EB2-3 Predictions (Rather Calculations)

Not sure how USCIS is processing the cases. Initially when I saw that they are holding up issuing EAD/AP, I thought that was a smart move so that they can spend all resources on issuing GCs. But in first 3 Quarters they neither issued GCs nor EAD/APs. Now I am seeing a different pattern. 3 of my friends, one with Feb 2011 EB3 PD and two with late 2010 EB2 PD, they all got EAD/AP few days ago (not expedited) and within 7-10 days got their GC. What a waste? They could have issued EAD/AP to someone with later PDs or needful.

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Originally Posted by Transformer

Not sure how USCIS is processing the cases. Initially when I saw that they are holding up issuing EAD/AP, I thought that was a smart move so that they can spend all resources on issuing GCs. But in first 3 Quarters they neither issued GCs nor EAD/APs. Now I am seeing a different pattern. 3 of my friends, one with Feb 2011 EB3 PD and two with late 2010 EB2 PD, they all got EAD/AP few days ago (not expedited) and within 7-10 days got their GC. What a waste? They could have issued EAD/AP to someone with later PDs or needful.

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I guess the moment the GC file is touched and getting to approval, is it not all applications that were submitted together or pending are also approved and hence EA and AP was coming across!

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Originally Posted by Transformer

Not sure how USCIS is processing the cases. Initially when I saw that they are holding up issuing EAD/AP, I thought that was a smart move so that they can spend all resources on issuing GCs. But in first 3 Quarters they neither issued GCs nor EAD/APs. Now I am seeing a different pattern. 3 of my friends, one with Feb 2011 EB3 PD and two with late 2010 EB2 PD, they all got EAD/AP few days ago (not expedited) and within 7-10 days got their GC. What a waste? They could have issued EAD/AP to someone with later PDs or needful.

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Exactly! This is so unnecessary and a tremendous waste of time and effort. My guess is they have departments working in silos and the department working on EAD/AP in NBC is unaware of what is going on with the applications at the field offices.

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Originally Posted by dosaman

Exactly! This is so unnecessary and a tremendous waste of time and effort. My guess is they have departments working in silos and the department working on EAD/AP in NBC is unaware of what is going on with the applications at the field offices.

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485 and EAD/AP application are processed separately. The officer processing EAD/AP application does not have visibly to when GC will be approved. Yes I agree its total waste of time and resource, USCIS should improve their approval process.

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Originally Posted by sling10

My PD is Nov 4th 2011 EB2 and I cannot downgrade because my employer did not allow that in Oct 2020. But, If you are thinking about downgrading, shouldn't you be starting the downgrade process right now rather than waiting till the Oct bulletin is out ?

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For my PD, I am not sure if downgrading at this point is worth it with the next FY bulletin coming out in about 2 months, especially looking at the I-140 processing times for downgrade, don't want to go that route for now.

Recently got an update there?s interviews being scheduled for both of us
Only god knows what they are going to ask

Do any one has idea what type of questions field office asks?

secondary's AP application was lost and hence she has received only EAD ( no AP). We recently created a SR for the AP application which is still under review. The experiences of people getting EAD/AP and GC approval within days gives me hope that as soon as the AP application is touched they will also pick our I-485 application to process as PD is current since May 2021

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Originally Posted by texas_

Recently got an update there?s interviews being scheduled for both of us
Only god knows what they are going to ask

Do any one has idea what type of questions field office asks?

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Huh. Are you EB1?

All of my friends getting greened this year have gotten it without interviews, included EB1C, EB2 and EB3. My company lawyer also said that she has largely not seen any interviews getting scheduled since the pandemic started.

"Do any one has idea what type of questions field office asks?"
I mostly noticed regular job offer, general background related and declarations related questions while browsing forums.

Is it true that
1. 3 year H1-B extension is only available for individuals in retrogressed Green Card categories (i.e., individual with non-current priority dates).
2. If priority date is current - then one is only eligible for 1 year extension?

Gurus - could please confirm?

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Originally Posted by aGCHopefull

Is it true that
1. 3 year H1-B extension is only available for individuals in retrogressed Green Card categories (i.e., individual with non-current priority dates).
2. If priority date is current - then one is only eligible for 1 year extension?

Gurus - could please confirm?

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Yes it is true. Only when the PD is not current, you will get a 3 year H1-B extension.

If your PD is not current:
In order to make a determination as to the H-1B alien beneficiary?s eligibility for an extension of H-1B status under the provisions of ?104(c) of AC21, USCIS adjudicators are instructed to review the Department of State Immigrant Visa Bulletin that was in effect at the time of filing of the Form I-129 petition. If, on the date of filing of the H-1B petition, the Visa Bulletin shows that the alien was subject to a per country or worldwide visa limitation in accordance with the alien?s immigrant visa ?priority date?, then the H-1B extension request under the provisions of ?104(c) of AC21 may be granted. To establish the alien?s priority date, USCIS may accept a copy of the H-1B alien beneficiary?s Form I-140 petition approval notice.

Despite the title of AC21 ?104(c), referring to ?one-time? protection, USCIS may grant such H-1B extensions, in a maximum of three year increments, until such time as the alien?s application for adjustment of status has been processed and a decision made thereupon.

If your PD is current:
USCIS is required to grant the extension of stay pursuant to ?106(a) of AC21, in one-year increments, until such time as a final decision has been made to: A. Deny the application for labor certification, or, if the labor certification is approved, to deny the EB immigrant petition that was filed pursuant to the approved labor certification; B. Deny the EB immigrant petition, or C. Grant or deny the alien?s application for an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status.

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Originally Posted by freedomseeker

Hello Experts

I have been a silent spectator of this forum and I thank you all for the wealth of knowledge that you folks bring in here.

I have an approved I-140 with the Priority-Date of Aug-2011 from Employer-A. I moved to Employer-B in the mid of 2019 with the promise from them that my PERM will be started after a few months of employment. With all kind of the delays from the employer and the law-firm added with the COVID slowness, at-last I was able to get my PERM filed (for my Job-Position with 7 to 9 years of experience) by my current employer (Employer B) in this year March (03/2021). I am awaiting for the PERM approval in a month or two, should there be no any issues to my application from the DOL processing side.

During the time of my I140 filing, if the EB2 dates have not reached my Priority-Date and if the EB3 dates stay as they are now, I will NOT be eligible to file my I140 in the EB2 category and cn file ONLY in EB3 category. However if there were a situation in which my Priority-Date is current in both EB2 and EB3 at the time of my I140 filing which could be sometime in September or October this year, can you please clarify the following queries in such a situation?

1. Is it right that the porting of the Priority-Date from approved I-140 with the old employer happens ONLY in the I-140 filing stage with the new employer?

2. With my case being a Fresh-I140 one (NOT a I-140 downgrade) and if I do concurrent filing of Fresh-I140-PP & I-485, What would be the right category for me to file my I-140 (EB2 or EB3 - ?) to get the GC sooner?

3. I believe I should be able to get my fresh I-140 approved under PP in the 15 days timeframe unless any RFE kicks in. Also I could see comments from some of the experts in this forum that the EB3 filers with downgraded EB2 I-140 in/around my Priority-Date (Aug-2011) tend to get EAD/AP sooner with EB3 and GC sooner with EB2. How does that apply to my case with concurrent filing of fresh I140-PP and I-485?

4. With which category (EB2 or EB3 - ?), can I get the GC sooner if the dates happen to retrogress in the period Oct21-Sep22 or the year after?

5. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB2 if the new ammendment passes?

6. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB3 if the new ammendment passes?

7. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB2 if the new ammendment does NOT pass which allows the FB to EB spillover to happen next year?

8. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB3 if the new ammendment does NOT pass which allows the FB to EB spillover to happen next year?


Regrets for the long content and help me with your expert inputs. Thank you!!

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Bumping up my query again if it had gone un-noticed!

The final action date needs to be current for the restriction of 1 year H1B to apply. If only the DoF is current you can still get a 3 year extension.

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Originally Posted by idliman

Yes it is true. Only when the PD is not current, you will get a 3 year H1-B extension.

If your PD is not current:
In order to make a determination as to the H-1B alien beneficiary?s eligibility for an extension of H-1B status under the provisions of ?104(c) of AC21, USCIS adjudicators are instructed to review the Department of State Immigrant Visa Bulletin that was in effect at the time of filing of the Form I-129 petition. If, on the date of filing of the H-1B petition, the Visa Bulletin shows that the alien was subject to a per country or worldwide visa limitation in accordance with the alien?s immigrant visa ?priority date?, then the H-1B extension request under the provisions of ?104(c) of AC21 may be granted. To establish the alien?s priority date, USCIS may accept a copy of the H-1B alien beneficiary?s Form I-140 petition approval notice.

Despite the title of AC21 ?104(c), referring to ?one-time? protection, USCIS may grant such H-1B extensions, in a maximum of three year increments, until such time as the alien?s application for adjustment of status has been processed and a decision made thereupon.

If your PD is current:
USCIS is required to grant the extension of stay pursuant to ?106(a) of AC21, in one-year increments, until such time as a final decision has been made to: A. Deny the application for labor certification, or, if the labor certification is approved, to deny the EB immigrant petition that was filed pursuant to the approved labor certification; B. Deny the EB immigrant petition, or C. Grant or deny the alien?s application for an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status.

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Thanks @idliman for detailed info

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Originally Posted by rsnake

The final action date needs to be current for the restriction of 1 year H1B to apply. If only the DoF is current you can still get a 3 year extension.

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Thanks @rsnake

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Originally Posted by dosaman

Exactly! This is so unnecessary and a tremendous waste of time and effort. My guess is they have departments working in silos and the department working on EAD/AP in NBC is unaware of what is going on with the applications at the field offices.

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Don't feel too bad about waste of time or effort. They hardly spend more than 10 mins on a EAD/AP application. They should have approved them ages ago. Plus USCIS keeps weaponizing COVID as an excuse to not do stuff. Yes, I do believe COVID played a part in slowing things down but from what I have heard, the USCIS Adjudicating Officers always have worked from home long before COVID. So while COVID may affect services like biometrics and interviews, it should have no impact on raising RFEs or adjudicating the applications.

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Originally Posted by vsivarama

Don't feel too bad about waste of time or effort. They hardly spend more than 10 mins on a EAD/AP application. They should have approved them ages ago. Plus USCIS keeps weaponizing COVID as an excuse to not do stuff. Yes, I do believe COVID played a part in slowing things down but from what I have heard, the USCIS Adjudicating Officers always have worked from home long before COVID. So while COVID may affect services like biometrics and interviews, it should have no impact on raising RFEs or adjudicating the applications.

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It could be that it is just 10 minutes spent on an EADP/AP application but if you factor in the time spent on generating EAD/AP letters, printing EAD/AP cards and mailing them out it is a lot of time, effort and money. And to think that they are doing this to thousands of documentarily qualified applicants who have been current for a few months - it is just criminal. Reminds me of an often told but possibly apocryphal story about Newton spending a lot of time to carve out a small hole for a cat's kittens when he had already carved a bigger hole for the cat.

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Originally Posted by dosaman

It could be that it is just 10 minutes spent on an EADP/AP application but if you factor in the time spent on generating EAD/AP letters, printing EAD/AP cards and mailing them out it is a lot of time, effort and money. And to think that they are doing this to thousands of documentarily qualified applicants who have been current for a few months - it is just criminal. Reminds me of an often told but possibly apocryphal story about Newton spending a lot of time to carve out a small hole for a cat's kittens when he had already carved a bigger hole for the cat.

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I agree with your sentiment, but I am just cautioning you in your line of thinking. You feel that those 10 mins could be spent processing a 485 application. My sentiment is that they decided to use those 10 mins doing something rather than wasting them doing nothing. How do I know that? When I tried to raise an expedited request for EAD with a potential job loss scenario (Thankfully things have worked out since on the job front) their response was does your spouse have a job and earn enough to pay for your bills? In short their attitude was unless you are on the streets begging for money, we can't be bothered to look into your case (even after 7 months of waiting at that time for the EAD). Dignity of an individual in a job loss scenario holds zero value to them. FYI they hardly sent out EADs to 30% of the applicants even after 9 months and as a trade off how many extra GCs did they approve compared to last FY till now?

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Originally Posted by vsivarama

I agree with your sentiment, but I am just cautioning you in your line of thinking. You feel that those 10 mins could be spent processing a 485 application. My sentiment is that they decided to use those 10 mins doing something rather than wasting them doing nothing. How do I know that? When I tried to raise an expedited request for EAD with a potential job loss scenario (Thankfully things have worked out since on the job front) their response was does your spouse have a job and earn enough to pay for your bills? In short their attitude was unless you are on the streets begging for money, we can't be bothered to look into your case (even after 7 months of waiting at that time for the EAD). Dignity of an individual in a job loss scenario holds zero value to them. FYI they hardly sent out EADs to 30% of the applicants even after 9 months and as a trade off how many extra GCs did they approve compared to last FY till now?

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Agree with you brother. They asked me same and I was shocked. What has my wife's job got to do with my job loss due to their inefficiency. EAD/AP is a scam. The process can be automated with checks and validations from online applying and all the way to printing/mailing of card especially for C9 categories. Heck, what does that human check in those 10 min. Is the I-485 still pending, last I-94 status and if the old EAD/AP card is expiring within 180 days? Any small scale IT company can create this system for them.

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Originally Posted by andhraguy

485 and EAD/AP application are processed separately. The officer processing EAD/AP application does not have visibly to when GC will be approved. Yes I agree its total waste of time and resource, USCIS should improve their approval process.

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Andharguy,

I submitted my Medicals and I-485J on Friday waiting for ack and approval.

Thanks,
Sree

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Originally Posted by andhraguy

485 and EAD/AP application are processed separately. The officer processing EAD/AP application does not have visibly to when GC will be approved. Yes I agree its total waste of time and resource, USCIS should improve their approval process.

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I submitted my RFE (medicals and I-485J) on 7/16/20201 and waiting for ack and response.

Thanks,
Sree

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Originally Posted by andhraguy

485 and EAD/AP application are processed separately. The officer processing EAD/AP application does not have visibly to when GC will be approved. Yes I agree its total waste of time and resource, USCIS should improve their approval process.

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Well, it may not mean much now. But last year around same time it was a big thing. BTW me and few friends in my circle have been seeing EAD approved since July 1st week.

Just watched Charlie's live youtube chat and it's bad news.

• EB Visa wastage this year will be around 100K
  
• Consequently filing dates for FY2022 are not expected to move significantly even if there is spillover from FB again, because those would be potentially used for the existing demand from FY2021's applications that will be still pending on Oct 1 2021. Charlie is seeing high demand from EB2 and EB3 from Oct filings. He responded to specific questions asking if 2017(definitely not) or 2016(most likely not) will be filing date current in Oct 2021.
  
• Dates will not be made current like in 2007 because back then there was lack of demand due to which Charlie made all the dates current to generate more demand, the difference this time is there is lot of pending demand with USCIS
  
• Due to increased FB demand, spillover is likely to be 150K and not higher like previously predicted.
  

Basically the people that have already filed in Oct 2021 and waiting have a second chance next FY. But USCIS may waste next years quota as well.

People with EB3 dates from 2015 and EB2 folks who were unable to downgrade this year will be pretty much screwed without even a chance for EAD/AP.

And all this assuming the new FB visas spillover this year. If they do not because of Grace's amendment that was approved by a subcommittee of the House, then a large percentage of Oct 2021 filers will not get a GC for a very long time.

Basically, the party is over and it's time to face the music.

All - please bear with the blog today as our hosting provider is undergoing their maintenance (nothing specific to our blog). Thank you for your patience.

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Originally Posted by korlakunta08

I submitted my RFE (medicals and I-485J) on 7/16/20201 and waiting for ack and response.

Thanks,
Sree

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Does scanned copy of "signed" 485j and G325A good enough to reply to that RFE ?

(or)

Do we need to send the 485j and G325A RFE documents with original signatures?

Buddy All I can say is you are thinking too much and applying for logic where Laws of Logic has no chance just like Light near Black Hole.

So here are my responses as you put so much effort in framing your queries and I hate to see it going waste.

1. YES, date porting happens at I-140 stage
2. Thumb rule says higher the category, better chance of you getting GC. As mad rush of downgrade I would say go with EB2 with assumptions that after post-covid-spillover mad rush EB1 will be current and will give you spillovers. But its your call which category you feel comfortable assuming all things equal i.e age-out kids, job advancement/stability etc
3. I am exactly in same boat. Still wating for my BioMetric letter even thou my file is complete including Medicals since 2 months. So I will plead laws of logic and USCIS balck hole analogy i.e USCIS will giveth when the felt it
4. Too much calculation - read SPEC post here how spill-over Vertical and Horizontal works and go from there. If you believe vertical spillover is possible then EB2, Horizontal EB3 but keep in mind EB3 is super set of EB2 so it act as catch all
5/6/7/8 - Amendment pass - LOL. All I say is - I have a bridge here in SFO which is golden and I would like to sell. I have better chance of selling that bridge to someone then US Congress passing any immigration law

Settle in CA / OR / WA or CO - grass is really green here and relaxes you very well during these stressful times. You know what I mean ;)

Happy Waiting.

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Originally Posted by freedomseeker

Hello Experts,

I have been a silent spectator of this forum and I thank you all for the wealth of knowledge that you folks bring in here.

I have an approved I-140 with the Priority-Date of Aug-2011 from Employer-A. I moved to Employer-B in the mid of 2019 with the promise from them that my PERM will be started after a few months of employment. With all kind of the delays from the employer and the law-firm added with the COVID slowness, at-last I was able to get my PERM filed (for my Job-Position with 7 to 9 years of experience) by my current employer (Employer B) in this year March (03/2021). I am awaiting for the PERM approval in a month or two, should there be no any issues to my application from the DOL processing side.

During the time of my I140 filing, if the EB2 dates have not reached my Priority-Date and if the EB3 dates stay as they are now, I will NOT be eligible to file my I140 in the EB2 category and cn file ONLY in EB3 category. However if there were a situation in which my Priority-Date is current in both EB2 and EB3 at the time of my I140 filing which could be sometime in September or October this year, can you please clarify the following queries in such a situation?

1. Is it right that the porting of the Priority-Date from approved I-140 with the old employer happens ONLY in the I-140 filing stage with the new employer?

2. With my case being a Fresh-I140 one (NOT a I-140 downgrade) and if I do concurrent filing of Fresh-I140-PP & I-485, What would be the right category for me to file my I-140 (EB2 or EB3 - ?) to get the GC sooner?

3. I believe I should be able to get my fresh I-140 approved under PP in the 15 days timeframe unless any RFE kicks in. Also I could see comments from some of the experts in this forum that the EB3 filers with downgraded EB2 I-140 in/around my Priority-Date (Aug-2011) tend to get EAD/AP sooner with EB3 and GC sooner with EB2. How does that apply to my case with concurrent filing of fresh I140-PP and I-485?

4. With which category (EB2 or EB3 - ?), can I get the GC sooner if the dates happen to retrogress in the period Oct21-Sep22 or the year after?

5. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB2 if the new ammendment passes?

6. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB3 if the new ammendment passes?

7. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB2 if the new ammendment does NOT pass which allows the FB to EB spillover to happen next year?

8. What are the effects and impacts to my case with EB3 if the new ammendment does NOT pass which allows the FB to EB spillover to happen next year?


Regrets for the long content and help me with your expert inputs. Thank you!!

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