1 year of PD. Its a tragedy that no one in power considers this a gross injustice.

Yes it is . I feel even more for those who came to this country with their kids born in India. Those kids will need to move to F1 and then hope to get an HIB and file for a GC to maintain status and wait until their kids file for a GC. Just imagine their trauma. They did nothing wrong but have to suffer their whole life because no one cares . I wish DACA had a provision for such kids, but then legal immigration is not a vote bank.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-16-2020, 01:48 PM
Yes it is . I feel even more for those who came to this country with their kids born in India. Those kids will need to move to F1 and then hope to get an HIB and file for a GC to maintain status and wait until their kids file for a GC. Just imagine their trauma. They did nothing wrong but have to suffer their whole life because no one cares . I wish DACA had a provision for such kids, but then legal immigration is not a vote bank.

As the elections indicated, this country is divided almost exactly in half and there are no compromises being visible on the horizon. So we are destined to deal with this outdated immigration rules for a lot more time.

Any ideas as to December bulletin release from sources? Theoretically speaking they can take as late as Nov 30 to release it as it falls on a Monday. Won't be the least surprised if that happens. Hoping for some aggressive movement in Final Action dates at least in Dec bulletin.

Moveon
11-16-2020, 02:02 PM
As the elections indicated, this country is divided almost exactly in half and there are no compromises being visible on the horizon. So we are destined to deal with this outdated immigration rules for a lot more time.

Any ideas as to December bulletin release from sources? Theoretically speaking they can take as late as Nov 30 to release it as it falls on a Monday. Won't be the least surprised if that happens. Hoping for some aggressive movement in Final Action dates at least in Dec bulletin.

I was looking at the 2006 fiscal , where dates started to gallop from the december bulletin. Hope it happens again . With the Biden administration we should atleast see the departments getting staffed from Feb , so there is some hope still left to issue the whole 265K GCs.

Month EB2 EB3
10/2005 : 01-Nov-99 : 01-Jan-98
11/2005: 01-Nov-99 : 01-Jan-98
12/2005: 01JUL- 00. : 01-Jan-99
01/2006: 01JAN01. : 01-JUN-99
02/2006: 01-AUG-01. : 01-JAN-00
03/2006: 01-JAN-02. : 01-JAN-01
04/2006: 01-JUL-02. : 01-FEB-01
05/2006: 01-JAN-03. : 01-MAR-01
06/2006: 01-JAN-03. : 08-APR-01
07/2006: 01-JAN-03 : 15-APR-01
08/2006: Unavailable : 01-APR-01
09/2006: Unavailable : 01-APR-01

srimurthy
11-16-2020, 05:31 PM
I was looking at the 2006 fiscal , where dates started to gallop from the december bulletin. Hope it happens again . With the Biden administration we should atleast see the departments getting staffed from Feb , so there is some hope still left to issue the whole 265K GCs.

Month EB2 EB3
10/2005 : 01-Nov-99 : 01-Jan-98
11/2005: 01-Nov-99 : 01-Jan-98
12/2005: 01JUL- 00. : 01-Jan-99
01/2006: 01JAN01. : 01-JUN-99
02/2006: 01-AUG-01. : 01-JAN-00
03/2006: 01-JAN-02. : 01-JAN-01
04/2006: 01-JUL-02. : 01-FEB-01
05/2006: 01-JAN-03. : 01-MAR-01
06/2006: 01-JAN-03. : 08-APR-01
07/2006: 01-JAN-03 : 15-APR-01
08/2006: Unavailable : 01-APR-01
09/2006: Unavailable : 01-APR-01

2005 there was no FAD or FD implemented at that time. So that is a factor now and they already have all the required applications in queue for quite some time.
Infact anything before Apr'2010 for EB2 they should have the closest of numbers and can allocate the visas as needed.

inspired_p
11-16-2020, 05:45 PM
2005 there was no FAD or FD implemented at that time. So that is a factor now and they already have all the required applications in queue for quite some time.
Infact anything before Apr'2010 for EB2 they should have the closest of numbers and can allocate the visas as needed.

Why would they not work on all the applications already filed starting the first month of the fiscal year (oct 2020)? Is manpower a factor ? I don't really see the reasoning behind not making May 2010 the FAD for the EB2-I as they already have Most of the applications filed till then.

ak7419
11-16-2020, 06:39 PM
Why would they not work on all the applications already filed starting the first month of the fiscal year (oct 2020)? Is manpower a factor ? I don't really see the reasoning behind not making May 2010 the FAD for the EB2-I as they already have Most of the applications filed till then. Manpower is definitely a factor because as an example EB2I who got current back in July are yet to receive RFE let alone approval.

rabp77
11-16-2020, 08:34 PM
Manpower is definitely a factor because as an example EB2I who got current back in July are yet to receive RFE let alone approval.

That's likely the reason why eb3 moved faster than eb2. Eb3 cases were filed recently, so with unexpired medicals had one less reason for rfe.

Zenzone
11-17-2020, 09:20 AM
Manpower is definitely a factor because as an example EB2I who got current back in July are yet to receive RFE let alone approval.

I won't generalize. I know ppl. who have even received their cards from being current in July.

longwaitgigu
11-17-2020, 09:38 AM
Inspired p
I am still trying to figure out
How urs i485 applied in Nebraska service center
As most goes to Arizona or Texas service center

ak7419
11-17-2020, 10:58 AM
I won't generalize. I know ppl. who have even received their cards from being current in July. Sorry I should have qualified it as "only TSC folks" :)

vsivarama
11-17-2020, 11:39 AM
Inspired p
I am still trying to figure out
How urs i485 applied in Nebraska service center
As most goes to Arizona or Texas service center

The applications are NOT sent to a service center. They are sent to a lockbox facility in Texas or Phoenix. The following is the process that ensues in a lockbox facility as per USCIS website.

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/organization/directorates-and-program-offices/management-directorate/office-of-intake-and-document-production/lockbox-filing-information

When staff at the lockbox receive your package, they will:
Evaluate data from scanned images against acceptance criteria;
Accept or reject forms and related fees based on current regulations and policies;
Verify that you submitted the correct fee
Deposit payments to the U.S. Treasury;
Send receipt notices for accepted forms to you (and your representative, if applicable);
Return rejected forms to you (or your representative, if applicable); and
Send your package to the appropriate USCIS service center or field office for further processing.

inspired_p
11-17-2020, 05:22 PM
Inspired p
I am still trying to figure out
How urs i485 applied in Nebraska service center
As most goes to Arizona or Texas service center

No idea. I have zero clue on how this works. I just know the address where application package was sent because lawyer shared the Fedex tracking information

inspired_p
11-17-2020, 05:32 PM
What are the December visa bulletin predictions?
Calculations say it should jump 6 month every visa bulletin at least, don't they ?
Giving USCIS the benefit of the doubt, they will now have sufficient application count from Oct/Nov to get a better idea. I think My prediction is FAD will move twice as much as November, EB-I will move 1 and half months and EB3-I will move 3 months.

gcconnect
11-17-2020, 08:01 PM
What are the December visa bulletin predictions?
Calculations say it should jump 6 month every visa bulletin at least, don't they ?
Giving USCIS the benefit of the doubt, they will now have sufficient application count from Oct/Nov to get a better idea. I think My prediction is FAD will move twice as much as November, EB-I will move 1 and half months and EB3-I will move 3 months.

If application count is the criteria for the Date movement, i don't think they have an idea of count as the receipts are still pending for OCT filers. Looks like they are not issuing the receipts as the order they received, because some of the OCT 3rd week people got receipts and some of the 2nd week filers did not get .
I am thinking the date movement will be the same for couple of months and start moving rapidly ;).

Sebiswaiting
11-17-2020, 09:44 PM
I feel eb2 FAD should move my 4 months, considering they expects it to reach FD my sept21. EB3 is still tricky as they still won't have clear numbers of downgrade, but I think EB3 FAd should move by 3.5 months.
They might still consider FD for December, but more and more I look at numbers and downgrade news , I feel FD for EB3 might be moved up to mid of 2014 as precaution.
By end of December, with reciepts/rejection trend, and possibly CO's insight, we get clearer picture.


What are the December visa bulletin predictions?
Calculations say it should jump 6 month every visa bulletin at least, don't they ?
........

idliman
11-18-2020, 09:09 AM
I feel eb2 FAD should move my 4 months, considering they expects it to reach FD my sept21. EB3 is still tricky as they still won't have clear numbers of downgrade, but I think EB3 FAd should move by 3.5 months.
They might still consider FD for December, but more and more I look at numbers and downgrade news , I feel FD for EB3 might be moved up to mid of 2014 as precaution.
By end of December, with receipts/rejection trend, and possibly CO's insight, we get clearer picture.
I think many of us will be surprised by the actual downgrade numbers beyond 2010. It looks like everyone who can downgrade and employer coorperation had downgraded (exception being CTS). Initially I was thinking about 30% downgrades (EB2 to EB3). Now it looks like 60% or more.

AceMan
11-18-2020, 09:39 AM
I think many of us will be surprised by the actual downgrade numbers beyond 2010. It looks like everyone who can downgrade and employer coorperation had downgraded (exception being CTS). Initially I was thinking about 30% downgrades (EB2 to EB3). Now it looks like 60% or more.

If you take a look at January 2019, Eb3 had an April 2010 filing date. It will be 2 years when the next bulletin is released and we are still a month away from hitting that date.

I can see the funny side of this. From 2009-2019 most of the people in Eb2 had some kind of discussion at the beginning if they should be in Eb2 or 3. A decade later most of these exceptionally skilled people running backwards to fit under regular skills is hilarious in a sad way. Sad because of the rules governing the system. Hilarious because almost all of them should have been Eb3 to start with and they are back to the place where they really belong.

vbollu
11-18-2020, 09:45 AM
I think many of us will be surprised by the actual downgrade numbers beyond 2010. It looks like everyone who can downgrade and employer coorperation had downgraded (exception being CTS). Initially I was thinking about 30% downgrades (EB2 to EB3). Now it looks like 60% or more.


I think upgrade/downgrade doesn't matter as long a they don't use Ead. once applicant start using Ead then you can't switch the category.

srimurthy
11-18-2020, 09:59 AM
If you take a look at January 2019, Eb3 had an April 2010 filing date. It will be 2 years when the next bulletin is released and we are still a month away from hitting that date.

I can see the funny side of this. From 2009-2019 most of the people in Eb2 had some kind of discussion at the beginning if they should be in Eb2 or 3. A decade later most of these exceptionally skilled people running backwards to fit under regular skills is hilarious in a sad way. Sad because of the rules governing the system. Hilarious because almost all of them should have been Eb3 to start with and they are back to the place where they really belong.

With the amount of time it takes to even file 485, everyone from India and may be China gains the 5 years experience and become eligible for EB2. We should be considerate and the only place they do not belong is wait for more than a decade to just file for 485. The pace at which things are going, some may actually near retirement before they get greened and that is the sad part.

AceMan
11-18-2020, 10:48 AM
With the amount of time it takes to even file 485, everyone from India and may be China gains the 5 years experience and become eligible for EB2. We should be considerate and the only place they do not belong is wait for more than a decade to just file for 485. The pace at which things are going, some may actually near retirement before they get greened and that is the sad part.

The filing date introduced in 2015 was supposed to advance or ease the filing for 485. It is now 5 years and filing date of Eb2 is yet to reach July 2011 which was set in the original September 2015 bulletin which was pulled back.

Without covid the dates for Eb3 would have not even reached 2010. With just 16,000 and 22,000 perm applications for 2009 and 2010 the dates should have zoomed past 2009 and well into 2010 long back. It did not because Eb3 guys within those days first jumped into Eb2 from 2012 and then from 2018 jumped back to Eb3 with a new downgrade.

My biggest concern is why CO is not advancing the Eb2 dates to account for 2800 visas for October itself? And apply the spill over if any later in the last quarter. This nonsense of 700 visas allocation every quarter would be correct when every dates are current.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-18-2020, 11:21 AM
The filing date introduced in 2015 was supposed to advance or ease the filing for 485. It is now 5 years and filing date of Eb2 is yet to reach July 2011 which was set in the original September 2015 bulletin which was pulled back.

Without covid the dates for Eb3 would have not even reached 2010. With just 16,000 and 22,000 perm applications for 2009 and 2010 the dates should have zoomed past 2009 and well into 2010 long back. It did not because Eb3 guys within those days first jumped into Eb2 from 2012 and then from 2018 jumped back to Eb3 with a new downgrade.

My biggest concern is why CO is not advancing the Eb2 dates to account for 2800 visas for October itself? And apply the spill over if any later in the last quarter. This nonsense of 700 visas allocation every quarter would be correct when every dates are current.

I would not be surprised if there were some political calculus behind not advancing dates. Remember the orange cheeto and his minions like Miller are still in power and CO may not want to disturb the water. I am actually really glad the idiot is continuing to dispute the elections with his flimsy excuses and digging himself into a deeper hole which will hopefully distract them enough for a couple of months. But as you see with the Military changes that they are rapidly undertaking, I won't be surprised once the results are certified, they will turn inward and start burning down everything inside.

mrperfect
11-18-2020, 11:22 AM
The filing date introduced in 2015 was supposed to advance or ease the filing for 485. It is now 5 years and filing date of Eb2 is yet to reach July 2011 which was set in the original September 2015 bulletin which was pulled back.

Without covid the dates for Eb3 would have not even reached 2010. With just 16,000 and 22,000 perm applications for 2009 and 2010 the dates should have zoomed past 2009 and well into 2010 long back. It did not because Eb3 guys within those days first jumped into Eb2 from 2012 and then from 2018 jumped back to Eb3 with a new downgrade.

My biggest concern is why CO is not advancing the Eb2 dates to account for 2800 visas for October itself? And apply the spill over if any later in the last quarter. This nonsense of 700 visas allocation every quarter would be correct when every dates are current.

"This nonsense of 700 visas allocation every quarter would be correct when every dates are current." Good Point Aceman... I am aware of the yearly per country limits (~3k) is there a rule that they can only apply the limits per quarter? i understand the processing efficiency.. what harm will it make to move the FAD to the date (where they can utilize the yearly quota) on the first day of the FY start?

skpanda
11-18-2020, 12:14 PM
The EB2-->EB3 is inevitable. It just like how EB3--> Upgrade happened a decade ago. I for one has always supported this. EB2/EB3 category does not matter for Indians. Skills are not vastly different barring few exceptions... its just a matter where one can get the green card sooner.

As YTEleven or somebody else predicted, after the flurry of upgrade/downgrades, EB2/EB3 should move hand in hand. Its a good thing.

srimurthy
11-18-2020, 01:01 PM
[QUOTE=mrperfect;68260]"This nonsense of 700 visas allocation every quarter would be correct when every dates are current." Good Point Aceman... QUOTE]
I agree that for all backlogged countries they should allocate the complete 2800 in the first month or first quarter for efficiency and then either allocate more or not based on spillovers.

mesan123
11-18-2020, 01:17 PM
Hi, finally got my reciepts... I have quick question my spouse has his priority date on 485 reciept rather than mine which is current. Is this the norm? Or should i get that corrected with USCIS..

longwaitgigu
11-18-2020, 02:38 PM
Thanks Spec. I took another look through the numbers - and man is the situation dire!! More than 50K/year PERMs for India and like 13K for China - and no regulatory relief on the horizon. Covid will help matters for long suffering folks - but those that entered the queue in last couple years are looking at decades of wait.

Interesting that EB-2/3-China will likely be the big sufferer going forward as well. They will soon need spillover as their annual demand will significantly outpace annual quota - but the giant backlog of India will suck up any spillover.

Perms for ROW, Mexico and Philippines totalled 30,182
They been current also means less spillover to india by 60,000 if doubled the number counting dependents

AceMan
11-18-2020, 02:42 PM
The EB2-->EB3 is inevitable. It just like how EB3--> Upgrade happened a decade ago. I for one has always supported this. EB2/EB3 category does not matter for Indians. Skills are not vastly different barring few exceptions... its just a matter where one can get the green card sooner.

As YTEleven or somebody else predicted, after the flurry of upgrade/downgrades, EB2/EB3 should move hand in hand. Its a good thing.

Eb3 -> Eb2 natural progression. Eb2 -> Eb3 a convenience progression. All it does is to hold up Eb3 dates with no obvious advantage to Eb2. We saw that in mid 2019 when Eb3 moved back to Jan 2009 and was stuck there for over a year and it got a move again only 4 months back, thanks to Covid.

USCIS allows/supports it, end of the story.

skpanda
11-18-2020, 05:30 PM
Eb3 -> Eb2 natural progression. Eb2 -> Eb3 a convenience progression. All it does is to hold up Eb3 dates with no obvious advantage to Eb2. We saw that in mid 2019 when Eb3 moved back to Jan 2009 and was stuck there for over a year and it got a move again only 4 months back, thanks to Covid.

USCIS allows/supports it, end of the story.

"with no obvious advantage to Eb2"
Not sure why you feel so.

People who are in EB2 2010/2011 will get green card faster in EB3 than EB2.
All EB2 people after 2011 who downgrade will get EAD/AP. (This is an advantage to most people).

Ofcourse it is disadvantageous to EB3 friends in 2010/2011. Think of it this way, Many people jumped the ship from EB3 to EB2 and as a result EB3 moved faster. Now its just a catch up and balance out. Worst case these friends in EB3 would have been delayed in any way if EB3 to EB2 upgrade did not happen.

In the end basically everybody is doing whatever they can to get out of this backlog. Nothing wrong!

waitin4gc
11-18-2020, 05:33 PM
I think upgrade/downgrade doesn't matter as long a they don't use Ead. once applicant start using Ead then you can't switch the category.

For folks who applied 485 in EB2 and used their EAD, can they not interfile in EB3 at a later stage if their PD becomes current in EB3? Assuming that a new I-140 gets approved in EB3.

inspired_p
11-18-2020, 05:42 PM
Hi, finally got my reciepts... I have quick question my spouse has his priority date on 485 reciept rather than mine which is current. Is this the norm? Or should i get that corrected with USCIS..

Where on the I-797C do we see the priority date? I do not see any on my receipt notices.

inspired_p
11-18-2020, 05:59 PM
EB3 -> EB2 were vilified and now EB2 ->EB3 are being vilified.

The PERM is what determines what qualifications are required for the person to be eligible foe the job. Once that is confirmed,
As long as PERM and job match up to qualify for EB2 , what category the I-140 is filed in is just administrative process.
I see many who like to create buckets to put people in , EB3 == low wage worker , EB2 == high skilled worker etc.

And people having duplicate applications EB2 and EB3 really should not change the wait times , as one person will only apply I-485 once and consume only 1 visa number anyways.
The only duplicate applications that skew USCIS predictions are the ones where both the spouses have I-140 approved and they end up using only one , while the other stays in the system as expected application

mesan123
11-18-2020, 07:56 PM
Where on the I-797C do we see the priority date? I do not see any on my receipt notices. i have it on my I-485 reciept notice

vbollu
11-19-2020, 10:32 AM
For folks who applied 485 in EB2 and used their EAD, can they not interfile in EB3 at a later stage if their PD becomes current in EB3? Assuming that a new I-140 gets approved in EB3.

If you want to switch the category after using EAD that process is very complicated and will take a long time to complete the process.

fishelusa
11-19-2020, 10:48 AM
Hi All, if anyone not received receipt notices, I came to know that uscis chat will give 485 receipt no. Is this true

AceMan
11-19-2020, 10:57 AM
"with no obvious advantage to Eb2"
Not sure why you feel so.

People who are in EB2 2010/2011 will get green card faster in EB3 than EB2.
All EB2 people after 2011 who downgrade will get EAD/AP. (This is an advantage to most people).

Ofcourse it is disadvantageous to EB3 friends in 2010/2011. Think of it this way, Many people jumped the ship from EB3 to EB2 and as a result EB3 moved faster. Now its just a catch up and balance out. Worst case these friends in EB3 would have been delayed in any way if EB3 to EB2 upgrade did not happen.

In the end basically everybody is doing whatever they can to get out of this backlog. Nothing wrong!

Eb3 -> Eb2 is natural progression, you grow up the ladder in your career. Now the new format is growing downwards. And when the dates move forward they will attempt Eb2 again.

It is called a zero sum game. Eb3 I moved to jan1st 2015 because people were getting into Eb2. It was clear from the 150 year joke by cato where it had only under 55000 applicants in Eb3 and 216,000 in Eb2.

Even then in 2018,2019 and 2020 the exceptionally skilled were applying in Eb2.

kash80
11-19-2020, 11:12 AM
Hi All, if anyone not received receipt notices, I came to know that uscis chat will give 485 receipt no. Is this true

I did try this way with my A#, but didn't get my receipt numbers. They asked me to wait at least 30 calendar days. My application was delivered on 10/23 to the TX location.

inspired_p
11-19-2020, 11:24 AM
It is called a zero sum game.

There are many approvals just on this forum which suggests that at a micro level it is not a zero sum game. EB2-I -> EB3-I has given 2 years more on EAD for many people and people have received GCs in last 2 months when their PDs are current in EB3 but not in EB2 ( at least 6-13 months early).

Maybe on the macro level , it will be zero sum game with EB2 and EB3 fluctuating back and forth. There might be a correction again in next 2 years when number of EB3 and EB2 applications equal , but EB2 will not jump ahead of EB3 anymore as most people who have EB3 also have EB2 now and they can choose.

Anyways, my point it is I have direct examples where companies have applied I-140 in EB3 in the 2000's when everything was eligible for EB2.
Also, here is a case in point, I know someone is eligible for EB1-I now with EB3-I PD in mid 2009. Why would one blame anyone in this situation if the employer applies I-140 in EB3 or EB2 and gets the GC instead of going through the extra hassles of EB1-A burden of proof.
Or do you expect the person to stick with EB1-A application

vsivarama
11-19-2020, 11:55 AM
Eb3 -> Eb2 is natural progression, you grow up the ladder in your career. Now the new format is growing downwards. And when the dates move forward they will attempt Eb2 again.


I do not see anything wrong in this. The conception that EB1>EB2>EB3 is just in theory. As a practical matter it was never accurate. If it were then the folks in EB2 would be greened before EB3 in every instance. The 7% country cap itself is proof that it was never meant to be a skills based immigration system but instead a diversity first approach. Skills are an afterthought once the diversity requirements are met. So I do not see an argument where upgrading from EB3 to EB2 and then falling back to EB3 is not in line with the spirit of the law. If anything it proves the sham of a high skilled immigration system it always was. Me personally, I decided to wait 1 year because my company had put in the initial effort to apply a EB3 perm for me. Back then wait time for EB2 was around 3-4 yrs or so and EB3 was close to 10 yrs. I do know now that it was the dumbest mistake I ever made in my life.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-19-2020, 01:19 PM
I do not see anything wrong in this. The conception that EB1>EB2>EB3 is just in theory. As a practical matter it was never accurate. If it were then the folks in EB2 would be greened before EB3 in every instance. The 7% country cap itself is proof that it was never meant to be a skills based immigration system but instead a diversity first approach. Skills are an afterthought once the diversity requirements are met. So I do not see an argument where upgrading from EB3 to EB2 and then falling back to EB3 is not in line with the spirit of the law. If anything it proves the sham of a high skilled immigration system it always was. Me personally, I decided to wait 1 year because my company had put in the initial effort to apply a EB3 perm for me. Back then wait time for EB2 was around 3-4 yrs or so and EB3 was close to 10 yrs. I do know now that it was the dumbest mistake I ever made in my life.

You were operating under the same assumptions as any rational and educated person would, i.e. EB2 is higher priority than EB3 and will get greened faster. So don't blame yourself for this, it's the system that is messed up. The most ridiculous aspect of it other than being diversity focused and not based on skills is counting dependents. A lot more children likely get employment based green cards every year compared to people who are primarily qualified for that. How dumb is that in the 21st century?

raradhya
11-19-2020, 02:42 PM
Need advise on how to address this correction of the i-485 application for derivative applicant.
the date of birth for on the parent is entered wrong (entered marriage date instead of birth date). we recently (last month) filed the application and waiting for receipt notice. wondering how to address this correction.

gcconnect
11-19-2020, 02:45 PM
Basically, American immigration system is based on family reunification and the needs of employers. Needs of the employers cannot be fulfilled without employee family which is again Children.
On a broader view employment category is developed based on the employer’s requirements in different skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy. Immigration system view is different than us who are in different category lines. They don't care who got in which employment category, as the main objective is the diversity and economy.
I know so many people who does not even know GC process got GC long back. I was also under the same impression that it will come one day. Decade waiting makes me slowly getting into the things around GC and understanding people jumping lines to see the Heaven:). people catch anything when drowning, that may be others leg. Cant blame it.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-19-2020, 02:50 PM
Need advise on how to address this correction of the i-485 application for derivative applicant.
the date of birth for on the parent is entered wrong (entered marriage date instead of birth date). we recently (last month) filed the application and waiting for receipt notice. wondering how to address this correction.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/made-mistake-immigration-form-how-correct-it.html

vsivarama
11-19-2020, 05:36 PM
On a broader view employment category is developed based on the employer’s requirements in different skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy. Immigration system view is different than us who are in different category lines. They don't care who got in which employment category, as the main objective is the diversity and economy.


Here is the biggest problem with this. EB is only 14-15% of American immigration system. The Rest is based on diversity anyway, so not sure what diversity is going to achieve in employment based category, and why family members should count as recipients of EB numbers. I agree that US has the right to decide which immigrants should be prioritized based on occupations or needs of the country (doctors, nurses, scientists). But then to discriminate within the occupations based on country of birth is like trying to plant your hands firmly on the scales and force a winner. You never get innovation (the best and the brightest) by forcing an outcome devoid of logic.

AceMan
11-20-2020, 09:44 AM
Basically, American immigration system is based on family reunification and the needs of employers. Needs of the employers cannot be fulfilled without employee family which is again Children.
On a broader view employment category is developed based on the employer’s requirements in different skills that are valuable to the U.S. economy. Immigration system view is different than us who are in different category lines. They don't care who got in which employment category, as the main objective is the diversity and economy.
I know so many people who does not even know GC process got GC long back. I was also under the same impression that it will come one day. Decade waiting makes me slowly getting into the things around GC and understanding people jumping lines to see the Heaven:). people catch anything when drowning, that may be others leg. Cant blame it.


You have hit the nail on the head. American immigration was always on family and the diversity it brings into this country. EB based immigration was created only in 90’s and this was heavily influenced by family based. The 2001 incidents ripped out any possible increase in the number of immigrants which has already been set.

In the big scheme of things these line jumpings does not even matter as they are legit. People who are waiting in this nonsense queue will catch anything to pick them from drowning in the quick sand.

mesan123
11-20-2020, 09:49 AM
Hi All, if anyone not received receipt notices, I came to know that uscis chat will give 485 receipt no. Is this true
Yes. If your checks are cashed. I got it like that, before i got my physical reciepts home. I used A # to get reciept numbers.

inspired_p
11-20-2020, 11:53 AM
i have it on my I-485 reciept notice

Maybe because mine was filed concurrently - there was no priority date mentioned on the 85 receipt notice. That is only plausible reason I can think of.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 01:36 PM
Maybe because mine was filed concurrently - there was no priority date mentioned on the 85 receipt notice. That is only plausible reason I can think of.

I filed normal EB2. Priority date was indicated only on my I-485 filing receipt, not on the other 5 receipts.

skpanda
11-20-2020, 01:46 PM
Yes. If your checks are cashed. I got it like that, before i got my physical reciepts home. I used A # to get reciept numbers.

Was there a live person in the chat? If yes, what options did you choose to get it?

I am chatting with a bot and it just says

You will have to wait for your receipt number to arrive in the mail, or be sent to you electronically if you filed G-1145 along with your application/petition. If it has been more than 30 days since you submitted your application/petition and you have not received your receipt notice, please check to make sure your payment was cashed by USCIS.

If your payment was not cashed, your application/petition might have been lost in the mail or rejected by the Lockbox for some reason. Please email the Lockbox at lockboxsupport@uscis.dhs.gov to inquire about your application/petition.

If your payment was cashed, please call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 (TTY).

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 02:12 PM
Was there a live person in the chat? If yes, what options did you choose to get it?

I am chatting with a bot and it just says

You will have to wait for your receipt number to arrive in the mail, or be sent to you electronically if you filed G-1145 along with your application/petition. If it has been more than 30 days since you submitted your application/petition and you have not received your receipt notice, please check to make sure your payment was cashed by USCIS.

If your payment was not cashed, your application/petition might have been lost in the mail or rejected by the Lockbox for some reason. Please email the Lockbox at lockboxsupport@uscis.dhs.gov to inquire about your application/petition.

If your payment was cashed, please call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 (TTY).

Depending on the chat volume, they do that periodically. You just have to keep trying periodically. You could also try calling the number. If your A-number has not changed, then you may be able to get your receipt numbers. If it has changed, they will not be able to pull it up unless they have a way to pull up the updated A number using your name, dob and address.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 02:53 PM
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2021/visa-bulletin-for-december-2020.html

Oof they pulled back EB3 filing dates by a year!!

idliman
11-20-2020, 02:53 PM
Dec 2020 VB is out.
EB1 FA - 01APR19 -> + 121 days
EB1 DF - 01NOV20 -> + 61 days

EB2 FA - 01OCT09 -> + 9 days
EB2 DF - 15MAY11 -> No Change

EB3 FA - 15MAR10 -> + 14 day
EB3 DF - 01JAN14 -> - 365 days

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 03:01 PM
The massive Eb2-EB3 downgrades are already having an effect. Wonder how long they are going to keep inching EB2 FAD like this?!

Zenzone
11-20-2020, 03:16 PM
The massive Eb2-EB3 downgrades are already having an effect. Wonder how long they are going to keep inching EB2 FAD like this?!

I bet not too long...once they receipt the applications filed, things should start moving. Plus the change in admin.

Sebiswaiting
11-20-2020, 03:31 PM
I did anticipate filing date to retrogress..
But I was also hoping that FAD moves ahead, it seems really odd that FAD moved in few days inspite of the huge spillover. I can think of only two reasons - 1. interference, 2. And/or manpower



I feel eb2 FAD should move my 4 months, considering they expects it to reach FD my sept21. EB3 is still tricky as they still won't have clear numbers of downgrade, but I think EB3 FAd should move by 3.5 months.
They might still consider FD for December, but more and more I look at numbers and downgrade news , I feel FD for EB3 might be moved up to mid of 2014 as precaution.
By end of December, with reciepts/rejection trend, and possibly CO's insight, we get clearer picture.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 03:31 PM
I bet not too long...once they receipt the applications filed, things should start moving. Plus the change in admin.

February bulletin is one to watch out for :) Inauguration is Jan 20 which is Wed. Maybe they will open the FAD floodgates that Fri as a welcome present.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 03:34 PM
I did anticipate filing date to retrogress..
But I was also hoping that FAD moves ahead, it seems really odd that FAD moved in few days inspite of the huge spillover. I can think of only two reasons - 1. interference, 2. And/or manpower

The obvious point being made after every bulletin still stands: why not move EB2 FAD to May 1, 2010 where it was 8 years back. Give those people who have all documents filed their GCs. I don't follow trackitt but looks like there have not been any medical RFEs either, so no idea why they are sitting on their hands.

EB2IndSep09
11-20-2020, 03:34 PM
Not sure how they are planning to complete the quota of Q1 by not moving dates? Hope there is not going to be any wastage which is a disservice.

vsivarama
11-20-2020, 04:02 PM
Are they focusing/diverting all their energy on collecting applications and will divert them to processing applications starting Q2? At least it will be encouraging if the continue to accept DF.

Noesis
11-20-2020, 04:03 PM
3 Bulletins are out and this simply shows that they would be wasting the visas; this admin is doing everything they can to torture the already frustrated community.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 04:34 PM
Are they focusing/diverting all their energy on collecting applications and will divert them to processing applications starting Q2? At least it will be encouraging if the continue to accept DF.

Will be interesting to know if USCIS is going to accept FD or FAD. If they think they have enough applications to process and stop accepting FD, maybe that will be a trigger to start moving FADs.

longwaitgigu
11-20-2020, 04:52 PM
Every bulletin we expect our dates would move and we give Hopes to others saying next bulletin should be good for indians
My prediction is both eb2 and eb3 will be somewhere in Q1 of 2011 by end of September 2021
I dont expect any huge movements for eb3 like 2012 or 2013

inspired_p
11-20-2020, 04:55 PM
Dec 2020 VB is out.
EB1 FA - 01APR19 -> + 121 days
EB1 DF - 01NOV20 -> + 61 days

EB2 FA - 01OCT09 -> + 9 days
EB2 DF - 15MAY11 -> No Change

EB3 FA - 15MAR10 -> + 14 day
EB3 DF - 01JAN14 -> - 365 days

This is disappointing to say the least. Both EB2 and EB3 should move well past 2010 by the end Sept 2020 but these kind of movements it seems impossible to reach that date.

longwaitgigu
11-20-2020, 05:04 PM
Where r they going to use 65,000 for first quarter- 27% of 261,000?
Can this number be carried forward for 2nd and 3rd quarters

Viking
11-20-2020, 05:29 PM
Every bulletin we expect our dates would move and we give Hopes to others saying next bulletin should be good for indians
My prediction is both eb2 and eb3 will be somewhere in Q1 of 2011 by end of September 2021
I dont expect any huge movements for eb3 like 2012 or 2013

With this pace, if both Eb2/Eb3 after downgrades will not cross June 2010 by end of September 21

mar2010er
11-20-2020, 05:55 PM
Hi guys, My priority date is exactly March 15th, 2010. Did I miss it by one day? or does it include the 3/15 as well?

monsieur
11-20-2020, 06:29 PM
Hi guys, My priority date is exactly March 15th, 2010. Did I miss it by one day? or does it include the 3/15 as well?

Unfortunately you missed by 1 day. As its FAD, I hope you have already filed for your EAD which you can do so any time (DF is 2014 till Nov-30, 2013 from Dec-1 onwards)

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-20-2020, 06:37 PM
Hey good news is that they are accepting DF for December.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-priority-dates/adjustment-of-status-filing-charts-from-the-visa-bulletin

mar2010er
11-20-2020, 06:40 PM
Unfortunately you missed by 1 day. As its FAD, I hope you have already filed for your EAD which you can do so any time (DF is 2014 till Nov-30, 2013 from Dec-1 onwards)

Thanks Monsieur. Yes, I have EAD already. Hope to get it next time (sigh)

monsieur
11-20-2020, 06:47 PM
Thanks Monsieur. Yes, I have EAD already. Hope to get it next time (sigh)

You have waited patiently for 10+ yrs, this one month shall pass too. One more reason for you to look fwd to 2021

mar2010er
11-20-2020, 06:52 PM
You have waited patiently for 10+ yrs, this one month shall pass too. One more reason for you to look fwd to 2021

Yes, 2020 was a complete wash-off including immigration! More reasons to look forward to 2021.

AceMan
11-20-2020, 07:01 PM
February bulletin is one to watch out for :) Inauguration is Jan 20 which is Wed. Maybe they will open the FAD floodgates that Fri as a welcome present.

Watch out for April bulletin. That would be the beginning of the 3rd quarter, and EB1 India would be current or close to current in the next 3 months. EB2 and Eb3 India would have to move further.

AceMan
11-20-2020, 07:05 PM
You have waited patiently for 10+ yrs, this one month shall pass too. One more reason for you to look fwd to 2021

As long as there is cut off date, some body would always miss the cutoff. This month it is him, next month it is going to somebody else.

idliman
11-20-2020, 07:42 PM
As long as there is cut off date, some body would always miss the cutoff. This month it is him, next month it is going to somebody else.
There have been reports that DT admin (S.Miller) is working overtime to issue new regulations before they leave office on 20Jan. Among those are H1B, H4, etc., type regulations. I am even surprised that they moved the EB2 days by 9 days. DT admin will try to burn everything before they leave. So we should not expect anything before Feb VB. Hopefully it will be issued after Jan 20th and not before Jan20th. I really thought that the DOS career officials will move it. Seeing how DT is firing anyone and everyone, I think DOS/CO will try to stay under the radar and invisible till Jan20th.

EB32010
11-20-2020, 07:51 PM
There have been reports that DT admin (S.Miller) is working overtime to issue new regulations before they leave office on 20Jan. Among those are H1B, H4, etc., type regulations. I am even surprised that they moved the EB2 days by 9 days. DT admin will try to burn everything before they leave. So we should not expect anything before Feb VB. Hopefully it will be issued after Jan 20th and not before Jan20th. I really thought that the DOS career officials will move it. Seeing how DT is firing anyone and everyone, I think DOS/CO will try to stay under the radar and invisible till Jan20th.
Did your friend’s friend’s friend’s friend said this?:D

AceMan
11-20-2020, 07:54 PM
There have been reports that DT admin (S.Miller) is working overtime to issue new regulations before they leave office on 20Jan. Among those are H1B, H4, etc., type regulations. I am even surprised that they moved the EB2 days by 9 days. DT admin will try to burn everything before they leave. So we should not expect anything before Feb VB. Hopefully it will be issued after Jan 20th and not before Jan20th. I really thought that the DOS career officials will move it. Seeing how DT is firing anyone and everyone, I think DOS/CO will try to stay under the radar and invisible till Jan20th.

If we think Miller is working overtime to stop the visa movement to prevent some exceptionally skilled and regular skilled people who are here in the country even before he hit puberty, then I think we should be writing conspiracy theory novels :-)

idliman
11-20-2020, 08:07 PM
If we think Miller is working overtime to stop the visa movement to prevent some exceptionally skilled and regular skilled people who are here in the country even before he hit puberty, then I think we should be writing conspiracy theory novels :-)
I think you guys missed two articles that came out quoting Jessica Vaughan. I found the CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/politics/immigration-trump-transition/index.html) one. I think there was one in Hill also. They said that the admin is calling conservatives asking them what can they do before leaving office. Mind you that DT fired Christopher Krebs for going against him. I think it is reasonable that DOS is trying to stay low. There is no check-in with CO articles recently. No word of what happened to the 25K GCs that were announced in June 2020.

jimmys
11-20-2020, 08:09 PM
I don't know what USCIS is thinking. The EB-2 India FAD should be at May 1, 2010 or close to it by now. The more time it takes to reach May 1,2010 the more visas will be wasted in FY 21. Even the new applications should have receded by now so much less workload. What else is stopping them to approve the cases that don't have interview mandate?

idliman
11-20-2020, 08:09 PM
Did your friend’s friend’s friend’s friend said this?:D
No CNN and The Hill articles did.

idliman
11-20-2020, 08:11 PM
I don't know what USCIS is thinking. The EB-2 India FAD should be at May 1, 2010 or close to it by now. The more time it takes to reach May 1,2010 the more visas will be wasted in FY 21. Even the new applications should have receded by now so much less workload. What else is stopping them to approve the cases that don't have interview mandate?
Interference. There is no other way of explaining this at all. We have spent enough time here to see what's the math and what's happening.

mesan123
11-20-2020, 08:16 PM
Was there a live person in the chat? If yes, what options did you choose to get it?

I am chatting with a bot and it just says

You will have to wait for your receipt number to arrive in the mail, or be sent to you electronically if you filed G-1145 along with your application/petition. If it has been more than 30 days since you submitted your application/petition and you have not received your receipt notice, please check to make sure your payment was cashed by USCIS.

If your payment was not cashed, your application/petition might have been lost in the mail or rejected by the Lockbox for some reason. Please email the Lockbox at lockboxsupport@uscis.dhs.gov to inquire about your application/petition.

If your payment was cashed, please call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 (TTY).
I called USCIS ph no, didnot ise chat, the no i called 800-375-5283

Mentioned 485 status check, it asks for reciept number, told ‘i dont have one but i have A#” .. after couple of repeats connected to live agent

By the way when did your application reach USCIS

Mine was in Dallas texas service center..

jimmys
11-20-2020, 08:22 PM
Interference. There is no other way of explaining this at all. We have spent enough time here to see what's the math and what's happening.

Interference only in EB-2 and EB-3 categories? In the last 3 months EB-1 India moved 10 months. I find it hard to believe. Most, if not all, of these EB-2 and EB-3 backloggers are already in the country and employed (Well paid too). Kicking the can down the road for only two categories don't make much sense to me.

AceMan
11-20-2020, 09:30 PM
I think you guys missed two articles that came out quoting Jessica Vaughan. I found the CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/politics/immigration-trump-transition/index.html) one. I think there was one in Hill also. They said that the admin is calling conservatives asking them what can they do before leaving office. Mind you that DT fired Christopher Krebs for going against him. I think it is reasonable that DOS is trying to stay low. There is no check-in with CO articles recently. No word of what happened to the 25K GCs that were announced in June 2020.

25 K was allocated to Eb1 India. In 2018 we had about 34,000 Primaries waiting for approval till March 2018

msbmsb
11-20-2020, 10:31 PM
Since this is a predications thread - here's a shot at trying to determine why EB2 is not moving as much...

Eb2 today has Eb2 + Eb3 > Eb2 as part of the queue. People with PDs < Apr 2010 have had a lot of time to move to EB2. The pending inventory simply does not reflect this. For someone in that group, who originally filed in Eb3 and ported to EB2, they have a choice to make. Either wait in the EB2 queue or go back to EB3. However from what I know going back to EB3 means they need to file a new petition. Which will take time. So for those who are prior to Apr 2010, they may not be keen on starting a downgrade at this time.

This would imply that EB2 has all those applications that need to be processed.

Granted there are EB2 users who ported to EB3 back in 2018 - 2019. But those were not much. Most who did that were the ones who missed the 2012 window to file.

I am not an expert in calculations but a quick back of the book calculation with perms split at 1:2:3 ratio, 70% EB3 > EB2 porting, 2.5 dependents per application and 0% EB2 > EB3 porting tells me there are about 23k applications in the EB2 queue till it hits Apr 2010.

Considering EB2 gets 5.9k before any spillover calculations which in theory should be available Oct 1st, even my calculations are convervative.

Long story short - I think the Eb2 > Eb3 factor may only play out for PDs after Apr 2010. EB2 will continue to lag till it clears this hurdle. This also means, anyone with PD > May 2010 should look into the EB3 downgrade

rabp77
11-20-2020, 10:44 PM
I don't know what USCIS is thinking. The EB-2 India FAD should be at May 1, 2010 or close to it by now. The more time it takes to reach May 1,2010 the more visas will be wasted in FY 21. Even the new applications should have receded by now so much less workload. What else is stopping them to approve the cases that don't have interview mandate?

another slightly strange thing is the slowing pace of movement for EB2-1 and EB3-1 over the last 3 bulletins. EB3 movement was 106 days in Oct, 44 days in Nov, and 14 days in Dec. EB2 moved 55 days in Oct, 21 days in Nov, and 9 days in Dec. Similar slow down can be seen in movement of EB2-China and Eb3-china also.

They have been approving cases at a decently fast clip based on trackitt data. So a slow down in FAD movement does not look to be processing capacity related, but more related to visas numbers usage itself. Its difficult to make any sense when so little information is shared. Hopeing the new quarter will result in better news, and that pace would pick up after all applications have been received for the year.

bones20
11-21-2020, 12:18 AM
Unfortunately you missed by 1 day. As its FAD, I hope you have already filed for your EAD which you can do so any time (DF is 2014 till Nov-30, 2013 from Dec-1 onwards)

why/how did he miss? his date is 03/15/10 which is now current for FAD, no?

kbakshi
11-21-2020, 04:46 AM
i dont see dec visa bulletin any more on state website

EB22010Dec
11-21-2020, 09:41 AM
why/how did he miss? his date is 03/15/10 which is now current for FAD, no?

It's everyone 'before' that FD.

Justmyself
11-21-2020, 10:50 AM
I think you guys missed two articles that came out quoting Jessica Vaughan. I found the CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/politics/immigration-trump-transition/index.html) one. I think there was one in Hill also. They said that the admin is calling conservatives asking them what can they do before leaving office. Mind you that DT fired Christopher Krebs for going against him. I think it is reasonable that DOS is trying to stay low. There is no check-in with CO articles recently. No word of what happened to the 25K GCs that were announced in June 2020.

Can this mean they can pass the H4 EAD revoke rule by jan 20?

Moveon
11-21-2020, 11:47 AM
Can this mean they can pass the H4 EAD revoke rule by jan 20?

I doubt if they will do that as they have not done that for the last ~4 years. About the date movement , I had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we will need to wait for the Biden Administration to staff these departments and give them the green signal to start issuing the GCs. So it will be the Feb or probably the march bulletins where dates will move
The Current administration will do what it can to stop/slow the issuance hoping that there will be less time for the depts to issue the 265K GCs. This windfall of GCs is an unintended consequence of the consulate closures and they will do what ever they can to "poison the well" and see to it that issuance will get harder for the Biden Admin as they need to complete it by sept 2021.
Those in the govt depts will not move dates until they feel its safe as they don't want their heads to roll given that the current administration has less than 60 days left. They will just wait it out till the coast is clear or they fell the threat no longer exists.
So it will be the Feb or probably the march bulletins where dates will move as the departments will not feel the heat from the admin to stop/slow the issuance .

Moveon
11-21-2020, 11:54 AM
i dont see dec visa bulletin any more on state website

PLease clear the cache or go incognito . Firefox has issue with caching for the state website

mitul75
11-21-2020, 03:12 PM
Guys,

I am an avid follower of this forum and appreciate the contribution from all of you that helps me stay informed in my path to GC. I did some research on how many green cards are issued in the various employment preference categories by country of birth, and found a disturbing trend for EB2 visas issued for people whose county of birth is India. Between 2012 and 2015 EB2-I got 15k+ visas each year on an average, which went down to 3.3k on an average between 2016 and 2019, a drop of 80%!!!

Based on this, I think granting EB2 visas is not a priority for the current admin. Most stunning is the stat that only 2,604 GCs were issued in EB2-I category for the whole of 2019, which means they did not meet the 7% country quota of 2800+ visas for that year. This also leads me to believe that most of the 2021 spillover visas for Eb2/3 may just get wasted, unless the new admin takes an about turn and follows the policy of Obama admin (see data for 2012-2015). I welcome your thoughts/comments.

source: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/readingroom/LPR/LPRcounty

==========================
Year EB1-I EB2-I EB3-I (Skilled)
----- ------ ------ ----------------
2012 8,152 17,878 2,571
2013 8,253 15,693 6,862
2014 11,314 21,024 3,102
2015 10,527 6,853 5,695
2016 9,289 3,823 3,986
2017 11,122 2,843 5,414
2018 9,676 3,894 4,891
2019 8,001 2,604 4,135

1765

gcconnect
11-21-2020, 07:35 PM
Guys,

I am an avid follower of this forum and appreciate the contribution from all of you that helps me stay informed in my path to GC. I did some research on how many green cards are issued in the various employment preference categories by country of birth, and found a disturbing trend for EB2 visas issued for people whose county of birth is India. Between 2012 and 2015 EB2-I got 15k+ visas each year on an average, which went down to 3.3k on an average between 2016 and 2019, a drop of 80%!!!

Based on this, I think granting EB2 visas is not a priority for the current admin. Most stunning is the stat that only 2,604 GCs were issued in EB2-I category for the whole of 2019, which means they did not meet the 7% country quota of 2800+ visas for that year. This also leads me to believe that most of the 2021 spillover visas for Eb2/3 may just get wasted, unless the new admin takes an about turn and follows the policy of Obama admin (see data for 2012-2015). I welcome your thoughts/comments.

source: https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/readingroom/LPR/LPRcounty

==========================
Year EB1-I EB2-I EB3-I (Skilled)
----- ------ ------ ----------------
2012 8,152 17,878 2,571
2013 8,253 15,693 6,862
2014 11,314 21,024 3,102
2015 10,527 6,853 5,695
2016 9,289 3,823 3,986
2017 11,122 2,843 5,414
2018 9,676 3,894 4,891
2019 8,001 2,604 4,135

1765

May be Dumb question. Help me understand

I am not good at numbers. I have seen these kind of year wise numbers earlier and with following this forum (Thanks to Gurus), came to know that those years got spill over which allocates extra for EB2I or EB3I and when no spill over only 7%.

So, with more or less 7% every year as per Law, what exactly happening to EB2I or EB3I?

Are these categories supposed to get more spillover every year which is not getting?

mitul75
11-21-2020, 07:56 PM
May be Dumb question. Help me understand

I am not good at numbers. I have seen these kind of year wise numbers earlier and with following this forum (Thanks to Gurus), came to know that those years got spill over which allocates extra for EB2I or EB3I and when no spill over only 7%.

So, with more or less 7% every year as per Law, what exactly happening to EB2I or EB3I?

Are these categories supposed to get more spillover every year which is not getting?

I think they get a lot more horizontal spillover each year than what’s been used. Again this is purely based on historical trend. It may well be that ROW has consumed a lot more of these visas over the last few years, but that too does not explain the huge consistent drop in EB2-I. EB1-I has been the recipient of 10k plus visas each year, which is expected given the demand from EB1C. But the spillovers from other categories are just not being allocated to EB2, either due to lack of resources or due to lack of will, or both. I may be totally off base in this analysis, so would like to hear from gurus.

rabp77
11-22-2020, 02:18 AM
Things may not be that bad. Slow movement so far may only mean horizontal spillover has not been applied yet. If that's the case, once it starts getting applied, the pace of movement should increase.

inspired_p
11-22-2020, 12:16 PM
Things may not be that bad. Slow movement so far may only mean horizontal spillover has not been applied yet. If that's the case, once it starts getting applied, the pace of movement should increase.

I feel the same .. they are still looking country cap per quarter limit

rocketfast
11-22-2020, 05:12 PM
According to the link at [1], USCIS approved 73,000 I-485 petitions in the first 3 quarters of FY 2020.

[1]: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/Quarterly_All_Forms_FY2020Q3.pdf

AceMan
11-23-2020, 09:21 AM
I think you guys missed two articles that came out quoting Jessica Vaughan. I found the CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/19/politics/immigration-trump-transition/index.html) one. I think there was one in Hill also. They said that the admin is calling conservatives asking them what can they do before leaving office. Mind you that DT fired Christopher Krebs for going against him. I think it is reasonable that DOS is trying to stay low. There is no check-in with CO articles recently. No word of what happened to the 25K GCs that were announced in June 2020.

The article offers nothing new other than few quotes and wish list.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-23-2020, 12:06 PM
If you anecdotally look at trackitt, there are a number of people who are still waiting for receipts for filings as early as second-third week of Oct. It's very hit and miss as some who filed in third or fourth week have receipts. So safe to say, USCIS as usual are flying blind without a good handle on the number of applications, especially downgrades. So no idea how and when they would have a proper count and accordingly start moving FADs and start issuing GCs.

AceMan
11-23-2020, 01:06 PM
If you anecdotally look at trackitt, there are a number of people who are still waiting for receipts for filings as early as second-third week of Oct. It's very hit and miss as some who filed in third or fourth week have receipts. So safe to say, USCIS as usual are flying blind without a good handle on the number of applications, especially downgrades. So no idea how and when they would have a proper count and accordingly start moving FADs and start issuing GCs.



They have enough Eb2 pending files till May 2010 and Eb3 had reached April 2010 couple of years back itself.

The speed at which the EB1 India has moved over the 6-7 bulletins, shows they can move if they want.

ak7419
11-23-2020, 01:14 PM
They have enough Eb2 pending files till May 2010 and Eb3 had reached April 2010 couple of years back itself.

The speed at which the EB1 India has moved over the 6-7 bulletins, shows they can move if they want. Agree that they have enough EB2I files until May 2010 but TSC seems to have stopped processing 485 files. Does anyone know where they are spending their manpower on, these days? NSC seems to be doing okay.

mitul75
11-23-2020, 01:48 PM
Here's some additional data that I compiled. Comparing the data from 2012-2015 and 2016-2019 and taking an average of the total between these 2 segments, we are getting the following 3 factors that are primarily contributing to the huge drop in EB2-I visas on a YoY basis:
-- 16% increase in EB2 ROW visas
-- 24% increase in EB visas through CP
-- 71% increase in visa wastage

Year EB2-I EB2-ROW EB(AOS) EB(CP) Wasted Visas (based on 140k limit)
================================
2012 17,878 13,028 106,968 19,137 13,895
2013 15,693 23,554 119,432 21,144 -
2014 21,024 11,198 114,347 21,365 4,288
2015 6,853 18,888 106,393 21,613 11,994
2016 3,823 18,234 100,108 25,056 14,836
2017 2,843 20,031 101,020 23,814 15,166
2018 3,894 19,252 100,885 27,345 11,770
2019 2,604 19,872 101,890 28,538 9,572

So even with consulates closed at least until February 2021, there's a good chance of spillover visas getting wasted no matter what. Again, this might change dramatically with the new admin and things will start improving from day 1, or it may be too late if they wait till Q3/Q4 of this FY.

rocketfast
11-23-2020, 02:36 PM
I do believe that we need to organize and open a line of communication with Zoe Lofgren's office to atleast make her aware that USCIS's current speed will lead to large wastage.

srimurthy
11-23-2020, 03:14 PM
May be Dumb question. Help me understand

I am not good at numbers. I have seen these kind of year wise numbers earlier and with following this forum (Thanks to Gurus), came to know that those years got spill over which allocates extra for EB2I or EB3I and when no spill over only 7%.

So, with more or less 7% every year as per Law, what exactly happening to EB2I or EB3I?

Are these categories supposed to get more spillover every year which is not getting?

I may not be able to give you a complete picture. But there are multiple factors that come in play every year.
We had EB1C filing increasing between 2012 and 2018 where international managers on both H1 and L1 could file and get the GCs with in 6 months to start with and then that response times increased with more backlog applications.
Also we had a good spill across from EB2 ROW during those years for EB2I and spill over from EB1 as the usage was not that high. Once EB1 I and C started getting backlogged the spillover to EB2 either stopped or reduced.

srimurthy
11-23-2020, 03:21 PM
Here's some additional data that I compiled. Comparing the data from 2012-2015 and 2016-2019 and taking an average of the total between these 2 segments, we are getting the following 3 factors that are primarily contributing to the huge drop in EB2-I visas on a YoY basis:
-- 16% increase in EB2 ROW visas
-- 24% increase in EB visas through CP
-- 71% increase in visa wastage

Year EB2-I EB2-ROW EB(AOS) EB(CP) Wasted Visas (based on 140k limit)
================================
2012 17,878 13,028 106,968 19,137 13,895
2013 15,693 23,554 119,432 21,144 -
2014 21,024 11,198 114,347 21,365 4,288
2015 6,853 18,888 106,393 21,613 11,994
2016 3,823 18,234 100,108 25,056 14,836
2017 2,843 20,031 101,020 23,814 15,166
2018 3,894 19,252 100,885 27,345 11,770
2019 2,604 19,872 101,890 28,538 9,572

So even with consulates closed at least until February 2021, there's a good chance of spillover visas getting wasted no matter what. Again, this might change dramatically with the new admin and things will start improving from day 1, or it may be too late if they wait till Q3/Q4 of this FY.

Having applications with a 485 filed in 2012 for EB2I and still not process, having the visa wastage every year is what really hurts and that is what should not have happened.

mitul75
11-23-2020, 03:42 PM
Agree completely. What can change things for the current FY are 2 things -
1. Fewer Consular Processing & fewer ROW demand for the rest of FY'21 due to COVID and the time to get everyone vaccinated
2. Intent to not waste visas and speed things up in EB2/3 lines - this is most important, since with the right intent they are fully capable of approving 20-30k EB2s in a single year as seen in the past. If Biden's admin gets rid of the interview process, that will speed things up dramatically.

ak7419
11-23-2020, 03:46 PM
Agree completely. What can change things for the current FY are 2 things -
1. Fewer Consular Processing & fewer ROW demand for the rest of FY'21 due to COVID and the time to get everyone vaccinated
2. Intent to not waste visas and speed things up in EB2/3 lines - this is most important, since with the right intent they are fully capable of approving 20-30k EB2s in a single year as seen in the past. If Biden's admin gets rid of the interview process, that will speed things up dramatically.
I don't think interviews are delaying the process in short term. We still have substantial number of applicants who need to get approved even though they were/are current since three months. What is causing the delay?

mitul75
11-23-2020, 04:04 PM
I don't think interviews are delaying the process in short term. We still have substantial number of applicants who need to get approved even though they were/are current since three months. What is causing the delay?

I guess this is the same trend we've seen in the past several months, right? Moving the dates conservatively by 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks at a time. Logically speaking, they may have assumed that EB2-I gets around 5,500 visas this year including SO and assuming no vertical or horizontal spills from other EB categories and hence moving the dates cautiously. That's the worst case scenario, and if that happens, that would perhaps move the dates to the end of 2009 at best by end of FY-21.

But realistically speaking, they'll find a huge number of unused visas in Q4 due to point #1 above, and then they won't have enough time to reallocate those visas. Jan bulletin will give us a clear indication how they want to move the dates in Q2 & Q3. I don't expect anything dramatic happening in the first few months of Biden presidency, so without a course correction as early as January, we may be looking at more visa wastage.

AceMan
11-23-2020, 04:48 PM
I don't think interviews are delaying the process in short term. We still have substantial number of applicants who need to get approved even though they were/are current since three months. What is causing the delay?

The objective of the interview was to avoid giving GC to people who have abandoned the process and moved on. However it does really slow down the process, back in 2012 my co worker had his date current for Jan 2012 bulletin and he got his GC by March 2012. Those time lines are un achievable anymore with interview

idliman
11-23-2020, 05:00 PM
The objective of the interview was to avoid giving GC to people who have abandoned the process and moved on. However it does really slow down the process, back in 2012 my co worker had his date current for Jan 2012 bulletin and he got his GC by March 2012. Those time lines are un achievable anymore with interview
USCIS has been turned into an enforcement agency instead of a service agency. The processes have been designed to slow down the approval process in conformance with the objectives of the DT administration. After Jan 20, DHS will be run by a Cuban immigrant who was heading the USCIS when DACA was formulated. I am sure they will have the means and staff to undo the road blocks crafted by the DT admin. Everything from Supp-J, interview mandate, expiry of medicals, public charge, etc., is designed to slow down the process. I am especially mad at how the Supp-J was designed to force people to go back the the company attorneys. Previously I-485 was an individual petition.

qesehmk
11-23-2020, 05:03 PM
USCIS has been turned into an enforcement agency instead of a service agency. The processes have been designed to slow down the approval process in conformance with the objectives of the DT administration. Very well said!

ak7419
11-23-2020, 05:28 PM
USCIS has been turned into an enforcement agency instead of a service agency. The processes have been designed to slow down the approval process in conformance with the objectives of the DT administration. After Jan 20, DHS will be run by a Cuban immigrant who was heading the USCIS when DACA was formulated. I am sure they will have the means and staff to undo the road blocks crafted by the DT admin. Everything from Supp-J, interview mandate, expiry of medicals, public charge, etc., is designed to slow down the process. I am especially mad at how the Supp-J was designed to force people to go back the the company attorneys. Previously I-485 was an individual petition.

I am afraid we will not see any changes for legal immigration. If at all, they will take time to implement them.

AceMan
11-23-2020, 05:30 PM
USCIS has been turned into an enforcement agency instead of a service agency. The processes have been designed to slow down the approval process in conformance with the objectives of the DT administration. After Jan 20, DHS will be run by a Cuban immigrant who was heading the USCIS when DACA was formulated. I am sure they will have the means and staff to undo the road blocks crafted by the DT admin. Everything from Supp-J, interview mandate, expiry of medicals, public charge, etc., is designed to slow down the process. I am especially mad at how the Supp-J was designed to force people to go back the the company attorneys. Previously I-485 was an individual petition.

Let us not push everything to Trump. Expired medicals were a norm during Obama times too. The employee employer relationship was during that time. The introduction of filing dates without any worthwhile movement for 5 years was under his admin. The watered down H4 EAD and nothing for kids was his handout. Kids aging out due to oversight or design of not accepting filing date again by Obama.

idliman
11-23-2020, 06:06 PM
Let us not push everything to Trump. Expired medicals were a norm during Obama times too. The employee employer relationship was during that time. The introduction of filing dates without any worthwhile movement for 5 years was under his admin. The watered down H4 EAD and nothing for kids was his handout. Kids aging out due to oversight or design of not accepting filing date again by Obama.
Ace, after being at this "Trishanku Swarga" status (EAD/AP), I am starting to get tired of this process. I agree with most of your views above. In my opinion the single thing that messed up EB2I folks is the introduction of the Dual VB dates (DF/FA) by the Obama admin. I was cheering for it when it was announced and many years older, now I look back and reflect the harm it has done. In simpler words it made sure that spillover was systematically denied to India folks. Kids age-out is a greater sin than DACA. I am sure the JB admin will change the rule-book to include the DF dates. Immigration is very complicated. After being in the queue for so long, I realize that small things can have unintended consequences. The consulate closure unexpectedly now allowed many folks till 2015 to attain the EAD/AP status. I supported JB mainly for the reason that his admin will issue as many GCs as possible without the wastage that you expect from DT admin. Time only will tell if we were right to support our candidates. Even though EAD/AP Trishanku status is fine for a while, after 8+ years many will start getting tired of it.

ak7419
11-23-2020, 08:49 PM
Have you maintained H1-B for the last 8 years?

I did until last year. so, for about 7 years post EAD!

Moveon
11-23-2020, 09:09 PM
Have you maintained H1-B for the last 8 years?

As humans, we all get bored with "status quo" . When on an L1 , you hope to just get an HIB lottery . After that you get the HI , you tell yourself that an EAD is good enough as your are very loosely connected to an employer after 180 days. But then with the renewals of EAD every two years and AP every year plus sitting secondary immigration for 3-4 hrs you long for a GC . Once on GC, you want citizenship as that liberates you from all this mess. Its a long journey , but after a while you want change where ever you are .
About the movement of dates if Trump concedes by Dec 5th we could have dates moving from the next bulletin as the departments will have more autonomy . Else we will need to wait for Biden administration to staff the agencies and give them the green signal.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-23-2020, 09:28 PM
Trump has conceded. Wishing for better times from now on. Don't expect any immigration reform for another four years, hope that the Executive Actions don't end up stabbing us in the back.

gcconnect
11-23-2020, 09:37 PM
As humans, we all get bored with "status quo" . When on an L1 , you hope to just get an HIB lottery . After that you get the HI , you tell yourself that an EAD is good enough as your are very loosely connected to an employer after 180 days. But then with the renewals of EAD every two years and AP every year plus sitting secondary immigration for 3-4 hrs you long for a GC . Once on GC, you want citizenship as that liberates you from all this mess. Its a long journey , but after a while you want change where ever you are .
About the movement of dates if Trump concedes by Dec 5th we could have dates moving from the next bulletin as the departments will have more autonomy . Else we will need to wait for Biden administration to staff the agencies and give them the green signal.

That's True. Where ever we are change required, but Change required with boredom is different than change required with pain. This is pain and sad part is our kids needs to start over from the beginning.
As per my understanding the FD movement indicates that this year is very different than any previous years. If they don't want to issue GCs, would not have been moved the FD so far . The FAD movement will start soon.

Moveon
11-24-2020, 02:36 AM
Trump has conceded. Wishing for better times from now on. Don't expect any immigration reform for another four years, hope that the Executive Actions don't end up stabbing us in the back.

Yes , its hard for any good reform to pass for Legal immigration given the senate and house numbers . If they can issue the 265K GCs this fiscal , that would be the best we can hope for and probably a decent spillover for the next one too.

longwaitgigu
11-24-2020, 10:02 AM
Can anyone explain this
How 436 gc issued in eb3 for month of October via CP if EO is still existing
Spectator has mentioned in CP processing

Spectator
11-24-2020, 10:48 AM
Can anyone explain this
How 436 gc issued in eb3 for month of October via CP if EO is still existing
Spectator has mentioned in CP processing
longwaitgigu,

There are various exceptions in the EOs and the Consulates have some latitude.

Notably, there's an exception for health workers due to COVID-19. Nearly 60% of the EB3 approvals are for Philippines, known for providing nurses.

I think CO has mentioned that priority is also given to cases where age-out is a consideration.

In short - it's not a total blanket ban.

08jul11
11-24-2020, 03:30 PM
Hi Gurus: please move this to the appropriate page but wanted to ask about the Expedited processing options for H4 visas due to Financial loss. Has anyone been able to avail this service? When I try to call the 800 number, there is no way to get to an agent to take up the case. Is there any other way to reach them ?

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-25-2020, 10:29 AM
USCIS is not going to furlough anyone this year, which should be welcome news for processing more applications in a timely fashion. Hopefully they do their job, at least beginning from noon on Jan 20, 2021.

https://twitter.com/Haleaziz/status/1331256633180127233

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-25-2020, 10:48 AM
Hi Gurus: please move this to the appropriate page but wanted to ask about the Expedited processing options for H4 visas due to Financial loss. Has anyone been able to avail this service? When I try to call the 800 number, there is no way to get to an agent to take up the case. Is there any other way to reach them ?

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-information/how-to-make-an-expedite-request

Orchid1987
11-25-2020, 09:32 PM
My PD is 2012 June and we just downgraded to eb3. When do u think we can expect a GC? How many years from now on? Provided our downgrade application gets approved.

Thanks,
Orchid

rabp77
11-26-2020, 10:08 PM
My PD is 2012 June and we just downgraded to eb3. When do u think we can expect a GC? How many years from now on? Provided our downgrade application gets approved.

Thanks,
Orchid

After USCIS stopped publishing pending inventory data, this question can be answered only by making a few assumptions. My assumption may sound too optimistic for some, but in the best case scenario you may get yours in a year. The assumptions made here are full spillover is utilized without any being wasted, and most people before May 15 2011 PD would not be downgrading. But i have no data to say how realistic these assumptions are. You could use whereismyGC service to get a more accurate date (which is likely to use more available data into account). Good Luck.

waitin4gc
11-27-2020, 08:04 AM
My Priority date is Mar 2011. I filed my I-485 in EB2 category. What is the estimated date for getting GC. Will it be any sooner if I downgrade to EB3 (after getting EB3 I-140 approved). Is it worth downgrading? I ask this because Gurus are suggesting that use of EAD/AP will jeopardize future Downgrade/Upgrade. Its like - we can have the cake but not eat it.

AceMan
11-27-2020, 10:17 AM
After USCIS stopped publishing pending inventory data, this question can be answered only by making a few assumptions. My assumption may sound too optimistic for some, but in the best case scenario you may get yours in a year. The assumptions made here are full spillover is utilized without any being wasted, and most people before May 15 2011 PD would not be downgrading. But i have no data to say how realistic these assumptions are. You could use whereismyGC service to get a more accurate date (which is likely to use more available data into account). Good Luck.


With the current rules the best case for date movement is May 15th 2011 before the end of FY 21 for Eb3. To reach there it has to move forward by close to 45 days every bulletin and the movement was on par for the first quarter.

skpanda
11-27-2020, 12:34 PM
My Priority date is Mar 2011. I filed my I-485 in EB2 category. What is the estimated date for getting GC. Will it be any sooner if I downgrade to EB3 (after getting EB3 I-140 approved). Is it worth downgrading? I ask this because Gurus are suggesting that use of EAD/AP will jeopardize future Downgrade/Upgrade. Its like - we can have the cake but not eat it.

Take it with a grain of salt. You may get your GC faster in EB3 rather than EB2.

This is from the collective wisdom in this forum that anybody after Apr 2010 PD is trying to downgrade as much as possible to EB3. Simply because EB2 Queue is crowded 5 times to 1 of EB3 Queue.

Orchid1987
11-27-2020, 01:29 PM
I think at some point eb2 and eb3 will go in parallel. If SO is applied correctly. Without any wastage. 2010,2011 will clear for sure. 2012 May clear next yr if there is low demand from row.

aqvamoorthy
11-27-2020, 02:05 PM
My PD is EB2 May 2013, Recently applied EB2 >>EB3 Downgrade (I-140& I-485), I hold General Manager[GM] title with SOC code 11:1021 with wage of $120K, Planning to start my own business exactly same field and plan to hold GM title in additional small change[90% remain same] in responsibility but with pay of $75[due to startup]+ 100% Company ownership, thinking to use AC21 to sign my own 1-485J,, Please let me know if this still in compliance of existing ac21 policy for self employment or not? Pls explain if any risks involved. FYI: I plan to do only after 180 days of both I-140& I-485 Which ever comes latest.

gc_dedo
11-27-2020, 02:50 PM
My Priority date is Mar 2011. I filed my I-485 in EB2 category. What is the estimated date for getting GC. Will it be any sooner if I downgrade to EB3 (after getting EB3 I-140 approved). Is it worth downgrading? I ask this because Gurus are suggesting that use of EAD/AP will jeopardize future Downgrade/Upgrade. Its like - we can have the cake but not eat it.

Is is not possible to upgrade/downgrade once you switch to EAD?

rabp77
11-27-2020, 03:42 PM
I think at some point eb2 and eb3 will go in parallel. If SO is applied correctly. Without any wastage. 2010,2011 will clear for sure. 2012 May clear next yr if there is low demand from row.

This thing has been mentioned by many people since more than 4-5 years ago. In theory, it makes sense because most people who filed EB3 10 years ago, would now qualify for EB2, and any petition that qualifies for EB2 will qualify for EB3. However, this has not been the case so far because, there are costs and hurdles associated with switching. Some companies refuse to downgrade or file a 2nd petition, and in other cases people have used the EAD, and changed companies, so upgrading or downgrading can require a new perm. If you observe China, Eb3 is currently 1.5 years ahead of EB2, and that has been the case for most part for a few years.

nbk1976
11-27-2020, 05:08 PM
My PD is EB2 May 2013, Recently applied EB2 >>EB3 Downgrade (I-140& I-485), I hold General Manager[GM] title with SOC code 11:1021 with wage of $120K, Planning to start my own business exactly same field and plan to hold GM title in additional small change[90% remain same] in responsibility but with pay of $75[due to startup]+ 100% Company ownership, thinking to use AC21 to sign my own 1-485J,, Please let me know if this still in compliance of existing ac21 policy for self employment or not? Pls explain if any risks involved. FYI: I plan to do only after 180 days of both I-140& I-485 Which ever comes latest.

My lawyer once told me that self-employment, freelance consulting, etc., are fine for AC21 as long as the job duties are similar and you are able to clearly prove that you won't be a public charge and have the ability to generate income to support yourself. If you have a history being successfully self-employed, it won't be a problem. But if you get into your own business and within a few months you had to respond to an RFE/Supplement-J with financial information, you might have a harder time since your business has just started.

Moveon
11-27-2020, 05:36 PM
My lawyer once told me that self-employment, freelance consulting, etc., are fine for AC21 as long as the job duties are similar and you are able to clearly prove that you won't be a public charge and have the ability to generate income to support yourself. If you have a history being successfully self-employed, it won't be a problem. But if you get into your own business and within a few months you had to respond to an RFE/Supplement-J with financial information, you might have a harder time since your business has just started.

People have done this in the past. But first get a good immigration lawyer and a CPA who can together formulate the paper work so as to not have a conflict with the law .
With your PD of May 2013 you could get your GC in 4 years provided there is a huge SO this year too. The Biden Admin will be more lenient towards AC21 so the next 4 years could be OK. But if things change in 2025 , that's when you need a good lawyer and CPA who would have filed the right paper work .

tenyearsgone
11-28-2020, 06:42 PM
Urgent question on behalf of a friend.

My friend has to travel to India urgently due to a family emergency. He recently filed for I485 & EAD/AP in October and has not got the receipt numbers yet. Is there any impact to the pending I485 or AP applications if he travels at this time? He is currently on a H1B visa and intends to re-enter with the same.


@admins - I posted on this thread for visibility. please move this to an appropriate thread later.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
11-28-2020, 08:19 PM
Urgent question on behalf of a friend.

My friend has to travel to India urgently due to a family emergency. He recently filed for I485 & EAD/AP in October and has not got the receipt numbers yet. Is there any impact to the pending I485 or AP applications if he travels at this time? He is currently on a H1B visa and intends to re-enter with the same.


@admins - I posted on this thread for visibility. please move this to an appropriate thread later.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents/emergency-travel

kumareb2
12-01-2020, 05:06 PM
thanks for the link. Good information

tenyearsgone
12-01-2020, 06:12 PM
https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents/emergency-travel

Thanks for the link. It was a useful read, but a little confusing w.r.t I-485 withdrawal. Attorney clarification was that the I-485 would be fine, but the AP would be denied since this is a first time application for AP and there's no valid AP during the travel duration. The advice was to reapply for AP after returning based on the pending I485.

Turbulent_Dragonfly
12-02-2020, 12:56 PM
Thanks for the link. It was a useful read, but a little confusing w.r.t I-485 withdrawal. Attorney clarification was that the I-485 would be fine, but the AP would be denied since this is a first time application for AP and there's no valid AP during the travel duration. The advice was to reapply for AP after returning based on the pending I485.

Yes, the attorney is correct. There will not be any impact on the I-485, but the I-131 will be denied due to not having a valid I-94 and will have to be reapplied for once back in the US.

Noesis
12-02-2020, 06:41 PM
There is a tweet from IV on S386 being passed by UC.! Did anyone hear from any other source.? Nothing is coming up on the news or .gov yet.

idliman
12-02-2020, 07:29 PM
There is a tweet from IV on S386 being passed by UC.! Did anyone hear from any other source.? Nothing is coming up on the news or .gov yet.
Any S386 / HR1044 discussion: Please post in the following thread:
https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2033-Discussion-On-The-Politics-of-Immigration-Reform-(Comprehensive-Or-Otherwise)?p=68454#post68454

Noesis
12-02-2020, 08:57 PM
Thank you.

inspired_p
12-04-2020, 11:07 AM
Any predictions for the visa bulletin for January ;). USCIS should have garnered enough information in EB1 , and ROW categories in the last 2 and half months to anticipate the horizontal spillover likely for this year. From Q2 there has to have movement in action dates if they do not want to waste visas.

rocketfast
12-04-2020, 11:47 AM
Any predictions for the visa bulletin for January ;). USCIS should have garnered enough information in EB1 , and ROW categories in the last 2 and half months to anticipate the horizontal spillover likely for this year. From Q2 there has to have movement in action dates if they do not want to waste visas.

USCIS has not approved any GCs for 2 weeks now (very few, but practically 0). They are right now slower than their speed last year this time (based on trackitt approvals). We can make all the predictions we want, but if no one is applying pressure on USCIS to speed up, they are unlikely to exceed 150,000 GCs this year.

Justmyself
12-04-2020, 04:38 PM
Filed on Oct 27 and no receipt yet. Tried asking Emma but was directed to a customer service number and they keep disconnecting saying all agents are busy. Any idea how to get the receipt numbers through a live agent?

vbollu
12-04-2020, 04:48 PM
Filed on Oct 27 and no receipt yet. Tried asking Emma but was directed to a customer service number and they keep disconnecting saying all agents are busy. Any idea how to get the receipt numbers through a live agent?

I did chat with them this morning, but agent said they didn't see any receipt number for my I-485 which was filed on oct 27. mine is eb2 downgrade to eb3 case.

Justmyself
12-04-2020, 05:08 PM
Would you mind running me through a step by step process on how to get that info?

vbollu
12-04-2020, 05:21 PM
Would you mind running me through a step by step process on how to get that info?

Ask emma "Live chat", it will come up with option "case status" and few others and select the "case status". It will ask again "do you have receipt number" and some other, select the option and it will say what can I help you and ask "live chat" it will connect to you to the live person. keep your alien number with you before you chat.

EB20112021
12-04-2020, 05:33 PM
Hi, filed 10/26 and got my receipt numbers through live chat. Keep waiting each time Emma says agents are busy try again. I got someone chat with me within 30mts and hence kept trying every 10mts or so with Emma. Good luck !

vbollu
12-04-2020, 05:37 PM
Hi, filed 10/26 and got my receipt numbers through live chat. Keep waiting each time Emma says agents are busy try again. I got someone chat with me within 30mts and hence kept trying every 10mts or so with Emma. Good luck !

A small question, is your case is also similar to us like downgrade from eb2 to eb3 or straight forward case?

AceMan
12-04-2020, 06:17 PM
Hi, filed 10/26 and got my receipt numbers through live chat. Keep waiting each time Emma says agents are busy try again. I got someone chat with me within 30mts and hence kept trying every 10mts or so with Emma. Good luck !

October 26th, nothing yet.

Justmyself
12-04-2020, 07:19 PM
Thank you so much. I finally was able to connect but they still don’t have our receipt numbers in the system. It’s sad to see how slow uscis has become now.

rabp77
12-04-2020, 07:24 PM
October 26th, nothing yet.

wow..things have certainly slowed down. normally it used to come in around 2-3 weeks. With the volume being much higher now (my guess is its around 3-5 times the volume), it may take around 2 months now, if their processing capacity remained the same. Hoping they can speed it up so that the full spillover is utilized. The good thing is once its received, USCIS will accept it for processing if everything is properly filed, so the receipt number is just a formality.

Justmyself
12-04-2020, 08:01 PM
Some of my co workers that filed before and after were able to get the receipt numbers through the live agent. Only ours wasn’t found. Sorta worried . Dallas lockbox on Oct 27.

aGCHopefull
12-04-2020, 08:31 PM
Some of my co workers that filed before and after were able to get the receipt numbers through the live agent. Only ours wasn’t found. Sorta worried . Dallas lockbox on Oct 27.

Mine was filed on Oct 7 (no downgrade) to Tx center and I just received the receipts today. Live agents were not able to locate until Nov 20th. When I called Live agent yesterday, they provided me receipt numbers and I received the receipts today (notice date : Nov 25)

cool_dude
12-05-2020, 02:59 PM
Some of my co workers that filed before and after were able to get the receipt numbers through the live agent. Only ours wasn’t found. Sorta worried . Dallas lockbox on Oct 27.

I am in the same boat.Reached texas service center on oct 27th

dus_saal_baad
12-05-2020, 10:45 PM
Hi folks,

My priority date is Aug 20 2009 and current for a couple of months now under EB2 India. My i485 was applied back in 2012 and have been on EAD since 2012. I have not received any communication from USCIS. My last activity was an RFE back in 2016 to which I had responded already.

I call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283 for a service request but apparently it keeps going in a loop where it provides the old 2016 case status and I am not able to connect to person. I contacted two lawyers so far and they both advised to wait or call USCIS (but the latter is not working).

Please advise as this is a bit unnerving. I do not have my H1b anymore.

What should I do?

qesehmk
12-06-2020, 08:05 AM
Hi folks,

My priority date is Aug 20 2009 and current for a couple of months now under EB2 India. My i485 was applied back in 2012 and have been on EAD since 2012. I have not received any communication from USCIS. My last activity was an RFE back in 2016 to which I had responded already.

I call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283 for a service request but apparently it keeps going in a loop where it provides the old 2016 case status and I am not able to connect to person. I contacted two lawyers so far and they both advised to wait or call USCIS (but the latter is not working).

Please advise as this is a bit unnerving. I do not have my H1b anymore.

What should I do?

Since you have waited 2 months ... now it is time to contact your congressman or senator. It works like a charm. Good luck and let us know.

dus_saal_baad
12-06-2020, 10:45 AM
Since you have waited 2 months ... now it is time to contact your congressman or senator. It works like a charm. Good luck and let us know.

Thanks Q. If anyone has done such a thing, please walk through the step? Do I call the office? How do I present the story? A written letter?

subbuss
12-06-2020, 02:07 PM
All - First time poster here, though I check this forum from time to time. Have a question on EAD/AP filing fees. Thanks for running a clean, insightful forum.

Scenario: I got current for Filing Dates in October (Aug 2010), and my attorneys filed for 485, but did not file for EAD/AP. Their rationale was they wanted to get in as many applications as possible before any retrogression. Anyways, thats done.
Now, they are open to filing, but are charging $1800 per application including lawyer fees, so comes to $3600 for my and my wife. I have not yet received the receipt notice for 485.
Question: I am confused about application fees for EAD/AP when I485 is pending.
1) Are there any filing charges for filing EAD/AP when I485 is pending, when it is not applied along with 485? In some pleases I see no fees when 485 is pending (after the courts stuck down the fee increase), but its unclear.
2) If there are fees, where can I get the correct fee amounts, if I plan to file indpendently?

If the filing fees is ~$1K, I dont mind paying another $800 to lawyers, but if its free, I dont want to pay $1800 for very simple forms.

Appreciate any inputs, and please move it to the right thread.

qesehmk
12-06-2020, 02:11 PM
Thanks Q. If anyone has done such a thing, please walk through the step? Do I call the office? How do I present the story? A written letter?
Just write an email. I did it long time back. Sen. McCain (god bless his soul) responded and asked more information but I received GC even before that. Senators and congresssmen do help out and have better reach into government agencies than you and I.

mitul75
12-06-2020, 08:39 PM
All - First time poster here, though I check this forum from time to time. Have a question on EAD/AP filing fees. Thanks for running a clean, insightful forum.

Scenario: I got current for Filing Dates in October (Aug 2010), and my attorneys filed for 485, but did not file for EAD/AP. Their rationale was they wanted to get in as many applications as possible before any retrogression. Anyways, thats done.
Now, they are open to filing, but are charging $1800 per application including lawyer fees, so comes to $3600 for my and my wife. I have not yet received the receipt notice for 485.
Question: I am confused about application fees for EAD/AP when I485 is pending.
1) Are there any filing charges for filing EAD/AP when I485 is pending, when it is not applied along with 485? In some pleases I see no fees when 485 is pending (after the courts stuck down the fee increase), but its unclear.
2) If there are fees, where can I get the correct fee amounts, if I plan to file indpendently?

If the filing fees is ~$1K, I dont mind paying another $800 to lawyers, but if its free, I dont want to pay $1800 for very simple forms.

Appreciate any inputs, and please move it to the right thread.

Hi subbuss,

You don’t need to pay filing fees for EAD/AP applications filed under (c)(9), I-485 Adjustment of Status category. Please review the official I-765 filing instructions here -
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf

subbuss
12-06-2020, 10:00 PM
Thanks for the quick guidance.

I am going to ask the law firm to justify charging this for these forms especially when there is no fee to file.

incredible
12-07-2020, 07:20 AM
Thanks for the quick guidance.

I am going to ask the law firm to justify charging this for these forms especially when there is no fee to file.

Or alternatively, you can wait for your 485 receipt numbers and then once you get them, file EAD/AP through your own attorney. No need to stick to company attorney for those. I am hoping you have your documents like Labor, I140, etc.

Zenzone
12-07-2020, 08:40 AM
I am in the same boat.Reached texas service center on oct 27th

Not sure if this helps, mine (me and my wife) was received by USCIS (TX lock box) on 10/22 and a receipt was generated on 11/12 and we received all our 6 receipt copies by regular USPS mail by sometime around 11/22. Currently our I-485 rceipt status shows that our finger print fee was received. We still haven't received our biometrics appointment notice yet.

kash80
12-07-2020, 09:00 AM
Not sure if this helps, mine (me and my wife) was received by USCIS (TX lock box) on 10/22 and a receipt was generated on 11/12 and we received all our 6 receipt copies by regular USPS mail by sometime around 11/22. Currently our I-485 rceipt status shows that our finger print fee was received. We still haven't received our biometrics appointment notice yet.

Was yours just a 485 case, or was there a downgrade involved? My application was received on 10/23 at the TX location, no receipts yet. Mine's a Eb2 to 3 downgrade with the same employer

subbuss
12-07-2020, 10:03 AM
Thanks. That’s a good idea. I have my 140 and will apply after 485 approval. Not sure about labor.

I want to make sure I am not missing anything since the lawyer fees seem really high assuming there is no filing fee USCIS charges. Probably going with a different reputed lawyer would be a good option.

mjaggu
12-07-2020, 10:35 AM
Thanks. That’s a good idea. I have my 140 and will apply after 485 approval. Not sure about labor.

I want to make sure I am not missing anything since the lawyer fees seem really high assuming there is no filing fee USCIS charges. Probably going with a different reputed lawyer would be a good option.

My 2 cents, 765 and 131 are straight forward and simple. And you save a ton of money by filing them yourself.

Zenzone
12-07-2020, 11:50 AM
Was yours just a 485 case, or was there a downgrade involved? My application was received on 10/23 at the TX location, no receipts yet. Mine's a Eb2 to 3 downgrade with the same employer

Mine was filed under EB2 and same employer, no downgrade.

fishelusa
12-07-2020, 01:22 PM
I tried to call also via live chat no receipt no.s till now. My application sent in October 26 th and received by uscis on oct 27th. No downgrade.

delguy
12-07-2020, 02:03 PM
My 2 cents, 765 and 131 are straight forward and simple. And you save a ton of money by filing them yourself.

I second that. They both are easy to fill forms. Most of the information is already in your I-485. Try filling them yourself first and ask questions here if you are stuck anywhere. Also you can consult an immigration attorney online if there is something that you are not clear about.

vicks23
12-07-2020, 02:41 PM
Hello All, I got my EAD/AP approved. USCIS sent me the approval receipts but somehow USPS lost it. I am trying to work with USPS to locate it. Does any one has some idea if USPS does not able to find it then what are the next steps?

cool_dude
12-07-2020, 03:03 PM
I tried to call also via live chat no receipt no.s till now. My application sent in October 26 th and received by uscis on oct 27th. No downgrade.

I am in same situation...frustrating

GCdreamz
12-07-2020, 03:04 PM
Hello All, I got my EAD/AP approved. USCIS sent me the approval receipts but somehow USPS lost it. I am trying to work with USPS to locate it. Does any one has some idea if USPS does not able to find it then what are the next steps?

Please share Date when you filed EAD/AP. Will help me and other in estimating timeline.

Not sure on next steps but hopefully you should receive EAD card soon, I guess.

subbuss
12-07-2020, 06:30 PM
Thanks All. I felt it was fairly straightforward, which was why I am surprised that the fee quoted is high.

Most likely I will file it myself, but need to wait for my 485 receipt.

ak7419
12-07-2020, 07:00 PM
Does anyone know when I can expect RFE from TSC? Also, what is TSC spending its manpower on, these days?

maverickwild
12-07-2020, 08:52 PM
Thank you moon80,AceMan,Vedu.

And yes downgrading did help getting GC probably a year early.

had i got my EAD in 2012 I would have left that employer eventually, i would still be on EAD
I don't know what was better getting EAD 7 years early or GC 12 months early :).

Reminds me of the story of Chinese farmer


https://youtu.be/OX0OARBqBp0

vedu
12-08-2020, 08:17 AM
Reminds me of the story of Chinese farmer



What a great lesson in the story of Chinese farmer! Thank you for sharing that!

qesehmk
12-08-2020, 09:31 AM
Thank you moon80,AceMan,Vedu.

And yes downgrading did help getting GC probably a year early.

had i got my EAD in 2012 I would have left that employer eventually, i would still be on EAD
I don't know what was better getting EAD 7 years early or GC 12 months early :).

Reminds me of the story of Chinese farmer


https://youtu.be/OX0OARBqBp0

What a beautiful story. All the best Maverick for life ahead.

vedu
12-08-2020, 10:24 AM
Congratulations and a great story. Guess, at the end of the day, it is what it is. We will find out benefit/loss of a thing in unexpected ways.

I will give you my own example which is in many ways similar to the lesson in this story. My employer applied GC for me and for my colleagues from other countries at the same time. They got it in 1-2 years and became citizens 5 years after that while I am still in limbo. Now the consequences! When time came to renew my H-1B a few years ago, the prevailing wages were completely different. They had to upgrade my salary significantly higher, while nobody cared to adjust my other colleagues' salary because it wasn't mandatory thanks to their citizenship. Then more recently (after another three years), same thing repeated again due to another round of increase in prevailing wages. Only way for my colleagues to get a significant salary raise now is to change the job. So, you are right. It is what it is and nobody knows the consequences of good and bad things that happen in life. The story is on point!

incredible
12-08-2020, 12:18 PM
I will give you my own example which is in many ways similar to the lesson in this story. My employer applied GC for me and for my colleagues from other countries at the same time. They got it in 1-2 years and became citizens 5 years after that while I am still in limbo. Now the consequences! When time came to renew my H-1B a few years ago, the prevailing wages were completely different. They had to upgrade my salary significantly higher, while nobody cared to adjust my other colleagues' salary because it wasn't mandatory thanks to their citizenship. Then more recently (after another three years), same thing repeated again due to another round of increase in prevailing wages. Only way for my colleagues to get a significant salary raise now is to change the job. So, you are right. It is what it is and nobody knows the consequences of good and bad things that happen in life. The story is on point!

Absolutely. There are so many stories for each one of us on our GC journey, I guess each one can be made into a great film. I used to work for a large company back in 2007 (when the flood gates opened once) and was seeing my colleges rushing to file 140/485. I was not interested at that time and decided to take it easy and not rush. Eventually left large company in 2008 and moved into a small firm and they promised that they will file labor/140 "very soon". Unfortunately that company got acquired in late 2008 and the whole acquisition process took more than an year and then they went by letter of the law in filing labor which took its own time and eventually got it filed in 02/2010. Then I got EAD and decided to quit and went to another company on EAD and have since been on EAD. Now brighter side is EAD is better than H1, but darker side is been on EAD and not sure when I will be greened. Those folks who were with me back in 2007 all became citizens few years back and were discussing with me on voting and whom to vote etc.

gc_dedo
12-08-2020, 02:26 PM
Absolutely. There are so many stories for each one of us on our GC journey, I guess each one can be made into a great film. I used to work for a large company back in 2007 (when the flood gates opened once) and was seeing my colleges rushing to file 140/485. I was not interested at that time and decided to take it easy and not rush. Eventually left large company in 2008 and moved into a small firm and they promised that they will file labor/140 "very soon". Unfortunately that company got acquired in late 2008 and the whole acquisition process took more than an year and then they went by letter of the law in filing labor which took its own time and eventually got it filed in 02/2010. Then I got EAD and decided to quit and went to another company on EAD and have since been on EAD. Now brighter side is EAD is better than H1, but darker side is been on EAD and not sure when I will be greened. Those folks who were with me back in 2007 all became citizens few years back and were discussing with me on voting and whom to vote etc.

I see that you are on EB2. Can't you downgrade to EB3? Is there a law that if you are on EAD, you can't upgrade/downgrade? Or it's too much of a hassle?

incredible
12-08-2020, 02:57 PM
I see that you are on EB2. Can't you downgrade to EB3? Is there a law that if you are on EAD, you can't upgrade/downgrade? Or it's too much of a hassle?

Yes. Too much of hassle and also don't think I can. I have been on EAD/AP from 2012, never used H1 after that. I guess I have decided not to try anything now and wait it out and hopefully will get greened in the next year or two. The risk is too much now to downgrade. If there are any rejections, etc. in 140, the whole thing may blow up.

inspired_p
12-08-2020, 04:52 PM
Thank you moon80,AceMan,Vedu.

And yes downgrading did help getting GC probably a year early.

had i got my EAD in 2012 I would have left that employer eventually, i would still be on EAD
I don't know what was better getting EAD 7 years early or GC 12 months early :).

Reminds me of the story of Chinese farmer


https://youtu.be/OX0OARBqBp0
So very true.. and only way being on EAD for 7 years would have been advantageous if one improved on the situation ( spouse employment, secondary income which might not in line with H1B rules etc.). Not to forget hassles with H1-B extensions
Opportunity cost is very very hard to determine in any situations..
If one stays with single income - same employer, then definitely getting GC 1 year earlier is the better outcome.

maverickwild
12-08-2020, 05:53 PM
Congratulations !!! Awesome News..
Also the interview seem to have been waived for you?

Went through the interview in October 2019.
And thank you for the greetings

AceMan
12-09-2020, 10:11 AM
That's re-assuring even to think I can probably do something else as a sidekick for fun :)

What is your wish list for 2021? Now with the possibility of EAD within first couple of months, anybody actively looking for a change?

The biggest wish now has to be getting the GC if possible in the year 2021. Few other wishes like improved covid situations and travel back to India after not leaving the country for more than a decade. Yes immediate family members visited you, but nothing like taking you teen kids to a nostalgic trip down your memory lane.

I can assure that they will just shrug it off anyways as usual, but I want to do it for myself. Like the song, Chinna chinna asai, which I enjoyed for a long without knowing the meaning, later appreciated even more after understanding the lyrics.

mitul75
12-09-2020, 11:26 AM
Also, with your I-485 pending and while you are on AOS status, you can take a break in employment without losing your status, as long as there's a valid bona-fide job offer in same or similar category to your original petition. You'll need this to support your I-485 application (with a I-485 supplement J) whenever USCIS reviews your case and requests for evidence.

ak7419
12-09-2020, 11:29 AM
We have applicants who are getting GC without being current. We have applicants getting RFE when not being current but yet the applicants who have been current since three months are not receiving RFEs or GCs. Strange and weird.

inspired_p
12-09-2020, 11:35 AM
Thank you everyone for this discussions I was really under the impression that I would need to abide by all the H1-B rules to stay in H1-B . But allowing second/third employment using EAD while still not loosing H1-B status with you current employer is much more applicant friendly and it does have common sense logic behind it. But we never expect applicant friendly rules from the USCIS ( its very employer friendly generally).

inspired_p
12-09-2020, 11:39 AM
Question : I Got a USCIS case status update
December 9, 2020
Case Transferred To Another Office
On December 9, 2020, we transferred your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number LIN########, to another office for processing and sent you a transfer notice. The notice explains why we transferred your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you do not receive your notice by January 8, 2021, please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request a copy of the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

What does this mean ?