EB2-3 Predictions (Rather Calculations) 2015-2020

[qesehmk]

Right now we are waiting for March bulletin and I am telling people how the downgrades and mindless upgrades have screwed the people.

Ace - I like you and appreciate your posts. I just think it is futile to discuss this. The simple reason being - because of limited number of visas - immigration does become a zero sum game.

So our position on this forum should be - let people do what they want to do in their self interest and let USCIS be the arbiter of somebody's claim to upgrade / downgrade etc. We will not be a party to villifying or glorifying any one immigrant group over another.

I think it is best in everybody's interest to focus our energy on supporting each other. We should put data in front of people and let them decide what is in their interest.

[Kesid23]

I applied in October 2020 too and had my fingerprinting done on December 2. I am still waiting for EAD!!!

Was yours MSC? What series ?

[2011Feb]

I applied in October 2020 too and had my fingerprinting done on December 2. I am still waiting for EAD!!!

Was yours MSC? What series ?

Finally got a EAD for myself and my wife .

EB3 I Priority date : FEB2011, Applied on 01OCT2020; Biometrics : 22Jan2021

It is an MSC number from NBC.

[vsivarama]

Heres to hoping for a positive movement and approval for all [per the rules].

Stay Well and Stay Happy :)

Amen to that! Do we think the visa bulletin will be released tomorrow. That will at least show some shift from old admin. I am not even talking about movement here.

[AceMan]

Ace - I like you and appreciate your posts. I just think it is futile to discuss this. The simple reason being - because of limited number of visas - immigration does become a zero sum game.

So our position on this forum should be - let people do what they want to do in their self interest and let USCIS be the arbiter of somebody's claim to upgrade / downgrade etc. We will not be a party to villifying or glorifying any one immigrant group over another.

I think it is best in everybody's interest to focus our energy on supporting each other. We should put data in front of people and let them decide what is in their interest.

That is exactly what I was driving the point to with the highlighted text in my previous post. With 5 years experience every one should directly qualify for Eb2.
What is the point in having an Eb3 lane where people use up the spots. Why even need a separate application?

A combined list of 80080 for both EB2 and 3, or if we want to include Eb1 also a combined availability of 120120.

Anyways as you mentioned, this is my closing argument on this specific topic.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Amen to that! Do we think the visa bulletin will be released tomorrow. That will at least show some shift from old admin. I am not even talking about movement here.

New Admin is leaving some of the immigration lawyers shell shocked with their actions coming in. I don't know the exact details but looks like they are dragging their feet on the IV/DV bans for one, Asylum process and releasing some toothless Executive Orders. Could be that they are just too busy fighting Covid or they are actually continuing some Trump era rules as an excuse to mollify some people who were ready to jump on them saying "see they are for open borders!".

[vedu]

So if it has to be, join both Eb2 and 3 instead of letting people jump from one line to another!!!

Ace,

my friend, that's your frustration against the USCIS and its rules. I get that, but you broadly downgrading innocent people who are trying to downgrade themselves (to EB3 :D) as "headless chickens" is not fair.

People who are trying to secure EAD/APs for themselves and their families by downgrading are not headless chickens.

People who already have EAD/APs, but trying to downgrade to get GC 6-7 months earlier to protect their aging out kids are not headless chickens.

In general, life is very uncertain and it is in everybody's best interest to try to secure GC as soon as possible. We all know cases where sudden demise of a primary applicant brought down the GC dreams of entire family. Wish they would have gotten their GCs a few months earlier.

We never know why people are taking certain course of action until we are ourselves in their shoes.

[Zenzone]

New Admin is leaving some of the immigration lawyers shell shocked with their actions coming in. I don't know the exact details but looks like they are dragging their feet on the IV/DV bans for one, Asylum process and releasing some toothless Executive Orders. Could be that they are just too busy fighting Covid or they are actually continuing some Trump era rules as an excuse to mollify some people who were ready to jump on them saying "see they are for open borders!".

There had been some rumblings I agree. Its very early to make these conclusions though. Some of the dragging the feet perception is coming from legal technicalities that the govt. attorneys on these lawsuits should take as defense counsel I guess. It will be political suicide for JB Admin to take the negative press on continuing family separations and deportations for example, therefore I expect the practices to become coherent with the policy narrative in coming weeks.

[qesehmk]

Friends please let it rest. All of us including Ace agree that people have every right to do what they please.

Ace's point that the original EB classification has become a joke after decades of wait is very very valid. Unfortunately USCIS is government and government is ass. We can't reason with USCIS. All we can do is either engage in constructive advocacy or simply visit this forum and others and help your fellow immigrants while maximizing your own well being. Sorry - I don't mean to preach anybody. But please rest this argument.

[monsieur]

My last comment on EB2/3 - As mid-20s guy, I was not fully aware of all the GC rules. At that age, I was not into reading policy manual to see. I had lots of mis-information regarding GC steps (Perm, I-140, I-485, adding dependent) mind was jumbled with all different rules of F1, CPT, OPT and H1-B. If my friend is doing it, It was good for me.

Lack of correct information and/or guidance was main reason I waited for 4.5 yrs of my H1 when my employer was trying since 2007 to file my GC (filed in 2010). I see same situation from new guys as well. I take this as learning curve of being 1st gen immigrant and move on. No point of dwelling on it when I can't change anything abt it. I can just pay-it-forward to folks which I try to do my best.

[monsieur]

Back to prediction note - I don't see VB coming this week. Its a long weekend for many. VB to be out by 19th will be a win in my books with usual week in EB2 and Month tops in EB3.

JBAdmin is just taking over; it will take 2-3 months for Secs to have their own staff and start making changes. Best bet we will see Obama-Admin level by summer and policy changes by fall.

Trump Admin was not able to tighten ship on first year itself. They were determined to stop flow of immigrant, still needed months and in some cases years to implement restriction. Even with determination (which I don't see in JB-Admin), it will take year or 2 to completely dis-mantle it. Whether we agree or not, few of those rules were common sense rules and needs update, which Trump Admin did; we may of to live with those going fwd.

[InbaMayam]

Your I485 has been pending for 180 days. So you are eligible for AC21 job portability. You have no problem joining FT. However to invoke AC21, it would be helpful to have a) SOC code b) Job Title and c)Job description. So try to get PERM / I-140 from your original employer. If it is lost, you can do a FOIA request. I would suggest you to apply for AC21 immediately after joining the job. Don't wait. This way you are covered for Citizenship form later on. Good luck fellow Oors.

Edit: I don't get your question about I-9. The moment you join any new employer, they will have to do compliance (E-Verify / I-9). The only way you can work with the new FT employer is either by using GC or EAD or by transferring H1B. You had indicated that you are going to use EAD or GC. So you have to file a I-9 with any new employer. If you are still in EAD/AP status, please make sure that you browse through our EAD/AP forum on the advantages and disadvantages of EAD & H1B. Also before travel on EAD/AP make sure you read the AP travel thread. Good Luck.


Thank you. Since I am current since last month and interview was completed long back, there is a chance that my 485 will be approved prior to March 1st, in this case, do I violate by not joining my original GC sponsor after GC approval but join directly new employer? If GC is approved and i get the card prior to March 1st, then I have to use GC in place of showing my EAD card correct for I-9 validation, hence asking. If my GC is not approved prior to March 1st, I will go by EAD and filing 485J etc.. at that time Client will be my future employer.

[AceMan]

Back to prediction note - I don't see VB coming this week. Its a long weekend for many. VB to be out by 19th will be a win in my books with usual week in EB2 and Month tops in EB3.

JBAdmin is just taking over; it will take 2-3 months for Secs to have their own staff and start making changes. Best bet we will see Obama-Admin level by summer and policy changes by fall.

Trump Admin was not able to tighten ship on first year itself. They were determined to stop flow of immigrant, still needed months and in some cases years to implement restriction. Even with determination (which I don't see in JB-Admin), it will take year or 2 to completely dis-mantle it. Whether we agree or not, few of those rules were common sense rules and needs update, which Trump Admin did; we may of to live with those going fwd.

If you look at the DHS/USCIS it always had very special basket cases in their team even during Obama time.

Why on earth would some body in 2015 set the aging out of the kid date, who already has been provided EAD to Final action Date instead of Filing date? It was intentional.

[LeoAugust]

In a complicated scenario like yourself with uncertainties, try to break into simpler things first.

AOS Pending Status: It is where you have an I-485 receipt number. By itself, a) it does not allow you to work and b) it does not allow you to reenter the country. There is no requirement of work.

AOS Pending + EAD: EAD allows you to work when you are in AOS pending status.

AOS Pending + AP: It allows you to travel out of the country without abandoning your I485. If you travel without AP, you are in serious jeopardy unless you have another status such as H1, L1, etc., See AP Travel thread for more inf (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2936-Transit-Visa-details-and-disscusion-for-travel-on-EAD-AP)o.

AC21 or INA Section 204(j): It grants you ?job portability? after 180 days of pending I485 from ?Received Date? on I485 form I797 receipt notice.

I485 Supplement J: First understand that I485 / GC is for a future job that is stated on PERM. The first time you file I485, Supp J is for confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer. After 180 days if you send Supp J it is a request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j) / AC21.

The moment you talk about AC21, the first rule is no matter what you have to meet the 180 day requirement. After 180 days, you are a "free agent" and you can go and work for any employer as long as the job is in ?same or similar? category. It goes without saying that you need to have an EAD to work in AOS Pending status.



You are correct. After 180 days, you will use AC21 and port to previous employer and then request USCIS for ?Transfer of Underlying Basis? a.k.a Interfiling. You can move from EB2 to EB3 and vice versa as you have two sets of PERM+I-140 approved by two different employers. See Murthy article on this for more details / fine print (https://www.murthy.com/2020/10/14/interfiling-new-immigrant-petition-into-pending-i-485-case-1-of-2/).



Yes you are correct. That?s why I recommend my friends who are facing age-out type scenario to maintain an EB2 and EB3 I140. Whichever queue becomes ?FA? current first, you can Interfile and lock the child?s age.

Hope this helps.

Just wish to know, When H-1 extension got denied and I485 pending(having I485 receipts) and EAD and AP applied (a week back and No receipts yet), Is that person is legal to stay in US... or have to leave the country ?

[idliman]

Thank you. Since I am current since last month and interview was completed long back, there is a chance that my 485 will be approved prior to March 1st, in this case, do I violate by not joining my original GC sponsor after GC approval but join directly new employer? If GC is approved and i get the card prior to March 1st, then I have to use GC in place of showing my EAD card correct for I-9 validation, hence asking. If my GC is not approved prior to March 1st, I will go by EAD and filing 485J etc.. at that time Client will be my future employer.
Whether the GC will be approved by such and such date is impossible to answer. It depends on the USCIS workload and also on the workload / priority of the AO assigned to adjudicate your case.

Your GC filing is based on an offer of employment for a future, permanent position. The employer attests that the position will be available for the foreign national once the green card is issued, and the sponsored worker promises to work on a full-time and permanent basis in that position upon approval of the green card. You are expected to work for the sponspored position for a *reasonable* period of time (regardless of the 12 years that you worked for them before GC).

The issue is that changing employers after GC may show bad faith. If you never worked for the sponsoring employer, this could lead USCIS to believe that you never intendend to work in the sponsored position and in-turn the validity of GC. USCIS is within its rights to revoke your GC. This will clearly show up in the N-400 application where you are required to provide your employment history for the last 5 years. I personally have not heard about recission due to job change, but it is possible if a right wing admin takes office right at the time when you send your N-400.

That's why I told you to file AC-21 as soon as possible. You may need to raise this issue with the attorneys and get their opinion. Hope this Helps.

[vsivarama]

Just wish to know, When H-1 extension got denied and I485 pending(having I485 receipts) and EAD and AP applied (a week back and No receipts yet), Is that person is legal to stay in US... or have to leave the country ?

You are legal to stay in the country, but not work. You can reapply your H1b and await it's approval to start working again. If your old i-94 for previously approved H1 still has time, you can continue working till 240 days while the reapplied petition is still pending adjudication.

[AceMan]

Just wish to know, When H-1 extension got denied and I485 pending(having I485 receipts) and EAD and AP applied (a week back and No receipts yet), Is that person is legal to stay in US... or have to leave the country ?

Any time a person is waiting, in this case 485 Pending, he does not have to leave the country.

[idliman]

Just wish to know, When H-1 extension got denied and I485 pending(having I485 receipts) and EAD and AP applied (a week back and No receipts yet), Is that person is legal to stay in US... or have to leave the country ?
Once you have a I485 receipt notice and I485 is pending, you are legal in the USA. You cannot accrue unlawful presence. However to work and travel you need separate authorizations, ie., EAD & AP, respectively.

You can work on EAD/AP forever. You will be in trouble only when I485 is denied because of fraud, medical, criminal, background / terrorism, public charge, etc., type issues.

AC21 / 180 day requirement is the silver bullet to ward of all evil scenarios. People just don't realize. It is such a gift for people who had filed I485. That will protect you against any scenario that you can imagine.

[iamdeb]

Hi Gurus...quick question regarding passport renewal...It is mentioned to attach a notarized color copy of legal status in USA. Any suggestions from where can I get the notary done and how much it cost?
Thanks in advance!

[LeoAugust]

Thanks @vsivarama @AceMan and @idliman for your response.

[vedu]

Hi Gurus...quick question regarding passport renewal...It is mentioned to attach a notarized color copy of legal status in USA. Any suggestions from where can I get the notary done and how much it cost?
Thanks in advance!

You can get it notarized for free at your local bank. Also, generally any UPS store keep a notary who can notarize documents for a fee of $10/20 per document.

[AceMan]

Hi Gurus...quick question regarding passport renewal...It is mentioned to attach a notarized color copy of legal status in USA. Any suggestions from where can I get the notary done and how much it cost?
Thanks in advance!

When I did that, it was from the local library. However with the covid-19 they do not allow outsiders to our public library any more. UPS store can do it for $3 a copy. The banks I was told used to do it, however when I tried in 2016 for renewal at my local BOA, said they will not notarize I-797 C which validates the legal status.

[may2011]

Ace, I love reading your posts..Sportsfan was one old-timer who had a similar enthusiasm as you, with posts crisp and sometimes debatable. I truly miss his posts these days...So to lighten up everyone and move forward with our predictions...Here is an interesting experience with my own immigration situation.. I applied for F1 visa back in 2001 and you know the turmoil this country went through back then and in the scheme of things my visa got rejected 6 times. I didnt look further as my goal was to graduate from an international college, so moved to UK completed my MS, got a job with an Indian company. Worked with them for 3yrs who moved me back to India. One of my friend who took a loan from me, applied for my H1-B instead of paying back. His lucky hand helped me get a H1-B petition in 2006 quota and this time I got my Visa approved as well.. .Friends back home nicnamed me the Mohammed Ghajini for this feat...:))

Now when I was working for this global Indian in the UK and in India...I had a very good friend who worked with me on the same projects. I was the lead and was supposed to carry the team to Argentina but my H1-B approval made shifts in my life after...I moved to the USA, landed on a good contract in 2007 and never looked backed...In the mist of things my labor went into hold in 2008 and then markets crashed and ended up reapplying for labor again in July-2010 EB2. I very well knew that immigration is a mess (given my experience in UK) and always wanted to get in the line asap. Time was not on my side... Fast Forward...I was still living my happy lifestyle hoping for my GC in 4-5yrs as per the timelines back then... Meanwhile in the year 2012 I got a phone call from an unknown number and it was my old friend from my old company who said he came to US some six months ago.. I was happy for him and started reminiscing our good old times and our topic went to GC. I excitingly said this whole process is a mess and that he should get in the line immediately...With a relaxing tone he replied back and said I got my GC month ago in EB1C category... LOLLL

This could have have very well been me. He walked the same walk as me, worked in the UK, India, Argentina which makes it a solid case for EB1C and all you need is a sponsor to make it to the end... He is a citizen now...while I am still waiting with 'Mera Number Kab Aayega board hanging on me'. Such is destiny... We squabble, wobble, try to do the things the right way, switch from one lane to another (legally) all in hopes to get out of this mess...for a better tomorrow..

Would love see your predictions and wish you all the very best!! Happy Greening....

V

I have seen many cases like yours.In 2005 many people were not aware about the the intricacies of the GC process.Many opted for companies and careers that were inline with their interests.Also during that time, many companies did not start the GC process on day1.In my case GC filing was the last thing on my mind.My vision was limited to being selected in H1B lottery and then start working.Hindsight is always 20/20.All we can do is hope for the best!

[H1b2006]

Ace, I love reading your posts..Sportsfan was one old-timer who had a similar enthusiasm as you, with posts crisp and sometimes debatable. I truly miss his posts these days...So to lighten up everyone and move forward with our predictions...Here is an interesting experience with my own immigration situation.. I applied for F1 visa back in 2001 and you know the turmoil this country went through back then and in the scheme of things my visa got rejected 6 times. I didnt look further as my goal was to graduate from an international college, so moved to UK completed my MS, got a job with an Indian company. Worked with them for 3yrs who moved me back to India. One of my friend who took a loan from me, applied for my H1-B instead of paying back. His lucky hand helped me get a H1-B petition in 2006 quota and this time I got my Visa approved as well.. .Friends back home nicnamed me the Mohammed Ghajini for this feat...:))

Now when I was working for this global Indian in the UK and in India...I had a very good friend who worked with me on the same projects. I was the lead and was supposed to carry the team to Argentina but my H1-B approval made shifts in my life after...I moved to the USA, landed on a good contract in 2007 and never looked backed...In the mist of things my labor went into hold in 2008 and then markets crashed and ended up reapplying for labor again in July-2010 EB2. I very well knew that immigration is a mess (given my experience in UK) and always wanted to get in the line asap. Time was not on my side... Fast Forward...I was still living my happy lifestyle hoping for my GC in 4-5yrs as per the timelines back then... Meanwhile in the year 2012 I got a phone call from an unknown number and it was my old friend from my old company who said he came to US some six months ago.. I was happy for him and started reminiscing our good old times and our topic went to GC. I excitingly said this whole process is a mess and that he should get in the line immediately...With a relaxing tone he replied back and said I got my GC month ago in EB1C category... LOLLL

This could have have very well been me. He walked the same walk as me, worked in the UK, India, Argentina which makes it a solid case for EB1C and all you need is a sponsor to make it to the end... He is a citizen now...while I am still waiting with 'Mera Number Kab Aayega board hanging on me'. Such is destiny... We squabble, wobble, try to do the things the right way, switch from one lane to another (legally) all in hopes to get out of this mess...for a better tomorrow..

Would love see your predictions and wish you all the very best!! Happy Greening....

V

Man that was quite a story. almost your and my timelines met, 2001 applying f1 rejections, missing perm in 2008 due to financial meltdown, PERM Audit and rejection and new perm later.

[cancer24]

Wouldn?t it be nice if VB starts coming out in second week itself?

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Wouldn?t it be nice if VB starts coming out in second week itself?

I have gotten over the obsession of waiting for a VB in the second week. I know it makes practical sense for some from a filing timing perspective, but in general if they are being released once every four weeks, what difference does it make when it?s done so?

[Prabhas]

Man that was quite a story. almost your and my timelines met, 2001 applying f1 rejections, missing perm in 2008 due to financial meltdown, PERM Audit and rejection and new perm later.

Lets hope our wait is over...:cool:

[vedu]

Ace,

Good to read your positive post with a cup of tea first thing in the morning! Apna number jaroor ayega! Good things come to those who wait!!

[AceMan]

Ace,

Good to read your positive post with a cup of tea first thing in the morning! Apna number jaroor ayega! Good things come to those who wait!!

Aane key baad hum kis cheese pey phaalthu jagda karega? 😀😀

[Prabhas]

"I never got the logic of why people are upset at EB1C getting their GC quicker. In fact the time lines taken for EB1 should be the timelines we should have for EB2 and Eb3. I don't want another person after me to wait for 10 years. Having said that, I can safely say that waiting for my GC made me determined to focus on the work front much more than a person who had a GC (safe net)." - That has been the fundamental wisdom and mantra ..of this group..all along...Focus on your Career and personal life events more than this GC... And I am totally onboard with people getting GC in EB1 or whatever opportunities come their way to get GC faster...I sometimes feel sad that this whole process is pitting battles within us...

You made a pretty good buck out of the deal... Happy for you... I thought you applied for AOS with these recent date changes. No? If you are fresh looking out for new houses and if you have a chance...I would suggest an investment in Austin...Again this will become a distraction from our predictions ...perhaps a separate thread for investment opportunities/suggestions thread wouldnt be bad idea....

Happy Friday all!

V

[19YRSNOGC]

"I never got the logic of why people are upset at EB1C getting their GC quicker. In fact the time lines taken for EB1 should be the timelines we should have for EB2 and Eb3. I don't want another person after me to wait for 10 years. Having said that, I can safely say that waiting for my GC made me determined to focus on the work front much more than a person who had a GC (safe net)." - That has been the fundamental wisdom and mantra ..of this group..all along...Focus on your Career and personal life events more than this GC... And I am totally onboard with people getting GC in EB1 or whatever opportunities come their way to get GC faster...I sometimes feel sad that this whole process is pitting battles within us...

You made a pretty good buck out of the deal... Happy for you... I thought you applied for AOS with these recent date changes. No? If you are fresh looking out for new houses and if you have a chance...I would suggest an investment in Austin...Again this will become a distraction from our predictions ...perhaps a separate thread for investment opportunities/suggestions thread wouldnt be bad idea....

Happy Friday all!

V

Can you PM me the details.

[AceMan]

"I never got the logic of why people are upset at EB1C getting their GC quicker. In fact the time lines taken for EB1 should be the timelines we should have for EB2 and Eb3. I don't want another person after me to wait for 10 years. Having said that, I can safely say that waiting for my GC made me determined to focus on the work front much more than a person who had a GC (safe net)." - That has been the fundamental wisdom and mantra ..of this group..all along...Focus on your Career and personal life events more than this GC... And I am totally onboard with people getting GC in EB1 or whatever opportunities come their way to get GC faster...I sometimes feel sad that this whole process is pitting battles within us...

You made a pretty good buck out of the deal... Happy for you... I thought you applied for AOS with these recent date changes. No? If you are fresh looking out for new houses and if you have a chance...I would suggest an investment in Austin...Again this will become a distraction from our predictions ...perhaps a separate thread for investment opportunities/suggestions thread wouldnt be bad idea....

Happy Friday all!

V

Yes I applied for AOS in October 2020 as you can see from my signature. I anticipate the GC to happen either in 2021 last quarter or some time in 2022.

Trust me, while I can say figuratively I got richer by a good amount, we did not have a pleasant feeling at home as my wife felt we let go of something very personal and my house hold feels like we have lost a family member. Even my mom and in laws adding their spices on what prompted you to sell it when there is no real need and I was getting 2300 $ a month? I am made to feel like the person who killed the golden goose.

That's why I said, I can strive in a GC argument, but right now I am not in the right state of mind to discuss about investment.

[AceMan]

I started missing the days when I was on the edge and was learning constantly. Just when I ascended to the positions I dreamt of all this time, I was trapped in the inevitable onslaught of complacency. This was never me - I never found real happiness from being in a leadership position at a large IT organization. At my core, I am a problem solver; that is the singular thing that makes me happy. Seeing all the smart people that I hired do all the work - that I didn't do - made me even more unhappy. Mind you - I am doing exactly what I should be doing fair and square at my role in my organization, but it didn't bring personal satisfaction.



The feeling of database base responding to your query, to return a tricky result, tinkering with the query to get the result faster, quicker. That was the ultimate joy I ever felt in my entire programming career.

I would have enjoyed working with USCIS to effectively map the results based on A numbers.

run the query chart to push more numbers adapting the Airline reservation system where they plan and ensure no seats are vacant on a flight, and slip in a bug in the code like the guys who did the round off change in the movie Office space, so the spill over is tilted towards the backlogged people. Highlight the downgraders on bold allow their release only after them yielding a month behind EB3 with corresponding date;) Come on this is my wish list, my rules !!!!

That would be my dream rewarding job irrespective of the money.

[sportsfan33]

The feeling of database base responding to your query, to return a tricky result, tinkering with the query to get the result faster, quicker. That was the ultimate joy I ever felt in my entire programming career.

I would have enjoyed working with USCIS to effectively map the results based on A numbers.

run the query chart to push more numbers adapting the Airline reservation system where they plan and ensure no seats are vacant on a flight, and slip in a bug in the code like the guys who did the round off change in the movie Office space, so the spill over is tilted towards the backlogged people. Highlight the downgraders on bold allow their release only after them yielding a month behind EB3 with corresponding date;) Come on this is my wish list, my rules !!!!

That would be my dream rewarding job irrespective of the money.

LOL! I like the way you are thinking...but there is just one problem! The USCIS is satanic and a sadist organization, and the last thing they desire is efficiency, fairness and a proper utilization of all visa numbers.

And forget about "transparency". If you even utter the word, they would be outside of your house with pitchforks.

[samada]

Friends, I have been a long term follower of this forum. I bookmarked this thread for over 8 years now and followed pretty much every single post/discussion here. First of all, thank you everyone for the analysis, debate, advise, and motivational stories. You all have inspired me to stay focused and not to lose the confidence in GC process.
Like many of you, I came to this country 16 years ago and on GC path for over 13 years now. Finally, I have received that magic email from USCIS yesterday. Both me and my wife's 485 got approved.

Thank you everyone of you who made tremendous contribution to this community. I used to call this thread is "Bible of GC process". I stick to my words.

I am not going to miss you all as I will continue to read these messages. I am not good at analyzing GC process but I will try to contribute back to the community if I could or else I will learn something out of it.

Last but not least, I wish everyone all the luck and get greened sooner.

Here is the timeline:
EB2 I - PD 09/11/2009
Applied in 2012. Since then on EAD (No H1). We have decided to stay on EAD only and go back to India if rejected.
RFE in 2014 and 2016.
Current again in November 2020.
Congressional inquiry on 3rd week of November. Response received within a week - Waiting for an adjudicating officer.
RFE received on Jan 5th 2021 (Medicals, 485J, Geographical information)
Paper copy received on Jan 14th 2021. Medicals done next day.
Response for RFE sent back on 1/22/2021. USCIS received on 1/28/2021.
Received receipt number for 485J on 2/3/2021
Approval notice for both 485j and 485 (both me and my wife) on 2/11/2021.

[vedu]

Friends, I have been a long term follower of this forum. I bookmarked this thread for over 8 years now and followed pretty much every single post/discussion here. First of all, thank you everyone for the analysis, debate, advise, and motivational stories. You all have inspired me to stay focused and not to lose the confidence in GC process.
Like many of you, I came to this country 16 years ago and on GC path for over 13 years now. Finally, I have received that magic email from USCIS yesterday. Both me and my wife's 485 got approved.

Thank you everyone of you who made tremendous contribution to this community. I used to call this thread is "Bible of GC process". I stick to my words.

I am not going to miss you all as I will continue to read these messages. I am not good at analyzing GC process but I will try to contribute back to the community if I could or else I will learn something out of it.

Here is the timeline:
EB2 I - PD 09/11/2009
Applied in 2012. Since then on EAD (No H1). We have decided to stay on EAD only and go back to India if rejected.
RFE in 2014 and 2016.
Current again in November 2020.
Congressional inquiry on 3rd week of November. Response received within a week - Waiting for an adjudicating officer.
RFE received on Jan 5th 2021 (Medicals, 485J, Geographical information)
Paper copy received on Jan 14th 2021. Medicals done next day.
Response for RFE sent back on 1/22/2021. USCIS received on 1/28/2021.
Received receipt number for 485J on 2/3/2021
Approval notice for both 485j and 485 (both me and my wife) on 2/11/2021.

Congratulations, Samada! It's been a long time coming!!

[may2011]

Friends, I have been a long term follower of this forum. I bookmarked this thread for over 8 years now and followed pretty much every single post/discussion here. First of all, thank you everyone for the analysis, debate, advise, and motivational stories. You all have inspired me to stay focused and not to lose the confidence in GC process.
Like many of you, I came to this country 16 years ago and on GC path for over 13 years now. Finally, I have received that magic email from USCIS yesterday. Both me and my wife's 485 got approved.

Thank you everyone of you who made tremendous contribution to this community. I used to call this thread is "Bible of GC process". I stick to my words.

I am not going to miss you all as I will continue to read these messages. I am not good at analyzing GC process but I will try to contribute back to the community if I could or else I will learn something out of it.

Last but not least, I wish everyone all the luck and get greened sooner.

Here is the timeline:
EB2 I - PD 09/11/2009
Applied in 2012. Since then on EAD (No H1). We have decided to stay on EAD only and go back to India if rejected.
RFE in 2014 and 2016.
Current again in November 2020.
Congressional inquiry on 3rd week of November. Response received within a week - Waiting for an adjudicating officer.
RFE received on Jan 5th 2021 (Medicals, 485J, Geographical information)
Paper copy received on Jan 14th 2021. Medicals done next day.
Response for RFE sent back on 1/22/2021. USCIS received on 1/28/2021.
Received receipt number for 485J on 2/3/2021
Approval notice for both 485j and 485 (both me and my wife) on 2/11/2021.


Congratulations!

[may2011]

I have a query about downgrading and interfiling.

My PD is May 2011 and I have applied for AOS (Under EB2 ) in Oct 2020.Still waiting for the receipts. Spouse is on H4 EAD and waiting for approval.Due to processing delays for H4 EAD, we are planning to use GC EAD for spouse (provided we get it ).I have the following questions. I tried to find answers , but am still confused;

1)If I maintain my H1B and my dependent uses GC EAD, can I downgrade to EB3 incase it becomes current before EB2? From what I understand in order to downgrade, one needs to maintain their H1B.Once they use their GC EAD, they are tied to one queue.

2) Is downgrading same as interfiling?If not, what is the difference? I read about some cases where someone's PD is current under EB3, but they are not downgrading due to delays and risks.

Thanks

[incredible]

Seems USCIS is working in overdrive suddenly. Supplement J that I have applied back in 2020 Jan and was pending for long time, suddenly got approved today. This makes me believe that the RFE (not yet received the documents) may only be related to medicals. There may be a good chance of dates advancing to early 2010 (FAD) very soon for EB2 based on sudden activities that we are seeing.

Hi Gurus,

Need some help and advice. Today I have received the RFE Documents for both myself and spouse. The questions were typical like G-325, Medicals and proof of EAD's. There is one question that threw some possibilities and options to me. Just to give the context, I did change jobs in 2020 Feb and applied for Supplement J and it was approved last week (Feb 2021). The one question that RFE asks for me is "Upon becoming permanent resident do you still intend to be employed by your company?, if not, please submit completed supplement-J". Now while this is a straight-forward question, this left me with few options as I was in discussion with a big consulting firm to move. The current timeline for responding to RFE is 05/09. My discussions with the new company may not materialize or finalize till close to end of April. With this, I have few questions and your wisdom is highly appreciated.

Option 1 : Include supplement J as part of my discussions with the new employer and make sure I get it some time between March/April and respond to RFE with all those documents.
Option 2: Respond to RFE without supplement - J, as no supplement-J was asked if I stay with my current company. In case, I am close to switching later in April, file supplement J separately
Option 3: Dont supply supplement-J at all, let the process with the new company go as it does and respond to RFE and if I get current in May(Feb 01 2010 PD), get GC
Option 4: Delay the new offer as much as possible to later part of the year and get greened first and then switch

What are the implications of not filing supplement -J and getting GC and then switching immediately? would it amount to lying to USCIS and would it cause issues later if I want to naturalization etc. ?

Thanks for all the advice and help.

[idliman]

I have a query about downgrading and interfiling.

My PD is May 2011 and I have applied for AOS (Under EB2 ) in Oct 2020.Still waiting for the receipts. Spouse is on H4 EAD and waiting for approval.Due to processing delays for H4 EAD, we are planning to use GC EAD for spouse (provided we get it ).I have the following questions. I tried to find answers , but am still confused;

1)If I maintain my H1B and my dependent uses GC EAD, can I downgrade to EB3 incase it becomes current before EB2? From what I understand in order to downgrade, one needs to maintain their H1B.Once they use their GC EAD, they are tied to one queue.

EB2 or EB3 status is based on the classification in I-140. The same PERM can be used for both EB2 and EB3 if they meet the criteria. That?s why if you stay with the same employer at the same job at the same location it is easy to downgrade from EB2 to EB3.

If you are in H1B, you will would already have one approved I-140. Then you can either choose to file a new I-140 or do an amended I-140 to downgrade from EB2 to EB3. If you have two separate I-140?s, then you will choose whichever PD becomes current and then file your I-485. So yes, you will have to maintain your H1B or L1 status to go and file I485.

Once you use EAD for work, you go into "AOS Pending" status. You cannot file a COS to move back to H1B. You need to go out of country, get a H1B stamp at the embassy and answer some questions on "Dual intent" at the embassy.

When you are in "AOS Pending" status after using EAD, you will not be able to prove your underlying status (H1B or L1). Whereas if you are still on H1B then you can apply for "Change of Underlying Basis" or "Interfiling" to move back and forth from EB to EB3 and vice versa.



2) Is downgrading same as interfiling?If not, what is the difference? I read about some cases where someone's PD is current under EB3, but they are not downgrading due to delays and risks.
"Interfiling" is what you do after I-485 has been submitted. Anything you do before filing I-485 is downgrade or upgrade. You can also file I-485 simultaneously / concurrently with I-140 downgrade / upgrade.

"Interfiling" is more general. You can move from dependent to primary and also from FB to EB.

Hope this helps.

[may2011]

EB2 or EB3 status is based on the classification in I-140. The same PERM can be used for both EB2 and EB3 if they meet the criteria. That?s why if you stay with the same employer at the same job at the same location it is easy to downgrade from EB2 to EB3.

If you are in H1B, you will would already have one approved I-140. Then you can either choose to file a new I-140 or do an amended I-140 to downgrade from EB2 to EB3. If you have two separate I-140?s, then you will choose whichever PD becomes current and then file your I-485. So yes, you will have to maintain your H1B or L1 status to go and file I485.

Once you use EAD for work, you go into "AOS Pending" status. You cannot file a COS to move back to H1B. You need to go out of country, get a H1B stamp at the embassy and answer some questions on "Dual intent" at the embassy.

When you are in "AOS Pending" status after using EAD, you will not be able to prove your underlying status (H1B or L1). Whereas if you are still on H1B then you can apply for "Change of Underlying Basis" or "Interfiling" to move back and forth from EB to EB3 and vice versa.


"Interfiling" is what you do after I-485 has been submitted. Anything you do before filing I-485 is downgrade or upgrade. You can also file I-485 simultaneously / concurrently with I-140 downgrade / upgrade.

"Interfiling" is more general. You can move from dependent to primary and also from FB to EB.

Hope this helps.
Thanks a ton! Your explanation helps a lot!

[aGCHopefull]

Friends, I have been a long term follower of this forum. I bookmarked this thread for over 8 years now and followed pretty much every single post/discussion here. First of all, thank you everyone for the analysis, debate, advise, and motivational stories. You all have inspired me to stay focused and not to lose the confidence in GC process.
Like many of you, I came to this country 16 years ago and on GC path for over 13 years now. Finally, I have received that magic email from USCIS yesterday. Both me and my wife's 485 got approved.

Thank you everyone of you who made tremendous contribution to this community. I used to call this thread is "Bible of GC process". I stick to my words.

I am not going to miss you all as I will continue to read these messages. I am not good at analyzing GC process but I will try to contribute back to the community if I could or else I will learn something out of it.

Last but not least, I wish everyone all the luck and get greened sooner.

Here is the timeline:
EB2 I - PD 09/11/2009
Applied in 2012. Since then on EAD (No H1). We have decided to stay on EAD only and go back to India if rejected.
RFE in 2014 and 2016.
Current again in November 2020.
Congressional inquiry on 3rd week of November. Response received within a week - Waiting for an adjudicating officer.
RFE received on Jan 5th 2021 (Medicals, 485J, Geographical information)
Paper copy received on Jan 14th 2021. Medicals done next day.
Response for RFE sent back on 1/22/2021. USCIS received on 1/28/2021.
Received receipt number for 485J on 2/3/2021
Approval notice for both 485j and 485 (both me and my wife) on 2/11/2021.

Congratulations!!

[incredible]

Hi Gurus,

Need some help and advice. Today I have received the RFE Documents for both myself and spouse. The questions were typical like G-325, Medicals and proof of EAD's. There is one question that threw some possibilities and options to me. Just to give the context, I did change jobs in 2020 Feb and applied for Supplement J and it was approved last week (Feb 2021). The one question that RFE asks for me is "Upon becoming permanent resident do you still intend to be employed by your company?, if not, please submit completed supplement-J". Now while this is a straight-forward question, this left me with few options as I was in discussion with a big consulting firm to move. The current timeline for responding to RFE is 05/09. My discussions with the new company may not materialize or finalize till close to end of April. With this, I have few questions and your wisdom is highly appreciated.

Option 1 : Include supplement J as part of my discussions with the new employer and make sure I get it some time between March/April and respond to RFE with all those documents.
Option 2: Respond to RFE without supplement - J, as no supplement-J was asked if I stay with my current company. In case, I am close to switching later in April, file supplement J separately
Option 3: Dont supply supplement-J at all, let the process with the new company go as it does and respond to RFE and if I get current in May(Feb 01 2010 PD), get GC
Option 4: Delay the new offer as much as possible to later part of the year and get greened first and then switch

What are the implications of not filing supplement -J and getting GC and then switching immediately? would it amount to lying to USCIS and would it cause issues later if I want to naturalization etc. ?

Thanks for all the advice and help.

Discussed with someone with considerable experience over the weekend and the suggestion was to go with the current state as there is no new offer. As of now the idea is to respond to the RFE without supplement - J and then if a new offer comes, whenever it comes, just before joining, file a supplement-J independent of the RFE response. By the way, I also going to discuss with an attorney this week and post their views as well.

[aGCHopefull]

Once you use EAD for work, you go into "AOS Pending" status. You cannot file a COS to move back to H1B. You need to go out of country, get a H1B stamp at the embassy and answer some questions on "Dual intent" at the embassy.

When you are in "AOS Pending" status after using EAD, you will not be able to prove your underlying status (H1B or L1). Whereas if you are still on H1B then you can apply for "Change of Underlying Basis" or "Interfiling" to move back and forth from EB to EB3 and vice versa.


Related question, would be great if someone can explain:
Let's say a family travels to India in summer. Primary travels back to US alone in July with H1-B visa stamp (valid up to Sep 2021). Dependents travel back to US later in August (no valid H4 visa stamp) and use EAD at immigration (EAD/485/AP - applied in Oct 2020).

1. Would that change the status of primary also from H1-B to EAD ("AOS Pending")?
2. If primary's status remains H1-B then how does status change after Sep 2021 for primary? What date would be reflected on I-94 post Sep 2021?
3. What would be date on I-94 for dependents?

[rabp77]

Friends, I have been a long term follower of this forum. I bookmarked this thread for over 8 years now and followed pretty much every single post/discussion here. First of all, thank you everyone for the analysis, debate, advise, and motivational stories. You all have inspired me to stay focused and not to lose the confidence in GC process.
Like many of you, I came to this country 16 years ago and on GC path for over 13 years now. Finally, I have received that magic email from USCIS yesterday. Both me and my wife's 485 got approved.

Thank you everyone of you who made tremendous contribution to this community. I used to call this thread is "Bible of GC process". I stick to my words.

I am not going to miss you all as I will continue to read these messages. I am not good at analyzing GC process but I will try to contribute back to the community if I could or else I will learn something out of it.

Last but not least, I wish everyone all the luck and get greened sooner.

Here is the timeline:
EB2 I - PD 09/11/2009
Applied in 2012. Since then on EAD (No H1). We have decided to stay on EAD only and go back to India if rejected.
RFE in 2014 and 2016.
Current again in November 2020.
Congressional inquiry on 3rd week of November. Response received within a week - Waiting for an adjudicating officer.
RFE received on Jan 5th 2021 (Medicals, 485J, Geographical information)
Paper copy received on Jan 14th 2021. Medicals done next day.
Response for RFE sent back on 1/22/2021. USCIS received on 1/28/2021.
Received receipt number for 485J on 2/3/2021
Approval notice for both 485j and 485 (both me and my wife) on 2/11/2021.

Congratulations. Great to hear about this.

[inspired_p]

Friends, I have been a long term follower of this forum. I bookmarked this thread for over 8 years now and followed pretty much every single post/discussion here. First of all, thank you everyone for the analysis, debate, advise, and motivational stories. You all have inspired me to stay focused and not to lose the confidence in GC process.
Like many of you, I came to this country 16 years ago and on GC path for over 13 years now. Finally, I have received that magic email from USCIS yesterday. Both me and my wife's 485 got approved.

Thank you everyone of you who made tremendous contribution to this community. I used to call this thread is "Bible of GC process". I stick to my words.

I am not going to miss you all as I will continue to read these messages. I am not good at analyzing GC process but I will try to contribute back to the community if I could or else I will learn something out of it.

Last but not least, I wish everyone all the luck and get greened sooner.

Here is the timeline:
EB2 I - PD 09/11/2009
Applied in 2012. Since then on EAD (No H1). We have decided to stay on EAD only and go back to India if rejected.
RFE in 2014 and 2016.
Current again in November 2020.
Congressional inquiry on 3rd week of November. Response received within a week - Waiting for an adjudicating officer.
RFE received on Jan 5th 2021 (Medicals, 485J, Geographical information)
Paper copy received on Jan 14th 2021. Medicals done next day.
Response for RFE sent back on 1/22/2021. USCIS received on 1/28/2021.
Received receipt number for 485J on 2/3/2021
Approval notice for both 485j and 485 (both me and my wife) on 2/11/2021.


Congratulations !Good news !

[inspired_p]

Related question, would be great if someone can explain:
Let's say a family travels to India in summer. Primary travels back to US alone in July with H1-B visa stamp (valid up to Sep 2021). Dependents travel back to US later in August (no valid H4 visa stamp) and use EAD at immigration (EAD/485/AP - applied in Oct 2020).

1. Would that change the status of primary also from H1-B to EAD ("AOS Pending")?
2. If primary's status remains H1-B then how does status change after Sep 2021 for primary? What date would be reflected on I-94 post Sep 2021?
3. What would be date on I-94 for dependents?

I would like to check with the experts here what they think of my situation regarding dependents
My spouse is currently working on H1-B ( has PD of EB3-I May 2009 but left the employer who sponsored)
Currently she qualifies for EB1/EB2 NIW but current employer will file GC only after 3 years of employment
We both received EAD cards this month based on my application.
She is in process of joining a new employer and they have started the process of applying H1-B for her.

1) If she takes the new employment using the EAD , can she go back to H1-B if something goes wrong with I-485 application that was filed based on my employment.
For past 18 years we have kept our legal statuses separate and we are wary now to become dependent on the each other status.
2) If her employer agrees to apply for her GC ( PERM and I-140), will we file I-485 again or will we both interfile the I-485 case moving me from primary to dependent.

[idliman]

Related question, would be great if someone can explain:
Let's say a family travels to India in summer. Primary travels back to US alone in July with H1-B visa stamp (valid up to Sep 2021). Dependents travel back to US later in August (no valid H4 visa stamp) and use EAD at immigration (EAD/485/AP - applied in Oct 2020).

1. Would that change the status of primary also from H1-B to EAD ("AOS Pending")?
2. If primary's status remains H1-B then how does status change after Sep 2021 for primary? What date would be reflected on I-94 post Sep 2021?
3. What would be date on I-94 for dependents?

1. 8 CFR Article 245.2(a)(4) states AOS applicant who is in lawful H-1 or L-1 status shall safely travel out of the country, upon returning to this country, the alien remains eligible for H or L status, is coming to resume employment with the same employer for whom he or she had previously been authorized to work as an H-1 or L-1 nonimmigrant, and, is in possession of a valid H or L visa (if required). You will be in H1B status as you entered with that status and also your I485 application is still valid. As an additional bonus, it also triggers Sec 245K protection, which essentially forgives you for previous status violations.

2. Two scenarios: a) If the dependent use EAD for employment they have to use AP to enter. Any underlying H4 / dependent status will cancel. b) If the dependent uses AP only for entry the above clause will prevail. i.e., they will still keep underlying H-4 status. In both cases, as primary entered on H1B and still maintaining H1B, only the dependent will move to "Parolee". I-94 status will reflect "DA / Parolee".

3. As someone had used AP, their I-94 will expire 1 year from the date of entry. However, they will still be in "AOS Pending" status after that date.

These AP related questions are very tricky as you are trying to use multiple benefits / statuses without cancelling one of the them by mistake.

I see a lot of questions lately on EAD and AP. A lot of good info is already available in threads. Please take your time to grasp existing info:

Switching between H1B and EAD (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2942-Switching-between-AP-and-H1-and-the-role-of-EAD)
See AP Travel Thread for using AP for Travel and related info (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2936-Transit-Visa-details-and-disscusion-for-travel-on-EAD-AP).
Browse EAD Renewal Sample thread for general info on staying and renewing EAD (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2927-EAD-AP-Renewal-Sample-format).

[Noesis]

Hello Guys,

I filed my EB3 Downgrade application (PD - Dec 2012) on 12/18 (reached TSC on 12/21) and have not heard anything after that. The checks have not been cashed yet. The only confirmation I have of the application is the tracking number. Can anyone please guide on what steps they took as it would be 60 days since application was received with no receipt numbers (whoever was/is in similar boat).? If I call USCIS Contact Center:800-375-5283 or Chat with Emma, what information could I provide other than the tracking number.?

Also off topic on H4 and EAD, my spouse's H4 and EAD applications are in process (Change of status from H1 B to H4) since May of 2020 with no update. Have called several times, raise a couple SRs to be only told that the biometric were requested but USCIS cannot control local ASCs and cannot provide when we would receive biometric application. Any advise on what could be done here.?

Thank you much;

[may2011]

Hello Guys,

I filed my EB3 Downgrade application (PD - Dec 2012) on 12/18 (reached TSC on 12/21) and have not heard anything after that. The checks have not been cashed yet. The only confirmation I have of the application is the tracking number. Can anyone please guide on what steps they took as it would be 60 days since application was received with no receipt numbers (whoever was/is in similar boat).? If I call USCIS Contact Center:800-375-5283 or Chat with Emma, what information could I provide other than the tracking number.?

Also off topic on H4 and EAD, my spouse's H4 and EAD applications are in process (Change of status from H1 B to H4) since May of 2020 with no update. Have called several times, raise a couple SRs to be only told that the biometric were requested but USCIS cannot control local ASCs and cannot provide when we would receive biometric application. Any advise on what could be done here.?

Thank you much;

Hi,

I applied in Oct 2020, no downgrade .Still haven't got the receipt. My application was sent to the Texas lockbox.I don't know what we can do.
With regards to H4 EAD, there are long delays.Spouses application is pending since June. Its frustrating. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do.I really doubt their capacity to process so many applications

[may2011]

Hi,

I applied in Oct 2020, no downgrade .Still haven't got the receipt. My application was sent to the Texas lockbox.I don't know what we can do.
With regards to H4 EAD, there are long delays.Spouses application is pending since June. Its frustrating. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do.I really doubt their capacity to process so many applications

An update.Just chatted with EMMA .Got the receipt number after 3.5 months.So don't worry...

[Noesis]

An update.Just chatted with EMMA .Got the receipt number after 3.5 months.So don't worry...

That's good to know. 3 and a half months is too long of a time just to issue receipt numbers.

Thank you. When were your checks cashed.? As for H4 and H4 EAD; absolutely, the wait is unreal and I am at wits' end.

[may2011]

That's good to know. 3 and a half months is too long of a time just to issue receipt numbers.

Thank you. When were your checks cashed.? As for H4 and H4 EAD; absolutely, the wait is unreal and I am at wits' end.

Yea the wait is never ending..but it's out of our control..filing properly on time is all that we can do

[android09]

1. 8 CFR Article 245.2(a)(4) states AOS applicant who is in lawful H-1 or L-1 status shall safely travel out of the country, upon returning to this country, the alien remains eligible for H or L status, is coming to resume employment with the same employer for whom he or she had previously been authorized to work as an H-1 or L-1 nonimmigrant, and, is in possession of a valid H or L visa (if required). You will be in H1B status as you entered with that status and also your I485 application is still valid. As an additional bonus, it also triggers Sec 245K protection, which essentially forgives you for previous status violations.

2. Two scenarios: a) If the dependent use EAD for employment they have to use AP to enter. Any underlying H4 / dependent status will cancel. b) If the dependent uses AP only for entry the above clause will prevail. i.e., they will still keep underlying H-4 status. In both cases, as primary entered on H1B and still maintaining H1B, only the dependent will move to "Parolee". I-94 status will reflect "DA / Parolee".

3. As someone had used AP, their I-94 will expire 1 year from the date of entry. However, they will still be in "AOS Pending" status after that date.

These AP related questions are very tricky as you are trying to use multiple benefits / statuses without cancelling one of the them by mistake.

I see a lot of questions lately on EAD and AP. A lot of good info is already available in threads. Please take your time to grasp existing info:

Switching between H1B and EAD (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2942-Switching-between-AP-and-H1-and-the-role-of-EAD)
See AP Travel Thread for using AP for Travel and related info (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2936-Transit-Visa-details-and-disscusion-for-travel-on-EAD-AP).
Browse EAD Renewal Sample thread for general info on staying and renewing EAD (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2927-EAD-AP-Renewal-Sample-format).


Hi @idliman,

All your posts related to EAD/AP and associations related to H1b, H4 EAD etc are worth their weight in gold. Kindly request you add/move these posts to the dedicated EAD thread you had created for reference by the community. I dont want such important commentary be lost in these pages as the commentary changes. People use the EAD thread and it would be really valuable to have details such as this, AOS EAD is permanent, AOS EAD/AP no fee details etc be part of the dedicated EAD thread.

Thanks!

[aGCHopefull]

1. 8 CFR Article 245.2(a)(4) states AOS applicant who is in lawful H-1 or L-1 status shall safely travel out of the country, upon returning to this country, the alien remains eligible for H or L status, is coming to resume employment with the same employer for whom he or she had previously been authorized to work as an H-1 or L-1 nonimmigrant, and, is in possession of a valid H or L visa (if required). You will be in H1B status as you entered with that status and also your I485 application is still valid. As an additional bonus, it also triggers Sec 245K protection, which essentially forgives you for previous status violations.

2. Two scenarios: a) If the dependent use EAD for employment they have to use AP to enter. Any underlying H4 / dependent status will cancel. b) If the dependent uses AP only for entry the above clause will prevail. i.e., they will still keep underlying H-4 status. In both cases, as primary entered on H1B and still maintaining H1B, only the dependent will move to "Parolee". I-94 status will reflect "DA / Parolee".

3. As someone had used AP, their I-94 will expire 1 year from the date of entry. However, they will still be in "AOS Pending" status after that date.

These AP related questions are very tricky as you are trying to use multiple benefits / statuses without cancelling one of the them by mistake.

I see a lot of questions lately on EAD and AP. A lot of good info is already available in threads. Please take your time to grasp existing info:

Switching between H1B and EAD (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2942-Switching-between-AP-and-H1-and-the-role-of-EAD)
See AP Travel Thread for using AP for Travel and related info (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2936-Transit-Visa-details-and-disscusion-for-travel-on-EAD-AP).
Browse EAD Renewal Sample thread for general info on staying and renewing EAD (https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2927-EAD-AP-Renewal-Sample-format).


Thanks @Idliman for a prompt reply. Appreciate it.
Just to clarify for 2(b), if dependents use just the AP (not employed today, no H4 EAD) for entry, will they maintain H4 status? Would that still be true if the H1/H4 extension has NOT been applied? (assuming employer does not apply for H1 extension going forward)

sorry, one more question:
in above scenario for primary (returns back on H1 which is valid till Sep 2021), If employer does not apply for H1 extension, what happens after Sep 2021? I-94 expires on Sep 2021? Does primary need to start using EAD ? file some paperwork ?

[idliman]

Thanks @Idliman for a prompt reply. Appreciate it.
Just to clarify for 2(b), if dependents use just the AP (not employed today, no H4 EAD) for entry, will they maintain H4 status? Would that still be true if the H1/H4 extension has NOT been applied? (assuming employer does not apply for H1 extension going forward)

In the case of multiple status situations like "H1+AOS Pending" or "H4+AOS Pending", first individual conditions for each status must be met. Then you look whether what you did is compatible with each other. To maintain H4 status, the primary must be in H1 status, then the dependent should have an approved unexpired H4 status. If you are entering the country you need to have a H4 stamp too. Just like how it is normally done. So to be in H1/H4 both primary and dependent(s) need to apply for renewal and keep extending, so that their immigration status on such and such date is always valid.

If you are in AOS pending status, my take is that the dependent should move to GC EAD (because of the 4 reasons that I listed earlier). This does not affect the primary H1B status. I don't see a lot of positives for staying on H4.

Once you get H4 or GC EAD don't forget to get SSN and claim any stimulus money.


in above scenario for primary (returns back on H1 which is valid till Sep 2021), If employer does not apply for H1 extension, what happens after Sep 2021? I-94 expires on Sep 2021? Does primary need to start using EAD ? file some paperwork ?
If the employer does not extend H1 status, then you for you to keep working to get a valid pay check, you need to present a valid work authorization. The only other authorization that you have is the EAD. So you will have to move to EAD or "AOS Pending" status after the expiry of H1B. The employer will ask for your EAD and then complete the I-9 form along with "E-Verify" process.

Hope this helps.

[Mgajsk]

Hi Gurus,

I have applied for AOS this october and EAD, AP on Dec 4th.

My online status for I-765 shows on "February 12, 2021 Card Is Being Produced"

But my I-131 and My spouse's I-765 and I-131 cases show as "closed". When my spouse called USCIS , they mentioned that her cases ( I-765, I-131 ) are terminated and should wait for paper communication.

Is there any cause for concern ?

[idliman]

I would like to check with the experts here what they think of my situation regarding dependents
My spouse is currently working on H1-B ( has PD of EB3-I May 2009 but left the employer who sponsored)
Currently she qualifies for EB1/EB2 NIW but current employer will file GC only after 3 years of employment
We both received EAD cards this month based on my application.
She is in process of joining a new employer and they have started the process of applying H1-B for her.

1) If she takes the new employment using the EAD , can she go back to H1-B if something goes wrong with I-485 application that was filed based on my employment.
For past 18 years we have kept our legal statuses separate and we are wary now to become dependent on the each other status.
2) If her employer agrees to apply for her GC ( PERM and I-140), will we file I-485 again or will we both interfile the I-485 case moving me from primary to dependent.
Everyone in this forum is uniquely qualified, gifted and an expert on their own field. Otherwise you would not have survived this immigration system and managed to be successful in your careers and family. We help each other and learn from each other.

Your wife's PD (EB3I May2009) is FA current. But she does not have an active I-140. If she can go back to the employer who filed for GC then that will be the fastest GC option for you and family. You will get GC before Oct 2021 in this scenario.

Nothing bad will happen to your I485. Normally I485 is denied only for extreme reasons (fraud, medical, background, criminal, DUI, felony, etc.,). So be in peace.

First make sure you meet the 180 day requirement for AC21. That is a very good safety net.

Having myself faced the 2012 situation where the 2009/2010 PD EB2I folks are still waiting and looks like will wait for some more months, I would like you to always have multiple paths for GC. That means having both EB2 and EB3 options open for your family.

EB2I Path: Your PD is almost Nov2010. Ace is optimistic. However, I based on my past wisdom thinks that your PD will be FA current only in the next year (2022).

EB3I Path: My thinking is that your wife should take up the new job and start the PERM process in the new job immediately for EB3I. Your spouse will get your PERM+I140 approved in 12 to 18 months. So in the worst case your wife and family can adjust status before Oct 2022. In the mean time she should just continue to be your dependent for AOS purposes. I think this is the fastest option for you as of now.

Get opinion from others on this topic. I think you are very conservative and safe player. Good Luck.

[idliman]

Hi Gurus,

I have applied for AOS this october and EAD, AP on Dec 4th.

My online status for I-765 shows on "February 12, 2021 Card Is Being Produced"

But my I-131 and My spouse's I-765 and I-131 cases show as "closed". When my spouse called USCIS , they mentioned that her cases ( I-765, I-131 ) are terminated and should wait for paper communication.

Is there any cause for concern ?
Strange. The only requirement for (c)(9) EAD/AP is that I485 should be pending. Don't panic. Just wait to see the reason. Getting EAD/AP is just an extra benefit. The main thing is that AOS stays pending and not getting denied.

[aGCHopefull]

In the case of multiple status situations like "H1+AOS Pending" or "H4+AOS Pending", first individual conditions for each status must be met. Then you look whether what you did is compatible with each other. To maintain H4 status, the primary must be in H1 status, then the dependent should have an approved unexpired H4 status. If you are entering the country you need to have a H4 stamp too. Just like how it is normally done. So to be in H1/H4 both primary and dependent(s) need to apply for renewal and keep extending, so that their immigration status on such and such date is always valid.

If you are in AOS pending status, my take is that the dependent should move to GC EAD (because of the 4 reasons that I listed earlier). This does not affect the primary H1B status. I don't see a lot of positives for staying on H4.

Once you get H4 or GC EAD don't forget to get SSN and claim any stimulus money.


If the employer does not extend H1 status, then you for you to keep working to get a valid pay check, you need to present a valid work authorization. The only other authorization that you have is the EAD. So you will have to move to EAD or "AOS Pending" status after the expiry of H1B. The employer will ask for your EAD and then complete the I-9 form along with "E-Verify" process.

Hope this helps.

Sincere thanks @Idliman!

[Mgajsk]

Strange. The only requirement for (c)(9) EAD/AP is that I485 should be pending. Don't panic. Just wait to see the reason. Getting EAD/AP is just an extra benefit. The main thing is that AOS stays pending and not getting denied.

Thanks Idliman. Spouse is tensed as she cant wait to join her job back. Her H4EAD is pending since September and apparently they will not reuse the Biometrics done for AOS.

[bones20]

Hi guys,
Like many here, my AOS was filed in October 2020 (not current for FAD) still waiting for biometrics appointment. Is there any impact to EAD/AP application if I switch job after 180 days from receipt date? Do I have to refile for EAD/AP? Does EAD/AP issuance depend on the new employer filing i485j in time?

thanks!

[vsivarama]

Hi guys,
Like many here, my AOS was filed in October 2020 (not current for FAD) still waiting for biometrics appointment. Is there any impact to EAD/AP application if I switch job after 180 days from receipt date? Do I have to refile for EAD/AP? Does EAD/AP issuance depend on the new employer filing i485j in time?

thanks!

The answer to all of your questions is NO. EAD/AP belongs to you and not tied to your employer.

[bones20]

The answer to all of your questions is NO. EAD/AP belongs to you and not tied to your employer.

thank you.

[inspired_p]

Everyone in this forum is uniquely qualified, gifted and an expert on their own field. Otherwise you would not have survived this immigration system and managed to be successful in your careers and family. We help each other and learn from each other.

Your wife's PD (EB3I May2009) is FA current. But she does not have an active I-140. If she can go back to the employer who filed for GC then that will be the fastest GC option for you and family. You will get GC before Oct 2021 in this scenario.

Nothing bad will happen to your I485. Normally I485 is denied only for extreme reasons (fraud, medical, background, criminal, DUI, felony, etc.,). So be in peace.

First make sure you meet the 180 day requirement for AC21. That is a very good safety net.

Having myself faced the 2012 situation where the 2009/2010 PD EB2I folks are still waiting and looks like will wait for some more months, I would like you to always have multiple paths for GC. That means having both EB2 and EB3 options open for your family.

EB2I Path: Your PD is almost Nov2010. Ace is optimistic. However, I based on my past wisdom thinks that your PD will be FA current only in the next year (2022).

EB3I Path: My thinking is that your wife should take up the new job and start the PERM process in the new job immediately for EB3I. Your spouse will get your PERM+I140 approved in 12 to 18 months. So in the worst case your wife and family can adjust status before Oct 2022. In the mean time she should just continue to be your dependent for AOS purposes. I think this is the fastest option for you as of now.

Get opinion from others on this topic. I think you are very conservative and safe player. Good Luck.

Thank you very much for such detail analysis and laying. out all the options.
I will not call myself conservative, we just really didn't care about the GC process till PD got current.
I am now waiting for GC in the EB3-I NOV 2010(not EB2 ),so I also seem to be tending to the option of having my wife join the employer on H1-B and asking them to file her GC application ( it will not matter which category as all will be current for her PD) .

Wanting her to be on H1-B is more of safety net, two bites at the cherry if required.

If we do end up not getting GC by the time she get a new I-140 approved, do we have to file I485 again? And what about EAD/AP ?

[inspired_p]

Everyone in this forum is uniquely qualified, gifted and an expert on their own field. Otherwise you would not have survived this immigration system and managed to be successful in your careers and family. We help each other and learn from each other.


I totally agree on this. Not sure if it came out as braggadocios in my post, I assure you its not the case.
Actually for last 2 weeks, I have been in discussion on this very forum where I have categorically stated my opinion that EB1/EB2/EB3 are just administrative categories.

[raradhya]

When should we expect the Visa bulletin? any rumblings around the forward movement?

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

When should we expect the Visa bulletin? any rumblings around the forward movement?

From the Feb Bulletin, there is not much optimism of dates moving until May:

EMPLOYMENT-based categories (potential monthly movement)

Employment First:
Worldwide: Current
China: Up to six months
India: Up to six months

Employment Second:
Worldwide: Current
China: Up to three weeks
India: Up to two weeks

Employment Third:
Worldwide: Current
China: Up to one month
India: Up to three weeks
Mexico: Current
Philippines: Current

The above final action date projections for the Family and Employment categories indicate what is likely to happen on a monthly basis through May. The determination of the actual monthly final action dates is subject to fluctuations in applicant demand and a number of other variables impacting processing.

[rabp77]

Hi guys,
Like many here, my AOS was filed in October 2020 (not current for FAD) still waiting for biometrics appointment. Is there any impact to EAD/AP application if I switch job after 180 days from receipt date? Do I have to refile for EAD/AP? Does EAD/AP issuance depend on the new employer filing i485j in time?

thanks!

EAD is linked to a pending adjustment of status application (i-485) in your case. So as long as your i-485 is pending with USCIS and your EAD end date is not reached, it will continue to be valid. The only thing that will make it invalid are either the end date expiring, or i-485 not being pending (approved or rejected)

[bones20]

EAD is linked to a pending adjustment of status application (i-485) in your case. So as long as your i-485 is pending with USCIS and your EAD end date is not reached, it will continue to be valid. The only thing that will make it invalid are either the end date expiring, or i-485 not being pending (approved or rejected)
Thank you!

[rainmaker12]

PD : July 2010 (EB2-I)
10/21/2020: 485 Filing date
11/18/2020: 485, 765 131 Receipt notice date
12/22/2020: Biometric notice date
01/21/2021 : Biometric appointment (Seattle ASC)
01/28/2021 : I-765 approved
02/02/2021 : received EAD/AP card in mail

Even though me and my spouse had applied together and went for biometric at the same time. Only my EAD/AP has been approved. My spouse status still shows as "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken" since the biometric appointment. Anyone on the same boat?

[Mgajsk]

Does anyone know if any of the Biden executive orders include termination of I-485 interviews ?

[newyorker123]

Does anyone know if any of the Biden executive orders include termination of I-485 interviews ?

Saw this:
https://www.menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/USCitizenshipAct2021BillText.pdf

This contains Removal of country caps and a host of other positive changes. However, its too early to say - the whole bill will be subject to a lot of scrutiny so everything could change.

[ivohra]

PD : July 2010 (EB2-I)
10/21/2020: 485 Filing date
11/18/2020: 485, 765 131 Receipt notice date
12/22/2020: Biometric notice date
01/21/2021 : Biometric appointment (Seattle ASC)
01/28/2021 : I-765 approved
02/02/2021 : received EAD/AP card in mail

Even though me and my spouse had applied together and went for biometric at the same time. Only my EAD/AP has been approved. My spouse status still shows as "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken" since the biometric appointment. Anyone on the same boat?

I am in the same boat. My husband and I were both fingerprinted on Jan-5. My EAD was approved on Jan-6 and received soon after. My husband's case status is stuck at "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken." I consulted my attorney and he advised that we contact the local congressmen and after receiving a response we then file an inquiry with Ombudsman.

[ImmiAlien]

I am in the same boat. My husband and I were both fingerprinted on Jan-5. My EAD was approved on Jan-6 and received soon after. My husband's case status is stuck at "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken." I consulted my attorney and he advised that we contact the local congressmen and after receiving a response we then file an inquiry with Ombudsman.

We are in the same situation too.
Priority date EB2 Feb 2010
Fingerprints Jan 21
Received my EAD Feb 02
My husband(primary applicant) hasn?t received EAD either. We thought it may be because he traveled out of the country after filing the applications. We were told the 131 would be rejected and he has to reapply for that.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

I am in the same boat. My husband and I were both fingerprinted on Jan-5. My EAD was approved on Jan-6 and received soon after. My husband's case status is stuck at "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken." I consulted my attorney and he advised that we contact the local congressmen and after receiving a response we then file an inquiry with Ombudsman.

They are probably just gonna say they are backed up, end of story. Gave my FP in the first week of Dec and still don't have any approval, so I have just given up on that since I am in the process of renewing my H1 again.

[ak7419]

They are probably just gonna say they are backed up, end of story. Gave my FP in the first week of Dec and still don't have any approval, so I have just given up on that since I am in the process of renewing my H1 again.

..and my wife is still waiting for her 485 EAD renewal receipt notice which expires in April. She may have to quit her job :(

They are just backed up and the winter storm added some more to it.

[reys03]

Same here, FP on 12/04/2020, but not heard back anything for my spouse or myself (NBC service center).

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

..and my wife is still waiting for her 485 EAD renewal receipt notice which expires in April. She may have to quit her job :(

They are just backed up and the winter storm added some more to it.

With all the issues going on in Texas, they have more excuses now to fall back on, keep watching... There are so many avenues available to speed up processing especially collecting fingerprints/photos etc with technology, there is no will or initiative to do that. For example I can go to an authorized center in a rural location and get my TWIC credentials with which I can even fly and is basically the same process, collection of photos and fingerprints to issue a Federal ID. They could streamline a lot of these processes to speed up processing... there is just no will.

[qesehmk]

Those in Texas - I hope you guys are doing ok. Some of the stories we hear are quite sad.

[texas_]

We are doing ok. Water is out but got the power all these time.
Snow is melting at a rapid speed here in Austin so no worries... Hoping to melt it by tomorrow (55 F)
Some days were extremely cold man.
Managing water is tricky ......

[FarAwayfromGC]

Does anyone know if any of the Biden executive orders include termination of I-485 interviews ?

There is nothing in the EOs to help legal immigrants get GCs faster this year. May be USCIS will do away with interviews , of late many ROW EB2s are being issued GCs and are not being asked to appear for interviews .

[Kesid23]

Same here, FP on 12/04/2020, but not heard back anything for my spouse or myself (NBC service center).

Same with me as well. NBC service center. Gave the finger print on December 2nd and nothing after that.

We had to start the H1B renewal process because our current H1Bs are valid only till April, 2021!!

[RVSree]

Those in Texas - I hope you guys are doing ok. Some of the stories we hear are quite sad.

We managed without power and water (water pipes were frozen) for three days since Monday, specifically without heater was challenging midst of a record low temperatures, ice and snow. Now we have a moderate weather outside and the power is restored, it may take another few days for the snow to melt down.

it was a kind of east-cost winter experience for people living in Texas.

[mcmilers]

I would say it was way worse than the East coast or midwest. I have lived in Parsippany, the Boston area, and Chicago suburbs. No matter how worse the snowstorm was we never lost power and the roads were mostly clean.

tbh, I consider my family and me very lucky as we only had rolling power blackouts and pipes never froze. but a lot of people had extended blackouts, pipes frozen and even houses flooded. They were really affected.

[qesehmk]

We are doing ok. Water is out but got the power all these time.
Snow is melting at a rapid speed here in Austin so no worries... Hoping to melt it by tomorrow (55 F)
Some days were extremely cold man.
Managing water is tricky ......
That's good to know. The problem with water I hear is that there is risk of contamination and so they may have purposefully blocked it to avoid lawsuits. But once the temperaturs are in 50s or 60s life will be much bearable.

We managed without power and water (water pipes were frozen) for three days since Monday, specifically without heater was challenging midst of a record low temperatures, ice and snow. Now we have a moderate weather outside and the power is restored, it may take another few days for the snow to melt down.

it was a kind of east-cost winter experience for people living in Texas.
I don't know if you have young children but those with small chindren, it must be harrowing. I have heard this first time in my 21 years in US now that Texas had snow. May be they do but I never heard it.

I would say it was way worse than the East coast or midwest. I have lived in Parsippany, the Boston area, and Chicago suburbs. No matter how worse the snowstorm was we never lost power and the roads were mostly clean.

tbh, I consider my family and me very lucky as we only had rolling power blackouts and pipes never froze. but a lot of people had extended blackouts, pipes frozen and even houses flooded. They were really affected.
My experience is that states that don't get snow are not at all prepared. They get overwhelmed when it snows. Once I drove from michigan to wisconsin in snow storm. My wife was pregnant and just the two of us in car and we drove in a huge storm all the way. But those states are so well equipped to all kinds of emergencies that we reached wisconsin just fine. Texas is not ready and should not be ready for snow. But I guess global warming is indeed changing the normal.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

My experience is that states that don't get snow are not at all prepared. They get overwhelmed when it snows. Once I drove from michigan to wisconsin in snow storm. My wife was pregnant and just the two of us in car and we drove in a huge storm all the way. But those states are so well equipped to all kinds of emergencies that we reached wisconsin just fine. Texas is not ready and should not be ready for snow. But I guess global warming is indeed changing the normal.

Mostly because it does not make any fiscal sense for them to stock or have retainer contracts for salt, trucks, crews etc., if it snows a couple of days or a week in one year. Now if this keeps happening, everyone will be forced to adjust.

[qesehmk]

Mostly because it does not make any fiscal sense for them to stock or have retainer contracts for salt, trucks, crews etc., if it snows a couple of days or a week in one year. Now if this keeps happening, everyone will be forced to adjust.
Yes indeed. As I said --- "texas shouldn't be ready" but if this becomes a pattern then we will have to adjust.

[sportsfan33]

Folks,

Sorry to hijack the thread with a side question. Q can move it to an appropriate thread if needs be.

A dear relative's daughter has an admit from a good school in the US for her Masters. The situation is: their whole family was supposed to visit the US last year and they all applied for B1/B2 in April 2020. But then COVID19 happened, and the applications remain "pending" to this day.

The question is - when she does receive her I20 and goes to get her F1 stamped, what happens to this pending application? Does she have to revoke it or can she apply for another nonimmigrant visa while her first application is in limbo? Anyone knows?

A secondary question: We were hoping she would stay with us for the whole summer, but she thinks she might not be able to travel prior to one month of her program start date. (Getting visa appointment may be another hurdle, but for simplicity, I am not factoring in that issue yet). Anyone knows what the new F1 regulations are?

Thanks

[qesehmk]

Folks,

Sorry to hijack the thread with a side question. Q can move it to an appropriate thread if needs be.

A dear relative's daughter has an admit from a good school in the US for her Masters. The situation is: their whole family was supposed to visit the US last year and they all applied for B1/B2 in April 2020. But then COVID19 happened, and the applications remain "pending" to this day.

The question is - when she does receive her I20 and goes to get her F1 stamped, what happens to this pending application? Does she have to revoke it or can she apply for another nonimmigrant visa while her first application is in limbo? Anyone knows?

A secondary question: We were hoping she would stay with us for the whole summer, but she thinks she might not be able to travel prior to one month of her program start date. (Getting visa appointment may be another hurdle, but for simplicity, I am not factoring in that issue yet). Anyone knows what the new F1 regulations are?

Thanks

We are in exact same situation. My understanding is that everything is visa dependent. And currently visas are not being issued. So the student in our case is waiting for consulate to open in Mumbai. That is a bigger problem than duplicate applications. I imagine the consulates can easily see all prior applications when you make yet another visa application. Applications pending due to COVID delays should have no negative impact.

[srimurthy]

Looks like now we have moved to the end of the month for the visa bulletin.

[vsivarama]

Looks like now we have moved to the end of the month for the visa bulletin.

Yeah, and honestly it doesn't make much difference now, with 90-95% of the people filing AOS in Oct, Nov and Dec using the filing dates. The major function a bulletin now serves at this point is to find out who is current rather than to find out who is eligible to file for AOS.

[srimurthy]

Yeah, and honestly it doesn't make much difference now, with 90-95% of the people filing AOS in Oct, Nov and Dec using the filing dates. The major function a bulletin now serves at this point is to find out who is current rather than to find out who is eligible to file for AOS.

The performance seems to be just hitting the benchmarks for worst, as its now months for receiving receipt numbers, months for receiving bio-metrics letters or appointments or anything. When it is very well known that India and China are backlogged for so many years and every year there are thousands of applications waiting for dates, its just crazy that the dates are moved for file for years without even realizing what is the organizations working capacity.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Looks like now we have moved to the end of the month for the visa bulletin.

They are releasing it a month apart, just that the release date has shifted. You can argue that it's only three weeks since the last one got released. Of course if someone is in a pinch to gather documentation, the extra couple of weeks available before the end of the next month following the bulletin could be huge. Unfortunately I don't think there is anything in law which states the visa bulletin is to be released by certain timelines.

[android09]

They are releasing it a month apart, just that the release date has shifted. You can argue that it's only three weeks since the last one got released. Of course if someone is in a pinch to gather documentation, the extra couple of weeks available before the end of the next month following the bulletin could be huge. Unfortunately I don't think there is anything in law which states the visa bulletin is to be released by certain timelines.

When the Visa bulletin was released for Oct 2020, the Filing Dates were set to MAY-15-2011 for EB2I and JAN-1-2015. Assumption is based on the spillover, there are 261,500 visas to give in the new financial year and these dates represent where things would potentially look like a year from the date. Would it be the case that given the loads USCIS is seeing and the applications it has received, the next Visa bulletin change the Filing date to say May 2010 for EB2 and EB3 because of lack of processing capacity ? Or do we expect this Filing Date be the date of MAY-15-2011 and JAN-1-2014 that will be hit by Oct 2021?

[Transformer]

In trackitt I see people with PD of Aug 2010 EB2 and May 2011 EB2, who filed in October getting medical RFE. This is a positive indication but we can’t tell for sure unless more people get the RFE.

[may2011]

In trackitt I see people with PD of Aug 2010 EB2 and May 2011 EB2, who filed in October getting medical RFE. This is a positive indication but we can’t tell for sure unless more people get the RFE.

May2011 getting RFEs? That's too good to be true.Lets wait and see

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

May2011 getting RFEs? That's too good to be true.Lets wait and see

Could be something, could be nothing...

https://twitter.com/gsiskind/status/1364040361954275329

Greg Siskind
@gsiskind
Once again, the Visa Bulletin is very late. I have heard from someone in a position to know that there is something major coming in the bulletin, but I don't know what exactly. Only that it would be very good. So stay tuned. If I'm wrong, we'll know soon.

[ImmiAlien]

Indeed great new. Eb2 moved to 15 Jan 2010.

[bangaloreboy]

Mar 2021 VB out
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2021/visa-bulletin-for-march-2021.html

[bangaloreboy]

EB2I FA date 15JAN10
EB3I FA Date 01JUL10

[incredible]

Mar 2021 VB out
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2021/visa-bulletin-for-march-2021.html

This is by far a very good visa bulletin for FAD after October, 2020. Hoping that they started to use the spill over. This also explains a lot of RFE's of late.

[mitul75]

This is good news indeed. Funny that in the last bulletin they had predicted only 2 weeks of movement till May.

[AceMan]

Mar 2021 VB out
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2021/visa-bulletin-for-march-2021.html

Finally moved Eb3 got to move past May 2010 after Eb2 reaching there more than 9 years back.

[incredible]

This is good news indeed. Funny that in the last bulletin they had predicted only 2 weeks of movement till May.

That comment probably was from the last administration. New administration's first real visa bulletin definitely looks much better

[goracer]

EB2I FA date 15JAN10
EB3I FA Date 01JUL10

That's great and first positive movement since October...congrats to all who got current...

[smuggymba]

EB2I FA date 15JAN10
EB3I FA Date 01JUL10

Mine is March 30, 2010....so hopefully I can get greened by end of year (fingers crossed)

[Moveon]

That comment probably was from the last administration. New administration's first real visa bulletin definitely looks much better

Splendid news! The new administration has delivered in its very first bulletin helping legal immigrants. I suppose a lot us mailing our members of congress to move dates did bear fruit . Thanks everyone who mailed your members , keep the pressure by thanking them for their help and requesting that they make sure the USCIS issues every single green card for the deserving legal immigrants who contribute so much for the US economy . Best of luck , Lets hope the FA dates moves to 2011 by the last quarter and interviews are exempt . We have been here for well over 10 years , they have enough history about us .

[incredible]

Splendid news! The new administration has delivered in its very first bulletin helping legal immigrants. I suppose a lot us mailing our members of congress to move dates did bear fruit . Thanks everyone who mailed your members , keep the pressure by thanking them for their help and requesting that they make sure the USCIS issues every single green card for the deserving legal immigrants who contribute so much for the US economy . Best of luck , Lets hope the FA dates moves to 2011 by the last quarter and interviews are exempt . We have been here for well over 10 years , they have enough history about us .

Agree. They know everything about us already. My PD is 02/01 and have to respond to medical RFE. I will be sending the packet next week. Hopefully the date becomes current in the next month or two and not delay thereafter with RFE already responded. Keeping fingers crossed !!!

[Zenzone]

Splendid news! The new administration has delivered in its very first bulletin helping legal immigrants. I suppose a lot us mailing our members of congress to move dates did bear fruit . Thanks everyone who mailed your members , keep the pressure by thanking them for their help and requesting that they make sure the USCIS issues every single green card for the deserving legal immigrants who contribute so much for the US economy . Best of luck , Lets hope the FA dates moves to 2011 by the last quarter and interviews are exempt . We have been here for well over 10 years , they have enough history about us .

That's great news indeed. I hope they waive interviews more as a norm than exception and get the line moving and keep overall wastage to an acceptable minimum by the end of this fiscal!

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Congrats to all those who became current! Siskind definitely seems to have some insiders and came through this time... :)

[march272010]

Mine 27 March 2010 :) got rfe yestereday they just asking medicals as they expired when filed for RFE back in 2018

[vsivarama]

As expected USCIS did the opposite of their movement projection. This has been happening quite a bit of late. I am glad that at least there is a method to USCIS madness!! Anyone with PD May 01/10 - Jul 01/10 getting GC in next few weeks would be a very positive sign as they filed for AOS in Oct 2020.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Now all the second guessing by EB2 folks with PDs from May 2010-Jul 2010 who did not downgrade will start! :) The reality is that likely EB3 will slow down some time because of the downgrades and EB2 will catch up. If they are determined to move EB2 FAD until May 2011 by the September bulletin, they will have to move it by 3 months every bulletin which they just started, so it could be a good sign. So we could see mid-April 2010 by April and mid-July 2010 in May VB.

[bluelabel]

My PD is 02 March 2010, need to reply RFE next week. Hopefully it will be current next month.

[phkb2020]

Has anyone with post 2010 priority dates with pending application at TSC received any RFEs ?
Mine is Feb 2010 priority date, applied with TSC in 2012. Not a single RFE till now.

[ak7419]

I don't want to be a debbie downer but how is USCIS going to process all these applications? I am EB2 Sep 2009 and I have not received any RFE yet and there are hundreds of folks like me. I am just confused..

[Justmyself]

Any predictions on future movements for EB3I? It does look like EB2I might have a good year. With EB1 almost current and lot of EB3 downgrades past May 2010, the future looks good for EB2I. Is EB3I expected to reach May 2011 this FY? Any thoughts?

[skpanda]

Any predictions on future movements for EB3I? It does look like EB2I might have a good year. With EB1 almost current and lot of EB3 downgrades past May 2010, the future looks good for EB2I. Is EB3I expected to reach May 2011 this FY? Any thoughts?

My prediction - This year I feel that EB3I will always be ahead of EB2I atleast by 6 months. Next year onwards.. downgrades will catch up and they should go hand in hand.

Anybody with PD >= May 2010 should consider downgrading.
Anybody with PD >= Jan 2011 should seriously think of downgrading. If not, there is a chance of GC in hand moved by years.

[texas_]

Mine 27 March 2010 :) got rfe yestereday they just asking medicals as they expired when filed for RFE back in 2018

Is your PD of 27 March 2010 from EB2 or EB3 ?

[19YRSNOGC]

Became Current for 2nd time after 10 years. Replied to RFE regarding Marriage certificate and Birth certificate.

[march272010]

EB2 only Nebraska Service center, 485 J approved in 2018. Interesting is few of my friends in TSC with PD sep / oct 2009 they not even getting RFE

[vsivarama]

Any predictions on future movements for EB3I? It does look like EB2I might have a good year. With EB1 almost current and lot of EB3 downgrades past May 2010, the future looks good for EB2I. Is EB3I expected to reach May 2011 this FY? Any thoughts?

EB3I should move to Sep-Oct 2011 (provided no numbers are wasted). Most of the downgrades will kick in after May 2011. People before May 2011 are better off staying in EB2 as downgrade will have an extra step of applying i140 and getting it approved, which will take a few months. Plus when you are revisiting your case there is always a slight risk involved. For people beyond May 2011 it may be worth the risk but for others not sure if it's worth it especially when you will be getting Horizontal + Vertical spillover this year.

[Zenzone]

My prediction - This year I feel that EB3I will always be ahead of EB2I atleast by 6 months. Next year onwards.. downgrades will catch up and they should go hand in hand.

Anybody with PD >= May 2010 should consider downgrading.
Anybody with PD >= Jan 2011 should seriously think of downgrading. If not, there is a chance of GC in hand moved by years.

I think the dates will move in tandem starting the last quarter. There is enough downgrade demand and dual filed I-140s from ppl. who upgraded to EB2 from EB3 early on (if I'm not wrong).

[idliman]

Congratulations to everyone who became FA current in this bulletin. To me this looks like the movement for 5.2K GC quota destined for each country. Horizontal or Vertical spillover that ROW does not use has not been applied yet. Hopefully that spillover will happen in May timeframe or earlier. I wish for the JB admin to move dates steadily instead of making sudden jumps in the later half. That will increase the chances of more GCs being approved.

Remember the discussions we had in Oct timeframe (before elections) where people were expressing their opinion's about either a DT or JB win. I am pretty sure that had DT won, the State Department would have dragged their feet on VB movement till June/July timeframe and finally said USCIS does not have capacity to issue GCs. Whether you have PD in 2010 or 2015, you want as many GCs to be issued as possible this year so that there are less people in front of you in the queue.

[Zenzone]

Congratulations to everyone who became FA current in this bulletin. To me this looks like the movement for 5.2K GC quota destined for each country. Horizontal or Vertical spillover that ROW does not use has not been applied yet. Hopefully that spillover will happen in May timeframe or earlier. I wish for the JB admin to move dates steadily instead of making sudden jumps in the later half. That will increase the chances of more GCs being approved.

Remember the discussions we had in Oct timeframe (before elections) where people were expressing their opinion's about either a DT or JB win. I am pretty sure that had DT won, the State Department would have dragged their feet on VB movement till June/July timeframe and finally said USCIS does not have capacity to issue GCs. Whether you have PD in 2010 or 2015, you want as many GCs to be issued as possible this year so that there are less people in front of you in the queue.

Idli, I feel that this movement is for more than 5.2K per country. Especially with EB2 it feels that way as I would imagine the Q4 of 2009 folks + dependents in the backlog will be more than 5K based on my rough approximation.

[idliman]

Idli, I feel that this movement is for more than 5.2K per country. Especially with EB2 it feels that way as I would imagine the Q4 of 2009 folks + dependents in the backlog will be more than 5K based on my rough approximation.
You are right. When I did calculation based on Pending Inventory, I think 5.2K came to Dec. So was hoping that maybe USCIS considered some down porting to EB3 to end up at 15JAN10 (giving the benefit of doubt to forward movement).

[qesehmk]

Guys - please take a look at this thread and help our new member verify my answer or correct it. It's a question of his daughter's health.

https://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showthread.php/2943-Public-Charge-and-Its-Impact-on-GC

[Transformer]

I have this lingering question for a long time. Applied for AOS for me and wife in Oct 2020 with EB2-EB3 downgrade and PD is May 2011. Attorney didn't advice to apply AOS for my kid (16 years old) with the fear that if FAD doesn't move and kid ages out it may be a problem to convert to F1 in the future. Wife is working on H4 EAD expiring end of the year. With H4 EAD taking forever to renew, if she uses GC EAD and I continue on H1 (no option for me as child is on H4) and in the future if

EB2 May 2011 becomes current, what are my options?
How can I file my Child's AOS in EB2 while I am on EB3?
Should we all have to file AOS again in EB2? (I don't think my wife can file another AOS without maintaining non immigrant status).
Can me and my child can apply in EB2 and my wife can continue on EB3? or all have to be in same category?

Appreciate any advice on this.

[idliman]

I have this lingering question for a long time. Applied for AOS for me and wife in Oct 2020 with EB2-EB3 downgrade and PD is May 2011. Attorney didn't advice to apply AOS for my kid (16 years old) with the fear that if FAD doesn't move and kid ages out it may be a problem to convert to F1 in the future. Wife is working on H4 EAD expiring end of the year. With H4 EAD taking forever to renew, if she uses GC EAD and I continue on H1 (no option for me as child is on H4) and in the future if

EB2 May 2011 becomes current, what are my options?
How can I file my Child's AOS in EB2 while I am on EB3?
Should we all have to file AOS again in EB2? (I don't think my wife can file another AOS without maintaining non immigrant status).
Can me and my child can apply in EB2 and my wife can continue on EB3? or all have to be in same category?

Appreciate any advice on this.

Reg EB2 to EB3 downgrade: Did your attorney file a new I-140 separately for EB3 or just amended existing I-140 to EB3. If you have two separate I-140's then you are eligible in both queues. Your kid is 16. Assuming that he/she starts college at 18, you should have enough time to get FA dates current and stop the age-out. I don't see any problem with filing "AOS" for your kid. He/she will get a SSN first. Just work to make sure that you have both EB2 and EB3 routes as your kid is facing a age-our scenario.

The AOS dependents status is tied to primary status. If the primary is on EB2, the dependent's are on EB2. Otherwise they are on EB3. It is impossible for the primary to be in EB3 and dependent to be on EB2. Depending on which "FA" date becomes current, you will have to move your existing I485 application to that queue. You may want to read about which queue is better for your PD. But, I would prepare for both the queues and do what is necessary to make myself eligible for both at moment's notice.

No problem with your wife's employment. She can continue to work on H4 EAD till she gets GC / AOS based EAD/AP. Once you have GC EAD in hand your wife will switch to "AOS Pending Status". I had listed 4 advantages of GC EAD in an earlier post. An integral part of staying in EAD status OR maintaining an unexpired EAD/AP is filing for timely renewal. Browse our EAD forum to prepare for that.

AOS or I485 application is filed only once. You can always "change underlying basis" a.k.a. "interfiling". Attorneys don't file more than one I485 as it can cause unintended consequences. It is like you having two SSN's. One A# is given per alien.

Immigrant and Non-Immigrant visas are different. H1/ L1 and their derivatives H2/L2 are non-immigrant visas. They allow you to enter USA and do your job. If you meet some conditions, then you can get an EAD to work on H2/L2. GC is immigrant visa. Once you apply for I485 a.k.a. Adjustment of Status (AOS), you automatically have a backup status called "AOS Pending". You need to meet 180 day requirement to be eligible for AC21. Under "AOS Pending", you can work if you have EAD and travel when you have AP.

You are in the right place. Just keep reading more and more posts and you will be an immigration expert in no time. Good Luck.

[mr00us]

While it is surprising that the dates moved substantially, we can find some logic in these actions. They have not moved the filing dates but are aggressive about FAD which means, they do not want to waste visa numbers and are not waiting to see what spillover will be used by ROW. Initially I thought that they will wait till last quarter but they must have some clarity of usage pattern for ROW and EB1 so the spillover is being used. While no one can predict what USCIS is going to do, I strongly believe that the FAD will move in similar pace till Sep visa bulleting and maybe beyond when Filing dates will be pushed forward as well.

They may also be preparing for immigration bill and if that passes, millions of applications will need to be processed. If they divert resources there, we may lose visas on EB side because hiring more staff and training will take time if immi bill happens.

[AceMan]

My prediction - This year I feel that EB3I will always be ahead of EB2I atleast by 6 months. Next year onwards.. downgrades will catch up and they should go hand in hand.

Anybody with PD >= May 2010 should consider downgrading.


What is the rationale behind this statement? I would call it irrational and misleading at this time for the following reasons.

1. EB1 is getting current. The vertical spill over gets applied to EB2 in the 3rd quarter.
2. EB2 already moved more than 3 months for this bulletin which is the last bulletin of 2nd quarter. It is expected to move more in the coming 2-3 bulletins.
3. What happened to the people who downgraded in 2018? Did they get greened faster? There is no detailed information about people getting greened faster in EB3 compared to EB2 even after downgrade.
4. Without an approved 140, CPSA will not kick in even if you interfile based on final dates.

[idliman]

While it is surprising that the dates moved substantially, we can find some logic in these actions. They have not moved the filing dates but are aggressive about FAD which means, they do not want to waste visa numbers and are not waiting to see what spillover will be used by ROW. Initially I thought that they will wait till last quarter but they must have some clarity of usage pattern for ROW and EB1 so the spillover is being used. While no one can predict what USCIS is going to do, I strongly believe that the FAD will move in similar pace till Sep visa bulleting and maybe beyond when Filing dates will be pushed forward as well.

They may also be preparing for immigration bill and if that passes, millions of applications will need to be processed. If they divert resources there, we may lose visas on EB side because hiring more staff and training will take time if immi bill happens.
I am just paraphrasing Ace's recent saying: "You are hoping for Chicken Biryani and the eggs are only hatching now". I think it is just the 5.2K movement with some margin. If anyone has any other data points, lets discuss.

Immigration bill is a long shot as of now and the wording will change a 1000 times before it is voted. You need 10 republican Senators to overcome the filibuster for that. If you want to have a feel for how tough it is in the Hill, wait to see how many R's are going to vote for 1.9T COVID bill.

[maverick2010]

Reg EB2 to EB3 downgrade: Did your attorney file a new I-140 separately for EB3 or just amended existing I-140 to EB3. If you have two separate I-140's then you are eligible in both queues. Your kid is 16. Assuming that he/she starts college at 18, you should have enough time to get FA dates current and stop the age-out. I don't see any problem with filing "AOS" for your kid. He/she will get a SSN first. Just work to make sure that you have both EB2 and EB3 routes as your kid is facing a age-our scenario.

The AOS dependents status is tied to primary status. If the primary is on EB2, the dependent's are on EB2. Otherwise they are on EB3. It is impossible for the primary to be in EB3 and dependent to be on EB2. Depending on which "FA" date becomes current, you will have to move your existing I485 application to that queue. You may want to read about which queue is better for your PD. But, I would prepare for both the queues and do what is necessary to make myself eligible for both at moment's notice.

No problem with your wife's employment. She can continue to work on H4 EAD till she gets GC / AOS based EAD/AP. Once you have GC EAD in hand your wife will switch to "AOS Pending Status". I had listed 4 advantages of GC EAD in an earlier post. An integral part of staying in EAD status OR maintaining an unexpired EAD/AP is filing for timely renewal. Browse our EAD forum to prepare for that.

AOS or I485 application is filed only once. You can always "change underlying basis" a.k.a. "interfiling". Attorneys don't file more than one I485 as it can cause unintended consequences. It is like you having two SSN's. One A# is given per alien.

Immigrant and Non-Immigrant visas are different. H1/ L1 and their derivatives H2/L2 are non-immigrant visas. They allow you to enter USA and do your job. If you meet some conditions, then you can get an EAD to work on H2/L2. GC is immigrant visa. Once you apply for I485 a.k.a. Adjustment of Status (AOS), you automatically have a backup status called "AOS Pending". You need to meet 180 day requirement to be eligible for AC21. Under "AOS Pending", you can work if you have EAD and travel when you have AP.

You are in the right place. Just keep reading more and more posts and you will be an immigration expert in no time. Good Luck.

Above post have lot of insights related to "interfiling"

Idliman ,

Since applicant can file I-485 'only once', what if if someone already filed I-485 and want to downgrade now? (My situation - I have already filed I-485 with Sep 2010 priority date and thinking about downgrade)

Thanks
Jay

[gcconnect]

Above post have lot of insights related to "interfiling"

Idliman ,

Since applicant can file I-485 'only once', what if if someone already filed I-485 and want to downgrade now? (My situation - I have already filed I-485 with Sep 2010 priority date and thinking about downgrade)

Thanks
Jay

For 2010 EB2I people - IMHO Its not right time to think about downgrade as explained earlier EB1 getting current vertical spillover will cover some part and the horizontal spill over will cover rest of the 2010.

[idliman]

Above post have lot of insights related to "interfiling"
Idliman ,

Since applicant can file I-485 'only once', what if if someone already filed I-485 and want to downgrade now? (My situation - I have already filed I-485 with Sep 2010 priority date and thinking about downgrade)

Thanks
Jay
First with the recent pace of EB2 movement, you may be current very soon in EB2. As you already have "AOS Pending" and EAD/AP, I would advise you to do EB2 to EB3 interfiling only when the "FA" dates are current and you are reasonably confident that they will not retrogress.

Next I want to point out an often ignored point. If you transfer basis from EB2 to EB3 or vice versa using a new I-140, it will reset the adjudication clock for AC21 portability eligibility. You need to stay with the employer for 180 days after "Interfiling". There is no law for "Interfiling". So it is just a administrative procedure followed by USCIS and you may browse through the USCIS PM Chapter 8 (https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-a-chapter-8). One of the requirements is that I-485 application must be continuously eligible for approval.

If you are working for the same employer / same job / same location as you EB2 I-140, I see no problem in doing a new EB3 I-140. Interfiling is just a "letter" / "request" made to USCIS to link your I485 file to another "I-140". The same process is used to move one from I-130 (Family based) to I-140 (employment based). I-485 application just for an individual. If you clear all the checks, then eligibility comes from EB / FB or marriage.

[bones20]

For 2010 EB2I people - IMHO Its not right time to think about downgrade as explained earlier EB1 getting current vertical spillover will cover some part and the horizontal spill over will cover rest of the 2010.

My PD is 04/29/2010. Thinking about downgrade since it seems it will take at least 2 more months to become current ("bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"). Any suggestion?

[Transformer]

Interfiling is just a "letter" / "request" made to USCIS to link your I485 file to another "I-140".

Thanks Idliman for your insights on interfiling. I had a consultation with RNLawGroup (Rahul Reddy) before and what's their take is, "interfiling" has no proper definition in USCIS manual and once we do an interfiling request, it may or may not be accepted. They are advising all their clients to file another 485 when switching the lanes. Especially with kids aging out, generally the first of the month when FAD becomes current the child's age is frozen. What they say is interfiling doesn't freeze the age. If you are lucky you get GC for the kid, if not he may age out. They are saying it is perfectly legal to have more than one 485 and they said they filed for several of their clients and at the time of adjudication, the officer will request them to withdraw other 485 and approves one.

I hear the same from them repeatedly in all their weekly youtube question hours. What's your take on that?

[Transformer]

My PD is 04/29/2010. Thinking about downgrade since it seems it will take at least 2 more months to become current ("bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"). Any suggestion?

Do you already have approved 140 in EB3? If not, I don't think it is a good idea. 140 is taking a long time now and most of the cases they are rejecting premium process for downgrade 140. I think, you will get your GC in EB2 before your EB3 140 is approved.

[smuggymba]

My PD is 02 March 2010, need to reply RFE next week. Hopefully it will be current next month.

What's your service center? TCS or NSC?

[vsivarama]

My PD is 04/29/2010. Thinking about downgrade since it seems it will take at least 2 more months to become current ("bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"). Any suggestion?

Unless you already have a i140 in EB3 approved it's only going to add to your wait time. Plus for people who are thinking of downgrade (esp who filed AOS in Oct 2020), need to keep one thing in mind. Date is current not necessarily equals to GC. Date is current and 485 application process (fingerprints/Background checks/possible Interviews) is complete equals GC. USCIS will perform these actions on their schedule.

[idliman]

Thanks Idliman for your insights on interfiling. I had a consultation with RNLawGroup (Rahul Reddy) before and what's their take is, "interfiling" has no proper definition in USCIS manual and once we do an interfiling request, it may or may not be accepted. They are advising all their clients to file another 485 when switching the lanes. Especially with kids aging out, generally the first of the month when FAD becomes current the child's age is frozen. What they say is interfiling doesn't freeze the age. If you are lucky you get GC for the kid, if not he may age out. They are saying it is perfectly legal to have more than one 485 and they said they filed for several of their clients and at the time of adjudication, the officer will request them to withdraw other 485 and approves one.

I hear the same from them repeatedly in all their weekly youtube question hours. What's your take on that?
What you are asking is beyond my paygrade of "Internet Troll" / "Keyboard Warrior". Here's my take.

This is more of a practice thing. How different law firms do their business practice is different. This law firm consisting of Rahul Reddy and Emily Neumann (aka Immigration Girl) were made internet famous in the ITServ alliance issue. Google to see more details / videos for yourself.

There is nothing in the law that prevents multiple I-485's. You will use the A# (equivalent of SSN) to let USCIS catalog your multiple I485s. But there must be a reason why respectable law firms do not follow this route. Once you file additional I485, you need to pay for another set of I485 fees. With interfiling you don't have to do that.

Various respectable law firms have used "interfiling" method for decades and got successful results. The Chinese back loggers pioneered the EB3 downgrade. It is described well in the USCIS Policy Manual and practice (https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-a-chapter-8), I don't know what else you need. If you have 10% truth, you can "Honest Bullshit" something. In the words of 45th President, "I call it Truthful Hyperbole".

If it were me, I would get separate opinion from other reputable law firms before deciding.

[SOL123]

March 2021 Visa Bulletin is out

EB2 15 JAN 2010
EB3 01 July 2010

[Transformer]

Once again thanks Idliman for your thoughtfulness. This is the reason I come to this forum, to get insights from people like you with evidence/link to the law.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Looking at the July 2018 pending I-485 inventory, can we say only 3,500 or so will be pending in EB2 India? Could be lower with some abandoning their case, moved to other categories etc.

[android09]

Thanks Idliman for your insights on interfiling. I had a consultation with RNLawGroup (Rahul Reddy) before and what's their take is, "interfiling" has no proper definition in USCIS manual and once we do an interfiling request, it may or may not be accepted. They are advising all their clients to file another 485 when switching the lanes. Especially with kids aging out, generally the first of the month when FAD becomes current the child's age is frozen. What they say is interfiling doesn't freeze the age. If you are lucky you get GC for the kid, if not he may age out. They are saying it is perfectly legal to have more than one 485 and they said they filed for several of their clients and at the time of adjudication, the officer will request them to withdraw other 485 and approves one.

I hear the same from them repeatedly in all their weekly youtube question hours. What's your take on that?

With the thousands upon thousands of immigration law firms out there, why did you have to go to these guys ?

[AceMan]

Looking at the July 2018 pending I-485 inventory, can we say only 3,500 or so will be pending in EB2 India? Could be lower with some abandoning their case, moved to other categories etc.

Don't miss the numbers from 12th October 2009 to 15th January 2010. We have about 3300 total applicants who were the part of the forgotten lot. If USCIS is capable of processing these 3000+ souls in March, then there is a high probability of the Eb2 final dates beyond May 1st 2010 in the next bulletin or 2. But again RFE's and responses in time would be another crucial factor.

[prabakarb]

Splendid news! The new administration has delivered in its very first bulletin helping legal immigrants. I suppose a lot us mailing our members of congress to move dates did bear fruit . Thanks everyone who mailed your members , keep the pressure by thanking them for their help and requesting that they make sure the USCIS issues every single green card for the deserving legal immigrants who contribute so much for the US economy . Best of luck , Lets hope the FA dates moves to 2011 by the last quarter and interviews are exempt . We have been here for well over 10 years , they have enough history about us .


It is funny to people give credit to new admin for the date movement in VB. It is Trump admin which restricted new family and DV GCs last year to protect American citizens and legal immigrants which resulted VB date movement. Dems do not care of about legal immigrants, they want illegals for their vote bank. I am sad to see how brainwashed people are.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

It is funny to people give credit to new admin for the date movement in VB. It is Trump admin which restricted new family and DV GCs last year to protect American citizens and legal immigrants which resulted VB date movement. Dems do not care of about legal immigrants, they want illegals for their vote bank. I am sad to see how brainwashed people are.

1776

Not taking that....

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Don't miss the numbers from 12th October 2009 to 15th January 2010. We have about 3300 total applicants who were the part of the forgotten lot. If USCIS is capable of processing these 3000+ souls in March, then there is a high probability of the Eb2 final dates beyond May 1st 2010 in the next bulletin or 2. But again RFE's and responses in time would be another crucial factor.

Yep, that's true. Hopefully we will start seeing sign of more GCs being issued now that the crush of the applications has hopefully subsided. I know a lot are still waiting for receipts. Would not be a bad time to have a Check-in with Charlie to get a feel for what their outlook is for the rest of the fiscal is since we are done with Q1-Q2.

[suninphx]

For any politically(left , right, center or whatever) motivated post we have a separate thread now. Please use that.

[vsivarama]

1776

Not taking that....

LOL! I thought that too.

[prabakarb]

LOL! I thought that too.

Turbulent_Dragonfly/vsivarama: I expected the mocking but, you would have disputed what I said if I said something wrong, you cannot do that as those were the facts, it is not a bait. You can mock all you want, but if you want to me ignorant, that is your prerogative.

suninphx: You are right, we can use the different forum for these conversation, but someone started in this forum so I replied.

[bones20]

Unless you already have a i140 in EB3 approved it's only going to add to your wait time. Plus for people who are thinking of downgrade (esp who filed AOS in Oct 2020), need to keep one thing in mind. Date is current not necessarily equals to GC. Date is current and 485 application process (fingerprints/Background checks/possible Interviews) is complete equals GC. USCIS will perform these actions on their schedule.


Do you already have approved 140 in EB3? If not, I don't think it is a good idea. 140 is taking a long time now and most of the cases they are rejecting premium process for downgrade 140. I think, you will get your GC in EB2 before your EB3 140 is approved.

thank you.

[smuggymba]

This is more of a practice thing. How different law firms do their business practice is different. This law firm consisting of Rahul Reddy and Emily Neumann (aka Immigration Girl) were made internet famous in the ITServ alliance issue. Google to see more details / videos for yourself.

I digress but want to comment anyway: It's shameful that people still use this guys services; he's clearly one who wanted us to be stuck in backlogs so he and his cabal can continue to milk us for decades. We desis have a very short memory and that's a dangerous thing - no one should use his services.

sorry for the rant, back to the topic.

[qesehmk]

I digress but want to comment anyway: It's shameful that people still use this guys services; he's clearly one who wanted us to be stuck in backlogs so he and his cabal can continue to milk us for decades. We desis have a very short memory and that's a dangerous thing - no one should use his services.

sorry for the rant, back to the topic.

I have the same impression about him. I don't think one needs to file another 485. Looks like he wants to earn his filing fees.

[srimurthy]

First with the recent pace of EB2 movement, you may be current very soon in EB2. As you already have "AOS Pending" and EAD/AP, I would advise you to do EB2 to EB3 interfiling only when the "FA" dates are current and you are reasonably confident that they will not retrogress.



Idliman - Maverick's PD is Sep'2010 so with a EB2 filing there may be no EAD / AP yet, just in case you want to present a alternate path.

[aGCHopefull]

Few questions related to SSN. Can you please explain and advise based on your experience?

So we opted for SSN when applying for EAD in Oct 2020.

1. When do dependents receive SSN? Let's say EAD is approved sometime in March, when we can expect SSN?
2. Once EAD is approved, is there any action item pertaining to SSN on us? Do we need to go to SSN office?
3. Can SSN be used for tax filing right away? To be specific, if SSN is issued in March 2021 then can it be used for Tax year 2020 filing? (PS: used ITIN in prior years).
4. Again to use SSN on tax filing (instead of ITIN)... what do we need to do?

5. If let's say, we use SSN for Tax Year 2020 and that somehow put us in an income threshold that provides benefit from Covid stimulus.... would that harm from public charge perspective?

[H1b2006]

Great News from March Bulletin.

Folks considering all the lock boxes are not opened and not all applications are not receipted yet, how many months of additional processing time it will add once your FAD is current, since USCIS is still backlogged receipting the applications.

Also what abt mandatory interview how much time it will add to get GC once FAD is current.

[idliman]

Idliman - Maverick's PD is Sep'2010 so with a EB2 filing there may be no EAD / AP yet, just in case you want to present a alternate path.
I would still wait for the magic word from CO to understand the movement. With EB1I moving 7 months, they are setting it to be current in the next 2 bulletins. Once EB1I is current EB2I should zoom ahead. When will it happen? May or later. If it is much later, where is USCIS going to get capacity to process GCs? Already most interviews are cancelled for EB. But some higherup from JB admin should demand results from USCIS for it to change its mentality from enforcement to benefits/service mindset. It is definitely possible, looking at how fast they issued GCs in 2012 or so.

If you remember, the DF was set at 15MAY11 in Oct for EB2I. You can guess the number of people from May2010 who have down-ported to EB3I. So anyone before that time has a good chance. EB3I is a sure bet for Sep2010 (EB3I is already at 01JUL2010). But will down-porting help? In the worst case for EB2I, lets say Sep2010 waits till next year to be FA current (with another huge spillover from FB). You may want to look at the current trends to decide.

[gcconnect]

Few questions related to SSN. Can you please explain and advise based on your experience?

So we opted for SSN when applying for EAD in Oct 2020.

1. When do dependents receive SSN? Let's say EAD is approved sometime in March, when we can expect SSN?
2. Once EAD is approved, is there any action item pertaining to SSN on us? Do we need to go to SSN office?
3. Can SSN be used for tax filing right away? To be specific, if SSN is issued in March 2021 then can it be used for Tax year 2020 filing? (PS: used ITIN in prior years).
4. Again to use SSN on tax filing (instead of ITIN)... what do we need to do?

5. If let's say, we use SSN for Tax Year 2020 and that somehow put us in an income threshold that provides benefit from Covid stimulus.... would that harm from public charge perspective?

I received SSN for my daughter as soon as EAD received (After 5 days) .I called SSN office and they told me , no need to come to SSN office( you can call nearby SSN office and check). Used for tax filing for 2020 and got refund also.
Not claimed Covid stimulus which is eligible for new SSN
Take expert advise on public charge

[AceMan]

If you remember, the DF was set at 15MAY11 in Oct for EB2I. You can guess the number of people from May2010 who have down-ported to EB3I. So anyone before that time has a good chance. EB3I is a sure bet for Sep2010 (EB3I is already at 01JUL2010). But will down-porting help? In the worst case for EB2I, lets say Sep2010 waits till next year to be FA current (with another huge spillover from FB). You may want to look at the current trends to decide.

I want to present a story which I am sure lot of you must have heard.

As a sociological experiment, 10 monkeys were placed in a large cage. High up at the top of the cage, beyond the reach of the monkeys, were a bunch of bananas. Underneath the bananas was a ladder leading to the bananas. The monkeys hadn?t been fed for 12 hours and were extremely hungry. The monkeys immediately spot the bananas and the strongest begins to climb the ladder. As he does, however, a slight electric shock keeps him from ascending the ladder. At the same time that the monkey climbing the ladder gets a shock, the other monkeys on the floor are sprayed with water. The monkey on the ladder scrambles off and all 10 hungry monkeys sit for a time on the floor. Soon, the temptation of the bananas is too great and another monkey begins to climb the ladder. Again, the monkey is met with a slight electric shock as well as the other monkeys being sprayed. Over time, the monkeys learn not to go up the ladder. Now one monkey is removed and a new monkey is introduced to the cage. Spotting the bananas, he heads towards the ladder. The other monkeys, knowing his intention, cut him off and beat him. A second monkey is removed; he is one of the original 10 monkeys and is replaced with a new monkey. Again, the new monkey heads towards the ladder and, again, the other monkeys cut him off and beat him ? including the monkey who had never been up the ladder.

By the end of the experiment, none of the original monkeys were left. Despite none of them ever experiencing the slight shock, they had all learned not to climb up the ladder for the bananas.

[idliman]

I still don't know. That's how things are done around here.

But you cannot fault anyone. No one in the right frame of mind would have guessed that the some of the 2012 folks (15JAN2010+) would still be waiting for their FA dates to be current after 9 years. Before you blink, you lose quite a few years in backlog. Had it been DT admin, I would have honestly told everyone to try porting.

[Zenzone]

1776

Not taking that....

Was just catching up since yday. This is perfect. Let's not entertain trolls here. Complete waste of time. Those ppl. have trackitt just for that!

[maverick2010]

Thanks idliman for your insights!

I think folks who have PD in 2010 are going to live with this confusion until they get greened one way or other. May be the next April visa bulletin will provide trend on forward movement and give us better idea on how things going to pan out this year.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Filing Date is not being accepted for March, only FAD. Some may have missed out unfortunately, but positive news for those who got in to be honest because it would mean that they will have more processing capacity to approve I-485s rather than be stuck on initial receipting forever. This could be what they do for the rest of the fiscal which will portend well for spillover visa usage.

[AceMan]

Filing Date is not being accepted for March, only FAD. Some may have missed out unfortunately, but positive news for those who got in to be honest because it would mean that they will have more processing capacity to approve I-485s rather than be stuck on initial receipting forever. This could be what they do for the rest of the fiscal which will portend well for spillover visa usage.

Lot of people who are FD current in EB3 from April to June 30th are yet to get their receipts. It is going to be interesting to watch how things work for them.

[bikenlalan]

I need your opinion, My PD is EB-2 28 Feb 2011 and filed 485 on Oct 23, 2020. Still no fingerprints.
With the current date movement for EB3, would it be wise to start the downgrade process from EB2-EB3? Or wait for a few more VB to see how the trend is for EB3 and then start the process? My company's attorney mentioned that if the PD in EB3 becomes current, then we can start the downgrade process, but I feel waiting for that to happen may cost me faster GC if EB2 does not catch up to my PD and EB3 retrogresses and 140 approval takes longer these days. I would like to hear all of your opinions, Yes or No!
Would appreciate your responses.

[Transformer]

Lot of people who are FD current in EB3 from April to June 30th are yet to get their receipts. It is going to be interesting to watch how things work for them.
I think most of the people who filed in October got receipts but there is a huge backlog for biometrics. It's definitely interesting to watch if USCIS continue to move the FA dates despite not many approvable cases after April 2010. Unless they speed up biometrics, waive interviews and increase processing speed, I think they will waste lot of visas.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

Lot of people who are FD current in EB3 from April to June 30th are yet to get their receipts. It is going to be interesting to watch how things work for them.

Maybe those people will directly get their GC instead of EAD/AP once they do their biometrics :)

[Moveon]

It is funny to people give credit to new admin for the date movement in VB. It is Trump admin which restricted new family and DV GCs last year to protect American citizens and legal immigrants which resulted VB date movement. Dems do not care of about legal immigrants, they want illegals for their vote bank. I am sad to see how brainwashed people are.

prabakarb , please be more informed before making a comment. The Extra 120K was an unintended consequence of the order to close down the consulates. After the first VB, the trump administration quickly throttled the movement of dates and in its last VB allowed only a 2 day movement. Many of us mailed our members of congress and I got a response from two of them saying that they will look into it . Give credit when its due and plz do your research. Yes, democrats have leaned towards undocumented workers while republicans before Trump did more for EB. The previous admin hated most immigrants . Just look at the EAD/AP renewal times quadrupling under Trump . My AP is pending for the last 8 months. The current VB does makes me current, so will hope for the best.

[iamdeb]

Filing Date is not being accepted for March, only FAD. Some may have missed out unfortunately, but positive news for those who got in to be honest because it would mean that they will have more processing capacity to approve I-485s rather than be stuck on initial receipting forever. This could be what they do for the rest of the fiscal which will portend well for spillover visa usage.

DOS moved the EB1 filing date to current for all countries this bulletin. What is the point of advancing the filing date when USCIS is not going to accept it?:confused:

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

DOS moved the EB1 filing date to current for all countries this bulletin. What is the point of advancing the filing date when USCIS is not going to accept it?:confused:

Yeah, pretty good observation. If they were confident that there are not many numbers between Aug 2020 and now in EB1, they could have simply made it current in FAD. I don't know if EB1 to EB2 spillover is immediately triggered and *has* to be implemented as soon as EB1 is current in FAD, so maybe they are trying to control that?

[inspired_p]

I understand that Vertical spillovers will be more for EB2 and EB3 will only Horizontal spillover.

But the number of applicants in EB2-I and EB3-I queue between January 2010 and May 2011 also have a ratio of 4:1 at least

So why do experts think EB2-I will race past EB3-I in the near future ?

Worst/Best case scenario is EB2-I and EB3-I will keep moving ahead at same pace.

Am I missing something here?

[Zenzone]

prabakarb , please be more informed before making a comment. The Extra 120K was an unintended consequence of the order to close down the consulates. After the first VB, the trump administration quickly throttled the movement of dates and in its last VB allowed only a 2 day movement. Many of us mailed our members of congress and I got a response from two of them saying that they will look into it . Give credit when its due and plz do your research. Yes, democrats have leaned towards undocumented workers while republicans before Trump did more for EB. The previous admin hated most immigrants . Just look at the EAD/AP renewal times quadrupling under Trump . My AP is pending for the last 8 months. The current VB does makes me current, so will hope for the best.

Honestly, I won't even bother replying mate. It was a troll at best!

[Zenzone]

I understand that Vertical spillovers will be more for EB2 and EB3 will only Horizontal spillover.

But the number of applicants in EB2-I and EB3-I queue between January 2010 and May 2011 also have a ratio of 4:1 at least

So why do experts think EB2-I will race past EB3-I in the near future ?

Worst/Best case scenario is EB2-I and EB3-I will keep moving ahead at same pace.

Am I missing something here?

I don't think the ratio is 4:1. Its probably lesser than that due to downgrading.

[qesehmk]

I understand that Vertical spillovers will be more for EB2 and EB3 will only Horizontal spillover.

But the number of applicants in EB2-I and EB3-I queue between January 2010 and May 2011 also have a ratio of 4:1 at least

So why do experts think EB2-I will race past EB3-I in the near future ?

Worst/Best case scenario is EB2-I and EB3-I will keep moving ahead at same pace.

Am I missing something here?

inspired - I have done this for a living and I can tell you with certainty that modelling this has been incredibly difficult because of the sensitivity of the forecasting model.

Ever heard of chaos theory - the proverbial butterfly in pacific causing storm half way across the world?

The forecasting of backlog reduction is - although not as bad - but is quite bad. The reason is very simple - the demand and is huge and supply is limited. So any tiny variations on the demand side can make one queue move faster than other quite easily.

I know this does not help you get exact answer you are looking for. But at least it tells you that any answer you get from anybody is going to be unreliable.

[Turbulent_Dragonfly]

I understand that Vertical spillovers will be more for EB2 and EB3 will only Horizontal spillover.

But the number of applicants in EB2-I and EB3-I queue between January 2010 and May 2011 also have a ratio of 4:1 at least

So why do experts think EB2-I will race past EB3-I in the near future ?

Worst/Best case scenario is EB2-I and EB3-I will keep moving ahead at same pace.

Am I missing something here?

Yeah it looks like they will keep pace with each other with EB3 running a few months ahead until May 2011. After May 2011, there are going to be thousands of downgrades to EB3 until Jan 1-2015, so it's going to be a muddled mess with people jumping back and forth between queues depending on what is more advantageous at that point of time. But at least people through the end of 2014 will be free agents in a couple of months and will no longer be tied to their employers and situations. They will happily take that compared to the 2009-2010 folks who have waited an agonizingly long time.

[bangaloreboy]

Hello All,
Sorry to hijack a very lively thread, but I have question and wasnt sure which thread to post to:
Situation: Wife, who is on H1, is coming off long term disability, is putting in her papers and applying for H4 COS this week.
Since she has been getting disability checks, would it become a problem when these checks are submitted to USCIS along with I-539 application (as proof of employment)?
My GC attorney suggested we dont submit them and see what happens! In any other situation I would have said lol, but this is a bit pressing. Maybe he makes sense? what do you guys think?
Really appreciate your thoughts and do move this post where you deem fit. Thanks!

[qesehmk]

Hello All,
Sorry to hijack a very lively thread, but I have question and wasnt sure which thread to post to:
Situation: Wife, who is on H1, is coming off long term disability, is putting in her papers and applying for H4 COS this week.
Since she has been getting disability checks, would it become a problem when these checks are submitted to USCIS along with I-539 application (as proof of employment)?
My GC attorney suggested we dont submit them and see what happens! In any other situation I would have said lol, but this is a bit pressing. Maybe he makes sense? what do you guys think?
Really appreciate your thoughts and do move this post where you deem fit. Thanks!

I don't see any reason whatsoever to mention the LTD checks. Why? Because they are NOT government assistance. You have paid for that LTD through your paycheck. And when the event happened you cashed your benefit. So I think your lawyer is right.

[bangaloreboy]

I don't see any reason whatsoever to mention the LTD checks. Why? Because they are NOT government assistance. You have paid for that LTD through your paycheck. And when the event happened you cashed your benefit. So I think your lawyer is right.

Thanks Q for your response,
I-539 has a section that asks if you were employed since last admitted or granted an extension or CoS and to provide weekly income details and such.
Since your latest pay were all LTD checks, should we or shouldn’t submit them as proof of employment but on LTD?
If it’s part of your employment benefits, which it is, is there a harm in submitting them?

[AceMan]

I understand that Vertical spillovers will be more for EB2 and EB3 will only Horizontal spillover.

But the number of applicants in EB2-I and EB3-I queue between January 2010 and May 2011 also have a ratio of 4:1 at least

So why do experts think EB2-I will race past EB3-I in the near future ?

Worst/Best case scenario is EB2-I and EB3-I will keep moving ahead at same pace.

Am I missing something here?

1777

The above is a tweet which I got from here and it was shared by David J Bier.
For calculation take the full year for 2010 and 2011. EB2 has about 45,000 applicants for this period and 11,500 for EB3. Since this list was released in March 2020, we can be sure all these numbers would have started to be greened only from FY 2021.

I have been a strong proponent of short term gain for EB2. Lot of people think that I do that to mislead people because my date is Feb 2011 in EB3. I have no intention to correct or change the way people think about my vested interest in this. I would rather put the analysis and my interpretation here.

The Eb1 movement over the last one year is a very key factor in me hedging the bet on EB2 for FY 21. EB1 India due to the backlog had their demand halved from April 2018 to March 2020. Eb1 ROW got current around same time when embassies closed and it resulted in spillover getting applied to EB1 India and China from last quarter of 2020.

Eb3-ROW had some huge demand at the start of FY 2020 and it was backlogged just before corona induced shutdown happened. It was backlogged for the entire FY 20 since then and returned to current only in the beginning of FY21.

EB2-ROW was having a good demand through out 2020 and it was expected to have cut off some time before Corona and it did not happen. However the high demand ensure EB2 I got only the bare minimum by looking at the date movement.

For 2021, unlike any previous years for the exception of 2005 we are getting about 262,000 for EB. The motivation factor is this should be a massive windfall to Indian backlog with the consular closings till March, and absolutely no demand from world wide. As we have seen so far for 6 months EB1 is now current and there is no demand in this FY for this category. We have already seen even with a 4:1 demand EB2 I moved more than EB3 I in the March bulletin.

This intensity is expected to continue for next 3-4 months at about 4 months movement where I am expecting EB2 in July bulletin to reach May 2011. This should be the motivation for the EB2 guys, instead of trying to jump to EB3 thinking you are going to get your GC an hour before. You already waited more than a decade so just wait it out instead of going to lawyers who are filing 2nd I-485 and looting more money out of you.

[H1b2006]

before downgrading it is 15308:6677 for eb2:eb3 in 2010 , 6500 approx falls under eb2 May 2010 who will not downport, rest 9000 people atleast 6000 moved to EB3 it becomes 10000:12000 for 2010 EB2:EB3

[qesehmk]

Thanks Q for your response,
I-539 has a section that asks if you were employed since last admitted or granted an extension or CoS and to provide weekly income details and such.
Since your latest pay were all LTD checks, should we or shouldn’t submit them as proof of employment but on LTD?
If it’s part of your employment benefits, which it is, is there a harm in submitting them?
Ok - I thought you were thinking of volunteering the information. If there is a specific question asking you about your income then you should be truthful. Disability pay is considered income and so yes it should be included. Again it all depends how they have phrased the question. Are they asking for W2 income or generally any income?

In either case - I don't see how this can in any way be harmful. I know your lawyer doesn't recommend. So I am puzzled honestly. Why would a lawyer knowingly ask you to not answer a question truthfully?

My take is - disability is not public burden. You or your employer has paid insurance premiums or social security for it.

p.s. - LTD is basically an insurance and there is a contract that binds the provider and the beneficiary. So this is classic old contract law. Immigration status does not affect contract law. Honestly you would be paid LTD even if you were an illegal immigrant.

[texas_]

before downgrading it is 15308:6677 for eb2:eb3 in 2010 , 6500 approx falls under eb2 May 2010 who will not downport, rest 9000 people atleast 6000 moved to EB3 it becomes 10000:12000 for 2010 EB2:EB3

So do you think EB2 FA dates will cross EB3 this year?

I believe EB2 and EB3 would be always 4-6 months apart until they catch up May 2011 timeline and then will play TAG afterwards depending on no of individuals downport/interfile

[MeraNumber09]

Hello All,

Been a silent spectator for loong time now watching Q, spec, kanmani, idliman et all squaring off with civility and agreeing to disagree where they don't see eye to eye. This forum is worth its weight in gold. I lost my username/password and hence created a brand new one now. Hope to learn more and maybe share my 2 cents going forward. May we all be greened soon. Cheers!

I had a quick question to ask the gurus. My situation is as below:
EB2-I, Priority date: 2011/march/31.
485,131 765 - filed Oct 2020.
Any calculation when FA might reach 03/31/2011 ?

Thanks in advance! Mods - pls move to the appropriate forum once answered.

[vsivarama]

Here is a link that tells us the approved i-140 numbers for 2020.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/I140_app_by_country_FY2015-2020_Q3_Q4.pdf

There is a sharp drop off from 2019 (144998) to 2020 (116685) in EB1/2/3 categories. If you subtract the numbers for India and China in EB2 and EB3 you get the ROW i140 numbers as 15827 in EB2 and 18893 in EB3. After factoring in the x2 multiplier, EB3I will probably only get the excess 34K of horizontal spillover if the trend continues in 2021, whereas potential horizontal spillover for EB2I will be 34K and some + Vertical Spillover. I believe people till May 2011 in EB2I should be in pretty good shape provided the numbers are not wasted.

[bangaloreboy]

Ok - I thought you were thinking of volunteering the information. If there is a specific question asking you about your income then you should be truthful. Disability pay is considered income and so yes it should be included. Again it all depends how they have phrased the question. Are they asking for W2 income or generally any income?

In either case - I don't see how this can in any way be harmful. I know your lawyer doesn't recommend. So I am puzzled honestly. Why would a lawyer knowingly ask you to not answer a question truthfully?

My take is - disability is not public burden. You or your employer has paid insurance premiums or social security for it.

p.s. - LTD is basically an insurance and there is a contract that binds the provider and the beneficiary. So this is classic old contract law. Immigration status does not affect contract law. Honestly you would be paid LTD even if you were an illegal immigrant.

USCIS asks for employer, weekly salary information (if applicant was employed prior to CoS to H4), which then has to be backed up with evidence like paystubs.
I agree with you that providing LTD income information is the right way to go and something that could be defended if it comes to that. Thanks again!

[qesehmk]

USCIS asks for employer, weekly salary information (if applicant was employed prior to CoS to H4), which then has to be backed up with evidence like paystubs.
I agree with you that providing LTD income information is the right way to go and something that could be defended if it comes to that. Thanks again!
Just to be clear LTD is not salary. It is benefit that is considered income. So again - it all depends on how the question is worded. I will say - just go ahead and use your best judgement - if USCIS has a problem you can always respond to their questions. All the best.

[inspired_p]

inspired - I have done this for a living and I can tell you with certainty that modelling this has been incredibly difficult because of the sensitivity of the forecasting model.

Ever heard of chaos theory - the proverbial butterfly in pacific causing storm half way across the world?

The forecasting of backlog reduction is - although not as bad - but is quite bad. The reason is very simple - the demand and is huge and supply is limited. So any tiny variations on the demand side can make one queue move faster than other quite easily.

I know this does not help you get exact answer you are looking for. But at least it tells you that any answer you get from anybody is going to be unreliable.

I know it's not easy to calculate with insufficient data. Thank you for your response. I was just wondering because EB3-I should leap frog ahead with only the horizontal spillover ( around 30 K) based on the whatever data we have. Also EB3 downgrades filled in oct 2020 might not have approved when the FAD gets current pushing the dates even further than what the calculation suggests. But this is all guesstimates.

[inspired_p]

1777

The above is a tweet which I got from here and it was shared by David J Bier.
For calculation take the full year for 2010 and 2011. EB2 has about 45,000 applicants for this period and 11,500 for EB3. Since this list was released in March 2020, we can be sure all these numbers would have started to be greened only from FY 2021.

I have been a strong proponent of short term gain for EB2. Lot of people think that I do that to mislead people because my date is Feb 2011 in EB3. I have no intention to correct or change the way people think about my vested interest in this. I would rather put the analysis and my interpretation here.

The Eb1 movement over the last one year is a very key factor in me hedging the bet on EB2 for FY 21. EB1 India due to the backlog had their demand halved from April 2018 to March 2020. Eb1 ROW got current around same time when embassies closed and it resulted in spillover getting applied to EB1 India and China from last quarter of 2020.

Eb3-ROW had some huge demand at the start of FY 2020 and it was backlogged just before corona induced shutdown happened. It was backlogged for the entire FY 20 since then and returned to current only in the beginning of FY21.

EB2-ROW was having a good demand through out 2020 and it was expected to have cut off some time before Corona and it did not happen. However the high demand ensure EB2 I got only the bare minimum by looking at the date movement.

For 2021, unlike any previous years for the exception of 2005 we are getting about 262,000 for EB. The motivation factor is this should be a massive windfall to Indian backlog with the consular closings till March, and absolutely no demand from world wide. As we have seen so far for 6 months EB1 is now current and there is no demand in this FY for this category. We have already seen even with a 4:1 demand EB2 I moved more than EB3 I in the March bulletin.

This intensity is expected to continue for next 3-4 months at about 4 months movement where I am expecting EB2 in July bulletin to reach May 2011. This should be the motivation for the EB2 guys, instead of trying to jump to EB3 thinking you are going to get your GC an hour before. You already waited more than a decade so just wait it out instead of going to lawyers who are filing 2nd I-485 and looting more money out of you.

Thank you for your response.
I also agree that the EB2-I will benefit from vertical spillover along with the horizontal spillover while EB3-I will only get the horizontal spillover in 2020 and 2021 ( 2022 will be back to the grid )
But I think not all with PD before May 2011 would have had the opportunity ( same employer and employer willing) to downgrade so the downgrade % will be higher for people with PD after May 2011
This is just a guess again.

Also EB3-I and EB2-I both moved 3 months in the March bulletin, so EB2-I didnt move more than EB3-I

[inspired_p]

before downgrading it is 15308:6677 for eb2:eb3 in 2010 , 6500 approx falls under eb2 May 2010 who will not downport, rest 9000 people atleast 6000 moved to EB3 it becomes 10000:12000 for 2010 EB2:EB3

Thats 75% of people downgrading. I don't think thats a good estimate. as FD of May 2011 was current for EB2-I, not many would have the employer willing to downgrade the petition when 485 was possible to be applied without it.

[inspired_p]

Yeah it looks like they will keep pace with each other with EB3 running a few months ahead until May 2011. After May 2011, there are going to be thousands of downgrades to EB3 until Jan 1-2015, so it's going to be a muddled mess with people jumping back and forth between queues depending on what is more advantageous at that point of time. But at least people through the end of 2014 will be free agents in a couple of months and will no longer be tied to their employers and situations. They will happily take that compared to the 2009-2010 folks who have waited an agonizingly long time.

This is what I guess as well. EB3 to EB2 ratio will start getting to parity only for PDs between May 2011 and Jan 2015. Before May 2011 though there will be people downgrading it will not be mass exodus from EB2 to EB3

[Kesid23]

Immigration ban rescinded !! Wonder how this will affect the spillover ..

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/24/a-proclamation-on-revoking-proclamation-10014/

[AceMan]

Thank you for your response.
I also agree that the EB2-I will benefit from vertical spillover along with the horizontal spillover while EB3-I will only get the horizontal spillover in 2020 and 2021 ( 2022 will be back to the grid )
But I think not all with PD before May 2011 would have had the opportunity ( same employer and employer willing) to downgrade so the downgrade % will be higher for people with PD after May 2011
This is just a guess again.

Also EB3-I and EB2-I both moved 3 months in the March bulletin, so EB2-I didnt move more than EB3-I

The downgrades before May 2011 is very minimal. None of them have downgraded as real situation is very different from forum aggression/trolling.

EB2 moved from October 12th to January 15th. It is 3 days more than EB3 speed. Over the last 2 years it moved 1-2 days a bulletin.

[android09]

Immigration ban rescinded !! Wonder how this will affect the spillover ..

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/24/a-proclamation-on-revoking-proclamation-10014/

Only for family GC and Diversity lottery. Not for H1b, L1 and J visa. Those remain till March 31

[longwaitgigu]

Only for family GC and Diversity lottery. Not for H1b, L1 and J visa. Those remain till March 31

But we were counting spillover on family gc for next FY 2022.
Will the EB ( ROW) be affected?

[AceMan]

But we were counting spillover on family gc for next FY 2022.
Will the EB ( ROW) be affected?

Why should USCIS consider our counting and expectations?

However I am expecting the demand at the consulates are not going be heavy considering the pandemic situation prevailing at many places around the globe. You can still expect a very similar spillover you received for 2021 in 2022 as well.

[Moveon]

But we were counting spillover on family gc for next FY 2022.
Will the EB ( ROW) be affected?

With cases rising in rest of the world I am not sure if the consulates will be ready to open in full capacity this fiscal. My Gut feel is that we should get close to the same amount of SO . Here is my back of the envelope estimation :
For the last fiscal the US consulates functioned at normal pace from Oct1st to Feb 28th/midMarch . That is atleast 5 months and gave us 120K SO due to the shutdown. This fiscal we have 7 months left and the consulates will probably function at 50% capacity Max. So hoping for the same of greater SO is still possible ?
I am not sure if it is True , the US consulates they say will get their US workers fully vaccinated before taking larger case loads of CP. That might also delay CP cases and help the SO.

[android09]

With cases rising in rest of the world I am not sure if the consulates will be ready to open in full capacity this fiscal. My Gut feel is that we should get close to the same amount of SO . Here is my back of the envelope estimation :
For the last fiscal the US consulates functioned at normal pace from Oct1st to Feb 28th/midMarch . That is atleast 5 months and gave us 120K SO due to the shutdown. This fiscal we have 7 months left and the consulates will probably function at 50% capacity Max. So hoping for the same of greater SO is still possible ?
I am not sure if it is True , the US consulates they say will get their US workers fully vaccinated before taking larger case loads of CP. That might also delay CP cases and help the SO.

Visas were not issued for oct 2020, nov 2020, dec 2020, Jan 2021, feb 2021. These will spill over to EB in Oct 2021.

[jackryan041815]

it depends on capacity though, the limit for FB GC has not been reduced for this fiscal year because of ban. It is still the same and if they really were able to (in a world unaffected by COVID), they could issue all visas by ramping up processing speed. But like others, I agree that there will be some spillover. However, I doubt it will be the same amount we saw.

[mr00us]

A question. What multiplication factor is used in calculating ROW visa usage for EB1, EB2 and EB3 resp.? Like, 1 family uses how many visa numbers for these categories? Just trying to estimate spillover for fun.
Thanks

[mohan_jgd]

HI all,

I am in a bind and thought to put my situation here to get your inputs.

I have a PD of Mar-2011 in EB2 and we applied for I-485, EAD and AP in Oct-2020. We got all the receipts last week. We also had applied for my H1 and family's H4 extension by end of year 2020 as they are expiring in end of March 2021. We didn't apply for my wife H4-EAD renewal at the time as we had already applied for I-485 in Oct 2020 and also didn't expect that process would take so much time. Since it has taken so long to just get the receipts, hopes of getting the EAD by March 2020 are low.

As my wife's H4-EAD is expiring in the next 45 days, we are now thinking of also applying for H4-EAD on a hope/prayer that it comes within that timeframe ( I know H4-EAD processing times are equally bad but desperate time calls for desperate measures).

My question is would my wife's H4-EAD application hurt or have an adverse effect on her 485-ead application as essentially they are the same but in different categories?

[SaibabaAug2010]

HI all,

I am in a bind and thought to put my situation here to get your inputs.

I have a PD of Mar-2011 in EB2 and we applied for I-485, EAD and AP in Oct-2020. We got all the receipts last week. We also had applied for my H1 and family's H4 extension by end of year 2020 as they are expiring in end of March 2021. We didn't apply for my wife H4-EAD renewal at the time as we had already applied for I-485 in Oct 2020 and also didn't expect that process would take so much time. Since it has taken so long to just get the receipts, hopes of getting the EAD by March 2020 are low.

As my wife's H4-EAD is expiring in the next 45 days, we are now thinking of also applying for H4-EAD on a hope/prayer that it comes within that timeframe ( I know H4-EAD processing times are equally bad but desperate time calls for desperate measures).

My question is would my wife's H4-EAD application hurt or have an adverse effect on her 485-ead application as essentially they are the same but in different categories?
No, I am in the same boat as you are in, the slight difference is we have applied H-1B / H-4 (& H-4-EAD) at the same time with H-1 premium and H-1 got approved in a week. The day my H-1 extension package was received by USCIS, receipt was generated and Biometrics was triggered for I-485, I-765 & I-539. Had we not applied H-1 extension , I doubt we would have received Biometrics as my receipt date on 485 is 11/16/20. So, if you apply for H-4 EAD and it might trigger Biometrics for your pending applications.

[idliman]

HI all,
My question is would my wife's H4-EAD application hurt or have an adverse effect on her 485-ead application as essentially they are the same but in different categories?
Both are different and have different eligibility criteria. One is (c)(26) [H4] and another is (c)(9)(P) [AOS]. You are perfectly allowed to have a dual-intent non-immigrant H1/H4 or L1/L2 and an immigrant (AOS) petition at the same time. USCIS will treat them as separate petitions and adjudicate them based on the basis / evidence. If you are in a non-immigrant visa like F1/F2 (where you justified the consulate officer that you will return back to your country), then the moment you apply for AOS, F1/F2 will cancel. So, H4 EAD will not have an adverse effect on AOS.

[mohan_jgd]

Both are different and have different eligibility criteria. One is (c)(26) [H4] and another is (c)(9)(P) [AOS]. You are perfectly allowed to have a dual-intent non-immigrant H1/H4 or L1/L2 and an immigrant (AOS) petition at the same time. USCIS will treat them as separate petitions and adjudicate them based on the basis / evidence. If you are in a non-immigrant visa like F1/F2 (where you justified the consulate officer that you will return back to your country), then the moment you apply for AOS, F1/F2 will cancel. So, H4 EAD will not have an adverse effect on AOS.

Thanks idliman for confirming.

[mohan_jgd]

[/I][/B]
No, I am in the same boat as you are in, the slight difference is we have applied H-1B / H-4 (& H-4-EAD) at the same time with H-1 premium and H-1 got approved in a week. The day my H-1 extension package was received by USCIS, receipt was generated and Biometrics was triggered for I-485, I-765 & I-539. Had we not applied H-1 extension , I doubt we would have received Biometrics as my receipt date on 485 is 11/16/20. So, if you apply for H-4 EAD and it might trigger Biometrics for your pending applications.

We did receive bio-metric notices for our H4 extensions and they were finger-printed this week. I am hoping that eliminates the need for bio-metrics at-least for my wife's AOS application and possibly expedites in getting her EAD approved..

[longwaitgigu]

Thankyou for explanation
May be it's the anxiety of been so near and not able to get GC due to ROW CP, processing delays which could be solved by uscis if they start issuing RFE and biometric according to PD, eventually helping the backlog cleared in sequence and allowing no further retrogression specifically for eb3 as ROW demand will spike up as soon as April. Gcseeker has explained in trackitt if u check nuts and bolts thread.
If covaid cases and deaths go up ( which is could be solved by mass vaccination)then we can see decrease ROW CP demand or not able to process it.

[maverick2010]

[/I][/B]
No, I am in the same boat as you are in, the slight difference is we have applied H-1B / H-4 (& H-4-EAD) at the same time with H-1 premium and H-1 got approved in a week. The day my H-1 extension package was received by USCIS, receipt was generated and Biometrics was triggered for I-485, I-765 & I-539. Had we not applied H-1 extension , I doubt we would have received Biometrics as my receipt date on 485 is 11/16/20. So, if you apply for H-4 EAD and it might trigger Biometrics for your pending applications.

Hi SaibabaAug2010,

Are you saying because of your H1B(+ H4 EAD) Premium application, your bio-metrics got triggered for your i-485 application that was submitted on 11/16/20? Don't you think it's a coincidence? If your H4 EAD bio-metrics got triggered at least it makes sense and can think that JB admin is doing something to alleviate H4 EAD extension grid lock.

Thanks!

[FlowerPot]

Hi SaibabaAug2010,

Are you saying because of your H1B(+ H4 EAD) Premium application, your bio-metrics got triggered for your i-485 application that was submitted on 11/16/20? Don't you think it's a coincidence? If your H4 EAD bio-metrics got triggered at least it makes sense and can think that JB admin is doing something to alleviate H4 EAD extension grid lock.

Thanks!

We filed AOS for the family in Oct-20 and then applied for H1/H4 extension in Nov-20. H1 got approved within a month and exactly after 2 months (Jan-21), we got H4 FP, which we completed early this month and its been 3 weeks and no movement on her H4 (shows FP applied to case). Its interesting H4 FP req. came in within 2 months but AOS FP for family hasn't happened and checking with USCIS chat they neither scheduled FP for AOS nor applied FP taken from H4 to AOS case yet (hopefully they apply it soon).

[AceMan]

It has been reported that few EB2 candidates from 2011 got their GC this month. Are we looking at a one year movement for that category next month?

Could not resist!!! When are the aayas going to be gayas?

[Kesid23]

It has been reported that few EB2 candidates from 2011 got their GC this month. Are we looking at a one year movement for that category next month?

Could not resist!!! When are the aayas going to be gayas?

I saw that post on trackitt.
I thought it looked like it was maybe a troll message? Too good to be true? :)

[may2011]

It has been reported that few EB2 candidates from 2011 got their GC this month. Are we looking at a one year movement for that category next month?

Could not resist!!! When are the aayas going to be gayas?

If that's the case, isn't it an error on USCIS' side?I have heard about people getting RFEs when their PD is about to be current..but getting a GC seems like an error

[may2011]

It has been reported that few EB2 candidates from 2011 got their GC this month. Are we looking at a one year movement for that category next month?

Could not resist!!! When are the aayas going to be gayas?

If that's the case, isn't it an error on USCIS' side?I have heard about people getting RFEs when their PD is about to be current..but getting a GC seems like an error

[nbk1976]

AC21 is only allowed if you work in a job which closely tracks with the original job offer. So you can't go work in a gas station or something else because the new employer has to provide a I-485J attesting to the fact that the new job is similar to the original one. So you are a 'free agent' but you can only play within the same sport for another team, you cannot switch to another sport :).

My lawyer said that from his experience, the USCIS is extremely lenient about the "same or similar" requirement. So for example, if you have a PERM for being a college teacher and worked as a chef, it might not work, but if you switched to *any* role within the education industry, you will be fine. For example, you could be a textbook editor or instructional designer, or teach a totally different subject from what you were hired for, etc.

[qesehmk]

My lawyer said that from his experience, the USCIS is extremely lenient about the "same or similar" requirement. So for example, if you have a PERM for being a college teacher and worked as a chef, it might not work, but if you switched to *any* role within the education industry, you will be fine. For example, you could be a textbook editor or instructional designer, or teach a totally different subject from what you were hired for, etc.

This is absolutely correct. The reason is simple - their resources are better utilized going after true fraud cases which there are plenty and illegal immigrant related cases which are tens of millions. There is no point going after legal immigrants who simply may have committed a technical offense.

If you think about it Market automatically takes care of ensuring that you do a job that you are skilled to do. So USCIS should have ZERO interest in enforcing the "same or similar" mandate.

[AceMan]

I saw that post on trackitt.
I thought it looked like it was maybe a troll message? Too good to be true? :)


If that's the case, isn't it an error on USCIS' side?I have heard about people getting RFEs when their PD is about to be current..but getting a GC seems like an error

I recall my discussion with another user few years back on trackitt where he got his GC in error before his date was current. He took lot of pain and spent company money on the lawyer to return the GC. However when USCIS issued a new GC the expiry date again matched the date of the original GC he was issued.

So it is very obvious USCIS don't give rats... to the days. It is only extremely vigilant backlogged guys like us who are particular about it.

[android09]

If that's the case, isn't it an error on USCIS' side?I have heard about people getting RFEs when their PD is about to be current..but getting a GC seems like an error

Getting an RFE does not mean your case is going to be adjudicated right away. While there are implications regarding financial costs of Medicals for a family, it could imply perhaps processing is going to be imminent in the next few months?

[may2011]

Getting an RFE does not mean your case is going to be adjudicated right away. While there are implications regarding financial costs of Medicals for a family, it could imply perhaps processing is going to be imminent in the next few months?
That makes sense..folks with PDs before May2010 have been submitting medicals every 2 years I think

[may2011]

I recall my discussion with another user few years back on trackitt where he got his GC in error before his date was current. He took lot of pain and spent company money on the lawyer to return the GC. However when USCIS issued a new GC the expiry date again matched the date of the original GC he was issued.

So it is very obvious USCIS don't give rats... to the days. It is only extremely vigilant backlogged guys like us who are particular about it.

True..we dot our it's and cross out t's.I hope USCIS ramps up its processing..the wait has been agonizing

[smuggymba]

That makes sense..folks with PDs before May2010 have been submitting medicals every 2 years I think

No. I filed in 2012 and only submitted the medicals then. Only ppl in early 2009 who were close to getting current in the past have gotten RFE's and submitted medicals. later 2009/2010 folks haven't been contacted since 2012 it seems.

I'm March 2020 EB2 - no RFE so far or ever in the past. TSC.

[may2011]

No. I filed in 2012 and only submitted the medicals then. Only ppl in early 2009 who were close to getting current in the past have gotten RFE's and submitted medicals. later 2009/2010 folks haven't been contacted since 2012 it seems.

I'm March 2020 EB2 - no RFE so far or ever in the last. TSC.

Thanks for the clarification!

[maverick2010]

Getting an RFE does not mean your case is going to be adjudicated right away. While there are implications regarding financial costs of Medicals for a family, it could imply perhaps processing is going to be imminent in the next few months?

Based on trackitt numbers, it does look like USCIS is issuing bio-metrics appt based on I-485 application received date.

If USCIS is anticipating forward movement for EB cases, wouldn't it be prudent for USCIS to send bio-metrics appt for Oct 2020 filers based on Priority Date rather I-485 Received Date? EB3 got moved until end of 2014 in Oct 2020 and there will be lot of wastage if USCIS continue to issue appt based on Received Date.

[delguy]

Thanks for the detailed reply...I had tried to research before posting but couldn't find the complete answers.

Just a couple of quick follow ups:

1. Fragomen provided the same reason - that they don't have the original application and so can't apply in PP. However, the application was sent the normal route. Job/company/location are all same. Once we get the receipt notice, should I push for sending a request for PP update?

2. Still not clear about the whole 'free agent' and 'work in the "GC" job that you and employer signed up for after getting GC' part. I will try to look up AC21 guidelines.

Regarding 1. One of my friend has exactly same situation. Working for same employer and downgraded to EB3 in October, Fragomen filed his I-140 in regular and after he got the receipt, converted to PP. He already got his I-140 approved too in PP.

[greenjpr]

Hello Gurus,
I am a longtime silent follower and really appreciate all GURUS here who are helping others. If you have few mins, could you please provide your comments for below questions?
My PD is EB2 June 2010 and I filled 485 during Oct-2020 and I already got my EAD 2 weeks back.

During my Oct-2020 I485J, Our attorney filed I485J with the SOC Code as 15-1122 which stands for Computer Security Analyst [https://www.nj.gov/labor/lpa/employ/oeswageweb/PDFs/cape_ind.pdf]. After 14 yrs work with the same employer[ same end client], I moved to an Architect role. This was mentioned in I485J within the description section along with old job title as Sr.Security Administrator.

Currently I have direct job offer "Director - IT" from end-client where I am currently working for the past 14 yrs [all my 14 yrs H1 life is with this one single client :)]. Due to resource consolidation, the end client is pushing me to join as a direct employee asap. I have explained the 180 days rule and they are ready to hire me by April-May 2021 timeframe.

Questions:

1) If I keep staying with my current employer [as Technical Architect], will the existing I485 will have any issues in approval stage since my SOC code and my current title is not matching?
2) If I move my job and join new employer as "Director-IT" title, will it cause any issues to my I485 approval? [It is same job role with a different tittle]
3) If I decided to move on EAD[ new employer wont sponsor H1B or GC], what docs do I need to keep in handy? [ I have my I140 copy and PERM advertisement copy. Do I need Labor[PERM] copy or any other docs?]
4) Since we applied I485 and I485 by October only, will they ask I486J again if the date moves to current by June-July timeframe? [ New Employer is ready to provide I485J].

I really prefer to get the GC and then move my job as it is always safe. However, my dilemma is not to miss a management role.

If the new employer is not ready to wait for another 6-8 months delay, I may need to join by April-May 2021 timeframe.

[Wizoz2]

Hi Everyone,
I am a silent reader of this forum. My PD is EB2 28th April 2010, service center TSC. Just wanted to get some thoughts on how you think the priority date movement will be impacted now that the Green Card ban has been lifted. Do we reckon dates will still move to atleast 1st May 2010 for EB2? I am hoping I will get current in the next few months. but given the fact that the horizontal spillover likely will be reduced with all the CP cases consuming these numbers, I do not feel very optimistic. Also the processing center is TSC , which has not been sending out RFEs like nebraska has.

This forum has great posts , which are really helpful and provide the motivation to get through each day given the awfully long wait.

[may2011]

Hi Everyone,
I am a silent reader of this forum. My PD is EB2 28th April 2010, service center TSC. Just wanted to get some thoughts on how you think the priority date movement will be impacted now that the Green Card ban has been lifted. Do we reckon dates will still move to atleast 1st May 2010 for EB2? I am hoping I will get current in the next few months. but given the fact that the horizontal spillover likely will be reduced with all the CP cases consuming these numbers, I do not feel very optimistic. Also the processing center is TSC , which has not been sending out RFEs like nebraska has.

This forum has great posts , which are really helpful and provide the motivation to get through each day given the awfully long wait.

Hi,

I just read this analysis on trackitt.Its called 'Nuts and Bolts' by a user called 'gcseeker1999'.He/she explains the entire process and predictions in details. It clarified a lot fo things for me.

https://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/i140/2158776537/nuts-and-bolts-part-2-2-fy2021-what-an-year-eb2-3-i-date-move-by-eoy-2021-with-121k-so/page/1

[may2011]

Hi,

I just read this analysis on trackitt.Its called 'Nuts and Bolts' by a user called 'gcseeker1999'.He/she explains the entire process and predictions in details. It clarified a lot fo things for me.

https://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/i140/2158776537/nuts-and-bolts-part-2-2-fy2021-what-an-year-eb2-3-i-date-move-by-eoy-2021-with-121k-so/page/1

Read his/her first and last post.Basically they are optimistic about visa numbers for FY2021.They anticipate PD reaching mid 2011.But they anticipate processing delays.So even if ones PD is current in 2021, due to processing delays the applicant might be pushed to FY2022. They expect retrogression mainly for EB3 as apparently many cases in EB3 are via 'Consular Processing'.For EB2, the GC issuance hinges on processing times.

[idliman]

Hello Gurus,
I am a longtime silent follower and really appreciate all GURUS here who are helping others. If you have few mins, could you please provide your comments for below questions?
My PD is EB2 June 2010 and I filled 485 during Oct-2020 and I already got my EAD 2 weeks back.

During my Oct-2020 I485J, Our attorney filed I485J with the SOC Code as 15-1122 which stands for Computer Security Analyst [https://www.nj.gov/labor/lpa/employ/oeswageweb/PDFs/cape_ind.pdf]. After 14 yrs work with the same employer[ same end client], I moved to an Architect role. This was mentioned in I485J within the description section along with old job title as Sr.Security Administrator.

Currently I have direct job offer "Director - IT" from end-client where I am currently working for the past 14 yrs [all my 14 yrs H1 life is with this one single client :)]. Due to resource consolidation, the end client is pushing me to join as a direct employee asap. I have explained the 180 days rule and they are ready to hire me by April-May 2021 timeframe.

Questions:

1) If I keep staying with my current employer [as Technical Architect], will the existing I485 will have any issues in approval stage since my SOC code and my current title is not matching?
2) If I move my job and join new employer as "Director-IT" title, will it cause any issues to my I485 approval? [It is same job role with a different tittle]
3) If I decided to move on EAD[ new employer wont sponsor H1B or GC], what docs do I need to keep in handy? [ I have my I140 copy and PERM advertisement copy. Do I need Labor[PERM] copy or any other docs?]
4) Since we applied I485 and I485 by October only, will they ask I486J again if the date moves to current by June-July timeframe? [ New Employer is ready to provide I485J].

I really prefer to get the GC and then move my job as it is always safe. However, my dilemma is not to miss a management role.

If the new employer is not ready to wait for another 6-8 months delay, I may need to join by April-May 2021 timeframe.
First meet the 180 day deadline for AC21. I think your underlying I-140 is already approved. So that should not have a problem after 180 days. If not wait for I-140 to be approved. Don't hesitate. Take-up the full time offer, but plan ahead and hire a good attorney. Like Q mentioned, AC21 is seldom denied. The attorneys can wordsmith and add functional roles to get AC21 / I-485J approved.

Q1 & Q2. No. Please browse through USCIS PM Chapter 5 (https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-e-chapter-5).It explains you the factors that USCIS considers in approving AC21. If the company is onboard, the attorneys can justify "Director" by providing a "Functional Title". As GC is for future job they can even provide a I485J for "Non-Director" position and let you work in the current role till you get a GC. You may have to technically work in that position after getting GC, but there is no way of enforcing that. The only thing USCIS looks at while applying for N400 is where you worked after getting GC and whether you worked there for a "reasonable" time. Maybe you can take on some additional duties after GC to perform the functions in GC/PERM/I485J. *wink*

Q3. Looks like you already have everything. Remember the USCIS adjudicator that is going to review your I485J does not know anything technical about your job. Its like a street peddler trying to sell a micro-architecture. So, as long as the justification sounds reasonable, he is going to approve it. If it were me, I would come-up with AC21 / I-485J job description by wordsmithing to match closely with PERM and give it to your attorney / HR as a start. A good attorney helps a lot.

Q4. I485J serves two purposes. First time, it stands for bonafide job offer. The second time it is for portability. USCIS can ask for any of these if they wish. Recently I saw some RFEs that asked for confirmation that the applicant plans to work in that job. GC is given based on a contract between you and the company. You promise to work in that position after GC. The company promises to offer you that position after GC. That is the whole purpose of I485J process.

Spend some good money and hire a good attorney. Or use the attorneys from initial PERM/I-140, pay them and ask for justification. Nothing works like money. But you are the best judge of the job justification as it was your job.

Good Luck.

[vsivarama]

Hi Everyone,
I am a silent reader of this forum. My PD is EB2 28th April 2010, service center TSC. Just wanted to get some thoughts on how you think the priority date movement will be impacted now that the Green Card ban has been lifted. Do we reckon dates will still move to atleast 1st May 2010 for EB2? I am hoping I will get current in the next few months. but given the fact that the horizontal spillover likely will be reduced with all the CP cases consuming these numbers, I do not feel very optimistic. Also the processing center is TSC , which has not been sending out RFEs like nebraska has.

This forum has great posts , which are really helpful and provide the motivation to get through each day given the awfully long wait.

Just remember that only around 10-15% of the cases in EB are dependent on CP. I would not worry much about the CP at this time. Remember one thing, before the spillover happened for the most years 35K (in EB2/EB3 categries) visas were enough for the ROW cases with some exceptions. Just because there is a spillover of additional 110k in EB does not mean, more people from ROW will start applying (CP or otherwise). So though lifting the bans will have some impact around the edges it will not stop the regular movement. The regular movement stops only if the visa numbers are wasted.

[greenjpr]

First meet the 180 day deadline for AC21. I think your underlying I-140 is already approved. So that should not have a problem after 180 days. If not wait for I-140 to be approved. Don't hesitate. Take-up the full time offer, but plan ahead and hire a good attorney. Like Q mentioned, AC21 is seldom denied. The attorneys can wordsmith and add functional roles to get AC21 / I-485J approved.

Q1 & Q2. No. Please browse through USCIS PM Chapter 5 (https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-e-chapter-5).It explains you the factors that USCIS considers in approving AC21. If the company is onboard, the attorneys can justify "Director" by providing a "Functional Title". As GC is for future job they can even provide a I485J for "Non-Director" position and let you work in the current role till you get a GC. You may have to technically work in that position after getting GC, but there is no way of enforcing that. The only thing USCIS looks at while applying for N400 is where you worked after getting GC and whether you worked there for a "reasonable" time. Maybe you can take on some additional duties after GC to perform the functions in GC/PERM/I485J. *wink*

Q3. Looks like you already have everything. Remember the USCIS adjudicator that is going to review your I485J does not know anything technical about your job. Its like a street peddler trying to sell a micro-architecture. So, as long as the justification sounds reasonable, he is going to approve it. If it were me, I would come-up with AC21 / I-485J job description by wordsmithing to match closely with PERM and give it to your attorney / HR as a start. A good attorney helps a lot.

Q4. I485J serves two purposes. First time, it stands for bonafide job offer. The second time it is for portability. USCIS can ask for any of these if they wish. Recently I saw some RFEs that asked for confirmation that the applicant plans to work in that job. GC is given based on a contract between you and the company. You promise to work in that position after GC. The company promises to offer you that position after GC. That is the whole purpose of I485J process.

Spend some good money and hire a good attorney. Or use the attorneys from initial PERM/I-140, pay them and ask for justification. Nothing works like money. But you are the best judge of the job justification as it was your job.

Good Luck.


I really appreciate your time and detailed response. I wish that Q has some kind of thumbs up rating system to appreciate helps like this.

X number of thumbs-up, provide his free Q stock [wink]

[Wizoz2]

Just remember that only around 10-15% of the cases in EB are dependent on CP. I would not worry much about the CP at this time. Remember one thing, before the spillover happened for the most years 35K (in EB2/EB3 categries) visas were enough of the ROW cases with some exceptions. Just because there is a spillover of additional 110k in EB does not mean, more people from ROW will start applying (CP or otherwise). So though lifting the bans will have some impact around the edges it will not stop the regular movement. The regular movement stops only if the visa numbers are wasted.

Thanks that is very re-assuring.:) I can hope to be current in the next 6 months then.

[Wizoz2]

Read his/her first and last post.Basically they are optimistic about visa numbers for FY2021.They anticipate PD reaching mid 2011.But they anticipate processing delays.So even if ones PD is current in 2021, due to processing delays the applicant might be pushed to FY2022. They expect retrogression mainly for EB3 as apparently many cases in EB3 are via 'Consular Processing'.For EB2, the GC issuance hinges on processing times.

Thanks i did read the post and it was very re-assuring :)

[vsivarama]

Thanks that is very re-assuring.:) I can hope to be current in the next 6 months then.

I can see you getting current in next 1-2 months.

[bikenlalan]

Is there a validity around Supp-J, when would USCIS consider sending RFE requesting for a new Supp-J? Or do they request it when the RFE for medicals is sent out? Not sure of the trend.

[H1b2006]

March 2021 bulletin out, some of you are happy at the same time anxious. Please take a deep breath. Let me share my perspective. Most people have not seen this kind of VB dates move for EB2 atleast in past few years. Just a caution VB dates jumping up and down like a monkey is not new and historically has been there, Post 2014 onward started EB2-I in snail pace. Prior to that it was always roller coaster rides and EB3 had that for many decades. So Strap you boots, this kind of trend possibly will be there for atleast another year till End of 2022 if no law changes. May be we need a volatility index (VIX) for EB2/3-I. Historically it was due demand-supply gap , what later come back is retrogression cycles primarily due to demand shoot up. This year we dont need to worry about Supply side, because FY2020 FB SpillOver(SO)got us record level of "good surplus of Green Card 261,000 Green Cards instead of 140,000".

Not to worry for next few months till Sep 2021 bulletin ideally it should be forward movement for EB2/3-India.

We have a problem, The new villain is "Processing times". This would not make no sense for many, But hold your thoughts - think through it - if dates are moving wildly to a territory where runway is small(means Green Card issuance by Sep 30th 2021 i.e 8 more months) what can happen. To give an example quoting my friend who filed in EB3-I on October 2020 bulletin after waiting decade and his Priority Date is May 6th 2010, yes he is direct EB3 filer. He got his physical receipt 2 weeks back. Now his date is current for March 2021, will he get green card in March 2021? or June 2021? or August 2021?

I guess with above example , people will be able to realize have the new villain in town i.e "Processing times for 485" is going make or break for EB2-I and EB3-I.

Geerally once 485 is filed a person who is current in FAD ,it takes 8 months to 16 months to get Green Card, in some case its beyond that. These timeframes are pre-covid, now with covid, government efficiency is at rock bottom. Not their fault, but Corona situation has crippled most USCIS offices and they are working in 60-70% capacity. Just a week back February USCIS issued all receipts notices till October 30th 2020 filers.

Based on my calculation, Green Card Numbers wise there is enough GC for India to cover 2010 and easily to mid 2011 for both EB2-I and EB3-I and also good part is EB1-I is near current.
Department of State(DoS) who is in-charge of Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates(FAD) can even move the dates for EB2/3 to 2011, BUT PROBLEM is - HOW DHS/USCIS is going to issue Green Card? Without Biometric done(3 months from receipt), and background checks with FBI etc (takes 60 more days), how can USCIS issue Green Cards. Plus now we have Interview mandate, assume that will get waived off.

The problem of processing delay is not just for EB1/2/3-I ,its even for ROW filers , not fixing this will have catastrophic impact to FY2022. Needless to say India backlog this is golden opportunity to get to dates till near 2012.

If USCSI do speed up processing, review queues and process right application then there is good chance that almost all EB2-India and EB3-India filers in 2010 as well as till mid 2011 will comfortably get cleared by Sep 30th 2021. Else its is whoever on luck factor will get and residuals will get carried over to FY2022 which makes things worse.

USCIS should do below and roll up sleeves up step up processing focussing on right set of PD 485 to issue Green Cards. Point 1 and 2 below are super critical for new filers to get GC this year.

1) USCIS need to Collect Biometric ASAP who can be potentially current for Year FY2021 giving them Priority to EB1-I till 2020, EB2/3-I India till atleast till mid 2011.
2) On a War footing initiate background checks for the above so that they get FBI checks and all background is cleared.
3) Issue RFE for all 2012 filers of EB2-India and clear till May 2010 in next 3 months.
4) STOP Interview mandate for Employment Based Green Cards issuance. This stupid process for EB creates 3 - 6 months unnecessary delay for GC issuance.

Failure of this will lead to retrogression cycles for FY2022 and zig-zag movements again which is shame if we are back to old decade old problem where date can be stuck in 2011 or even go back.

The make or break deal is going to be how USCSI is going to improve processing, else by Q4FY2021 randomly people will get Green Cards on a wide spectrum and next year if its like a normal year, retrogression cycles kicks in.

Just visualize giving few example, So lets us assume there are 2 people A &B with exact same Priority date in EB3-I with December 2010

Example 1 - people in crowded Application Support Centers(ASSC) in East and West Coast , certain crowded cities where there is quite a backlog on getting Biometric issued, by this pace it is going to take till May/June.

Person A lives in New Orleans, LA and has his Biometric Done already in February
Person B lives in populous City in CA or NY, his Biometric delayed and possibly done by May/June 2021, due to covid/capacity issues in ASC

Example 2 - timing on application filed

Person A 485 case was filed during October 2nd week and hence was able to get appointment for Biometric in December/January and all his side is cleared including he got EAD/AP.
Person B filed 485 on October 30th and just got receipt in February and lives in a populous City. Ram jane when he is going to get Biometric.

Example 3 - Slow processing Service Center or due to his/her bad luck in paper work an RFE kicks in

Person A filed though have got biometric and his office just need to look at the file and issue GC.
Person B filed 485 on October 30th but just got physical receipt in February and lives in a populous City.

For all above 3 examples, the possibility of Person A get Green Card in FY2021 (ending Sep 30th) is high but Person B can get left out, get rolled over to FY2022 issuance and there how many SO will again drive his/her Green Card.

Good news as of now is EB1-India moved 7 months and soon will be current and that is going give vertical SpillOver to EB2-I. Another good news is EB3-I looks have legs now, it just need to run. Fingers crossed. So FY2021 now all bets are on USCIS hope they drastic "Processing times improvements for 485" to make it amazing year for Indians in backlog and get relief, hope all till 2011 get cleared by Sep 30th 2021. That will keep the ball rolling for FY2022. Fingers crossed.

--posted by gcseeker in trackitt

[Zenzone]

March 2021 bulletin out, some of you are happy at the same time anxious. Please take a deep breath. Let me share my perspective. Most people have not seen this kind of VB dates move for EB2 atleast in past few years. Just a caution VB dates jumping up and down like a monkey is not new and historically has been there, Post 2014 onward started EB2-I in snail pace. Prior to that it was always roller coaster rides and EB3 had that for many decades. So Strap you boots, this kind of trend possibly will be there for atleast another year till End of 2022 if no law changes. May be we need a volatility index (VIX) for EB2/3-I. Historically it was due demand-supply gap , what later come back is retrogression cycles primarily due to demand shoot up. This year we dont need to worry about Supply side, because FY2020 FB SpillOver(SO)got us record level of "good surplus of Green Card 261,000 Green Cards instead of 140,000".

Not to worry for next few months till Sep 2021 bulletin ideally it should be forward movement for EB2/3-India.

We have a problem, The new villain is "Processing times". This would not make no sense for many, But hold your thoughts - think through it - if dates are moving wildly to a territory where runway is small(means Green Card issuance by Sep 30th 2021 i.e 8 more months) what can happen. To give an example quoting my friend who filed in EB3-I on October 2020 bulletin after waiting decade and his Priority Date is May 6th 2010, yes he is direct EB3 filer. He got his physical receipt 2 weeks back. Now his date is current for March 2021, will he get green card in March 2021? or June 2021? or August 2021?

I guess with above example , people will be able to realize have the new villain in town i.e "Processing times for 485" is going make or break for EB2-I and EB3-I.

Geerally once 485 is filed a person who is current in FAD ,it takes 8 months to 16 months to get Green Card, in some case its beyond that. These timeframes are pre-covid, now with covid, government efficiency is at rock bottom. Not their fault, but Corona situation has crippled most USCIS offices and they are working in 60-70% capacity. Just a week back February USCIS issued all receipts notices till October 30th 2020 filers.

Based on my calculation, Green Card Numbers wise there is enough GC for India to cover 2010 and easily to mid 2011 for both EB2-I and EB3-I and also good part is EB1-I is near current.
Department of State(DoS) who is in-charge of Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates(FAD) can even move the dates for EB2/3 to 2011, BUT PROBLEM is - HOW DHS/USCIS is going to issue Green Card? Without Biometric done(3 months from receipt), and background checks with FBI etc (takes 60 more days), how can USCIS issue Green Cards. Plus now we have Interview mandate, assume that will get waived off.

The problem of processing delay is not just for EB1/2/3-I ,its even for ROW filers , not fixing this will have catastrophic impact to FY2022. Needless to say India backlog this is golden opportunity to get to dates till near 2012.

If USCSI do speed up processing, review queues and process right application then there is good chance that almost all EB2-India and EB3-India filers in 2010 as well as till mid 2011 will comfortably get cleared by Sep 30th 2021. Else its is whoever on luck factor will get and residuals will get carried over to FY2022 which makes things worse.

USCIS should do below and roll up sleeves up step up processing focussing on right set of PD 485 to issue Green Cards. Point 1 and 2 below are super critical for new filers to get GC this year.

1) USCIS need to Collect Biometric ASAP who can be potentially current for Year FY2021 giving them Priority to EB1-I till 2020, EB2/3-I India till atleast till mid 2011.
2) On a War footing initiate background checks for the above so that they get FBI checks and all background is cleared.
3) Issue RFE for all 2012 filers of EB2-India and clear till May 2010 in next 3 months.
4) STOP Interview mandate for Employment Based Green Cards issuance. This stupid process for EB creates 3 - 6 months unnecessary delay for GC issuance.

Failure of this will lead to retrogression cycles for FY2022 and zig-zag movements again which is shame if we are back to old decade old problem where date can be stuck in 2011 or even go back.

The make or break deal is going to be how USCSI is going to improve processing, else by Q4FY2021 randomly people will get Green Cards on a wide spectrum and next year if its like a normal year, retrogression cycles kicks in.

Just visualize giving few example, So lets us assume there are 2 people A &B with exact same Priority date in EB3-I with December 2010

Example 1 - people in crowded Application Support Centers(ASSC) in East and West Coast , certain crowded cities where there is quite a backlog on getting Biometric issued, by this pace it is going to take till May/June.

Person A lives in New Orleans, LA and has his Biometric Done already in February
Person B lives in populous City in CA or NY, his Biometric delayed and possibly done by May/June 2021, due to covid/capacity issues in ASC

Example 2 - timing on application filed

Person A 485 case was filed during October 2nd week and hence was able to get appointment for Biometric in December/January and all his side is cleared including he got EAD/AP.
Person B filed 485 on October 30th and just got receipt in February and lives in a populous City. Ram jane when he is going to get Biometric.

Example 3 - Slow processing Service Center or due to his/her bad luck in paper work an RFE kicks in

Person A filed though have got biometric and his office just need to look at the file and issue GC.
Person B filed 485 on October 30th but just got physical receipt in February and lives in a populous City.

For all above 3 examples, the possibility of Person A get Green Card in FY2021 (ending Sep 30th) is high but Person B can get left out, get rolled over to FY2022 issuance and there how many SO will again drive his/her Green Card.

Good news as of now is EB1-India moved 7 months and soon will be current and that is going give vertical SpillOver to EB2-I. Another good news is EB3-I looks have legs now, it just need to run. Fingers crossed. So FY2021 now all bets are on USCIS hope they drastic "Processing times improvements for 485" to make it amazing year for Indians in backlog and get relief, hope all till 2011 get cleared by Sep 30th 2021. That will keep the ball rolling for FY2022. Fingers crossed.

--posted by gcseeker in trackitt

Good post! Thanks.

[ak7419]

It has been reported that few EB2 candidates from 2011 got their GC this month. Are we looking at a one year movement for that category next month?

Could not resist!!! When are the aayas going to be gayas?

I did not expect this coming from you @Aceman :-)

How can 2011 guys get GC when 2009 guys like me are still waiting for RFE?! It would have been a clerical error, wouldn't it?

[Zenzone]

Hi Everyone,
I am a silent reader of this forum. My PD is EB2 28th April 2010, service center TSC. Just wanted to get some thoughts on how you think the priority date movement will be impacted now that the Green Card ban has been lifted. Do we reckon dates will still move to atleast 1st May 2010 for EB2? I am hoping I will get current in the next few months. but given the fact that the horizontal spillover likely will be reduced with all the CP cases consuming these numbers, I do not feel very optimistic. Also the processing center is TSC , which has not been sending out RFEs like nebraska has.

This forum has great posts , which are really helpful and provide the motivation to get through each day given the awfully long wait.

FB SO for FY 2021 is a done deal. CP opening for FB GC processing likely impacts the SO for next fiscal only. IMO, you should be current imminently.

[AceMan]

I did not expect this coming from you @Aceman :-)

How can 2011 guys get GC when 2009 guys like me are still waiting for RFE?! It would have been a clerical error, wouldn't it?

I am not USCIS, I am just another ordinary person with reasonable amount of jealousy and no malicious intent !!!

I think they are selecting from the October filers who have already completed every other steps needed. No other logical reason I can think off. USCIS appear not to have any realistic demand.

[ak7419]

I am not USCIS, I am just another ordinary person with reasonable amount of jealousy and no malicious intent !!!

I think they are selecting from the October filers who have already completed every other steps needed. No other logical reason I can think off. USCIS appear not to have any realistic demand.

How about interview? :-)

I thought 2009 folks who applied in 2012 would be low hanging fruits for USCIS but no, they work in their own mysterious ways :-P

[cool_guy_2004]

Hello, my PD is in Dec 2009 TSC service center and it's current in March bulletin. I didn't receive any REF's yet but I started medicals now and will have it in next couple of days. I was wondering can I proactively send the medicals and I-485J to USCIS?

[vsivarama]

Hello, my PD is in Dec 2009 TSC service center and it's current in March bulletin. I didn't receive any REF's yet but I started medicals now and will have it in next couple of days. I was wondering can I proactively send the medicals and I-485J to USCIS?

Technically you can send an "interfile" request which is also used for a host of other purposes. You can talk to your company lawyer. You need not wait for an RFE. Sometimes it's best to draw attention to yourself by being proactive than risking your file collecting dust for a few more weeks. :)

[Moveon]

Hello, my PD is in Dec 2009 TSC service center and it's current in March bulletin. I didn't receive any REF's yet but I started medicals now and will have it in next couple of days. I was wondering can I proactively send the medicals and I-485J to USCIS?

I would advise you against getting the medicals or sending it w/o an RFE. The USCIS will not honor it else everyone would start doing it. Ask your Doc to not sign it as yet as the Medicals need to be signed within 30 says of submission . TSC is going slow and the recent events in Texas might have delayed the RFEs.
Hang in , you will get your GC this Fiscal .
Best of luck

[qesehmk]

I wish that Q has some kind of thumbs up rating system to appreciate helps like this.


There is a rating/compliements system! Do you see a Star right under the post on left side. Just click that.

I have tried to make it more intuitive. But customization just isn't available.

p.s. - Let me know if you have problem viewing it. Send me screenshot of any post other than your own.

[srimurthy]

I am not USCIS, I am just another ordinary person with reasonable amount of jealousy and no malicious intent !!!

I think they are selecting from the October filers who have already completed every other steps needed. No other logical reason I can think off. USCIS appear not to have any realistic demand.

That should not they be approving all EB2 applied in 2012 with a PD date prior to Apr 2010. They are exempt from interviews and stuff and have applied for EAD multiple times and their biometrics done too.
Only part is their medicals may be required and that may have been done a couple of time too by now.

[mr00us]

Folks, does someone know what multiplication factor is used in calculating ROW visa usage for EB1, EB2 and EB3 resp.? Like, 1 family uses how many visa numbers for these categories? Just trying to estimate spillover and this will be a major factor in what I am trying to model.

Second attempt :-)

[vsivarama]

Folks, does someone know what multiplication factor is used in calculating ROW visa usage for EB1, EB2 and EB3 resp.? Like, 1 family uses how many visa numbers for these categories? Just trying to estimate spillover and this will be a major factor in what I am trying to model.

Second attempt :-)

There is nothing specific for ROW that I am aware off. USCIS normal calculates EB2 as 2 and EB3 as 2.1. I think, it will be safe to assume 2 for EB1 as well. The below link may be helpful when creating your model.

https://www.happyschools.com/eb3-to-eb2-downgrade-rapid-forward-movement/

[newyorker123]

General Noob question:
Does I485 processing time (and GC issuance time) depend only on I485 receipt date ? [Assuming FAD is current]
Or,
- does it depend on priority date ?
- does it depend on EB1 vs EB2 vs EB3 ?

[incredible]

First meet the 180 day deadline for AC21. I think your underlying I-140 is already approved. So that should not have a problem after 180 days. If not wait for I-140 to be approved. Don't hesitate. Take-up the full time offer, but plan ahead and hire a good attorney. Like Q mentioned, AC21 is seldom denied. The attorneys can wordsmith and add functional roles to get AC21 / I-485J approved.

Q1 & Q2. No. Please browse through USCIS PM Chapter 5 (https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-e-chapter-5).It explains you the factors that USCIS considers in approving AC21. If the company is onboard, the attorneys can justify "Director" by providing a "Functional Title". As GC is for future job they can even provide a I485J for "Non-Director" position and let you work in the current role till you get a GC. You may have to technically work in that position after getting GC, but there is no way of enforcing that. The only thing USCIS looks at while applying for N400 is where you worked after getting GC and whether you worked there for a "reasonable" time. Maybe you can take on some additional duties after GC to perform the functions in GC/PERM/I485J. *wink*

Q3. Looks like you already have everything. Remember the USCIS adjudicator that is going to review your I485J does not know anything technical about your job. Its like a street peddler trying to sell a micro-architecture. So, as long as the justification sounds reasonable, he is going to approve it. If it were me, I would come-up with AC21 / I-485J job description by wordsmithing to match closely with PERM and give it to your attorney / HR as a start. A good attorney helps a lot.

Q4. I485J serves two purposes. First time, it stands for bonafide job offer. The second time it is for portability. USCIS can ask for any of these if they wish. Recently I saw some RFEs that asked for confirmation that the applicant plans to work in that job. GC is given based on a contract between you and the company. You promise to work in that position after GC. The company promises to offer you that position after GC. That is the whole purpose of I485J process.

Spend some good money and hire a good attorney. Or use the attorneys from initial PERM/I-140, pay them and ask for justification. Nothing works like money. But you are the best judge of the job justification as it was your job.

Good Luck.

Very well said. This is why I like this forum than anything. Just my two cents .. dont worry about GC (as long as you have followed law like waiting for 180 days, etc.). Career progresses for all a d 14 years is a long time. With a good attorney and nicely written cover letter along with 485J submission (when you join the new employer), you should be good. Even in case, it comes to N400, you should take your attorney with you or get guidance and explain the scenario. The adjudicators at USCIS may be naive, but not stupid. I do believe that they understand a nicely written explanation and changes in one's career over a period of 14 years.