I485 Information, details and scenario playout

[idliman]

Just curious, My attorney has applied just the 485, 485J along with 944 for me and my spouse but not 765 & 131 & medicals claiming he will do it in November. If we need to file the EAD & AP, do we need the 485 receipt notice to do that? Also can we submit medicals along with EAD & AP? As my 485 application reached USCIS today (Oct 19th) by which the new fees are not kicked in, do we still need to pay the fees for 765 & 131 when applying in November if the fees kicks in by then? Your responses are highly appreciated.

I think you need to wait for the I-485 receipt notice and hope that USCIS does not increase the fees from now till the day they receive your EAD/AP application. It would have been better to send it now.

You don't need an attorney to apply for I-765 and I-131; Many of us have done it ourselves multiple times. Take a look at the EAD/AP forum. There is a documents list along with sample cover letter and attachments. The first time you do it it may take you 2 or 3 hours. However, you can ask your questions and people will be able to help you out. You can get started now itself. In these many years, I have not seen any rejection of I765/I131. In the worst case, I have seen people getting RFE for photos.

[Chilli19]

I think you need to wait for the I-485 receipt notice and hope that USCIS does not increase the fees from now till the day they receive your EAD/AP application. It would have been better to send it now.

You don't need an attorney to apply for I-765 and I-131; Many of us have done it ourselves multiple times. Take a look at the EAD/AP forum. There is a documents list along with sample cover letter and attachments. The first time you do it it may take you 2 or 3 hours. However, you can ask your questions and people will be able to help you out. You can get started now itself. In these many years, I have not seen any rejection of I765/I131. In the worst case, I have seen people getting RFE for photos.

Thanks Idliman. i had no option as my attorney was very reluctant not to include medicals, 765 & 131 applications along with 485 as he wants to push just 485 first. Now i have it filled in and get ready and send it as soon as i get the 485 receipt notice. Thanks again.

[inspired_p]

I think you need to wait for the I-485 receipt notice and hope that USCIS does not increase the fees from now till the day they receive your EAD/AP application. It would have been better to send it now.

You don't need an attorney to apply for I-765 and I-131; Many of us have done it ourselves multiple times. Take a look at the EAD/AP forum. There is a documents list along with sample cover letter and attachments. The first time you do it it may take you 2 or 3 hours. However, you can ask your questions and people will be able to help you out. You can get started now itself. In these many years, I have not seen any rejection of I765/I131. In the worst case, I have seen people getting RFE for photos.

I agree. There is no extra documentation required, if lawyer can file I-485 , then all documentation needed for I-765 and I-131 should be available.
No idea why lawyer postponed it to next month

[Chilli19]

I agree. There is no extra documentation required, if lawyer can file I-485 , then all documentation needed for I-765 and I-131 should be available.
No idea why lawyer postponed it to next month

No idea why, it was the case with almost all the applicants that went in with this attorney.

[srimurthy]

I dont know the exact process
Can u please guide me.
Do I have to wait for them to do final i485 draft, then do medicals ? Or
Should I take my appointment and get it ready?

You don't need to wait to fill the I485 form to get a medicals appointment. And depending on your location the medicals may themselves take a week or so. First you fill the basic info in I-693 form and hand it over at the doctors office and get the prescription for blood work and tests and go to LabCorp or Quest. or do the blood work at the doctors office and finish your examination and sign the documents. And then wait for the doctors office to call you when the reports come in and they sign and seal the documents.

Depending on the area you can cross check with the diagnostic centers if they have the TB Kits available and walk in early morning. That way the results should be in docs office in a couple of days. If there are backlogs and big queue and TB kits availability, it may take 5 to 7 days for test results and then a couple more days for Doc's office to complete and hand over the forms.

[longwaitgigu]

You can do the medicals separately. But if I were you, I will not do the Medicals now.

Why do u advise to do later
Fragomen is slowest for us, so I was thinking it should be done in week
Then can complete application altogether if interview waived and not waived for RFE and waste 3-4 months
Am I missing something

[longwaitgigu]

I693 form should be available with the uscis approved dr?

[smuggymba]

Anyone with Eb2I priority date in 2010 received RFE for medical recently? My priority date is March 2nd 2010 and received Medical and maintenance of status since my last entry on H1 RFE in 2018 and no updates since then. My medicals are already expired as i got them done September 2018.

My EAD/AP renewal just approved last week end and this did not trigger any RFE either for medical on I-485. I never sent Supplement J as it wasn't asked in the RFE in 2018, do i need to send Supplement J if i never changed my Job after applying I-485? Will sending Supplement J voluntarily trigger a medical RFE on I-485?

My PD is March 30, 2010 and I haven't received anything.

[nbk1976]

Anyone with Eb2I priority date in 2010 received RFE for medical recently? My priority date is March 2nd 2010 and received Medical and maintenance of status since my last entry on H1 RFE in 2018 and no updates since then. My medicals are already expired as i got them done September 2018.

My EAD/AP renewal just approved last week end and this did not trigger any RFE either for medical on I-485. I never sent Supplement J as it wasn't asked in the RFE in 2018, do i need to send Supplement J if i never changed my Job after applying I-485? Will sending Supplement J voluntarily trigger a medical RFE on I-485?

My lawyer is of the opinion that not to supply any additional information without being asked for it. They won't be a reference number to track that document and you might have to send another one anyway.

If you didn't file the Supp J with your I-485 then don't send it now until they ask for it. They will likely ask you for the Supp J because it has been so long since you filed I-485, and they have no way o knowing if you are with the same employer or not or whether that job on the I-140 still even exists.

By all means, have your Supp J ready and filled out, but I wouldn't send it out to them unless they ask it.

[inspired_p]

Now if they do the right thing by hiring more personnel on account of getting all the money from moving the filing dates ahead, they will be able to ramp up the approvals. That combined with waiving interviews will help. At this time, a lot hinges on the elections and the decisions made immediately after that until January no matter who wins.

Assume they will drag their feet as much as they can. What I really want to know is can USCIS keep all other countries "current" even after they reach their 7% limit for this year, basically siphoning the extra visas to other countries rather than India. I keep hearing "hidden demand" in philippines and South korea in EB3 category.. but ideally that demand should not matter because those countries should get capped off at 7% ( ~5K visas) for this year.

[Moveon]

My lawyer is of the opinion that not to supply any additional information without being asked for it. They won't be a reference number to track that document and you might have to send another one anyway.

If you didn't file the Supp J with your I-485 then don't send it now until they ask for it. They will likely ask you for the Supp J because it has been so long since you filed I-485, and they have no way o knowing if you are with the same employer or not or whether that job on the I-140 still even exists.

By all means, have your Supp J ready and filled out, but I wouldn't send it out to them unless they ask it.

I agree , do not send more info than requested as that might lead to delays . The system is antiquated and cannot handle exceptions, so sending more info might throw your application into another line.

[incredible]

I agree , do not send more info than requested as that might lead to delays . The system is antiquated and cannot handle exceptions, so sending more info might throw your application into another line.

Hi Gurus

I have a quick question. I am Feb, 2010 (EB2 and RD of 2012 when I submitted I485 at that time) and hoping to become current in the next couple of months (for FAD). I received an RFE back in 2018 for both supplement-J and medicals and submitted them. I have changed jobs earlier this year and proactively submitted submitted supplement-j (based on the company policy, around Jan of 2020). I am looking at another promising opportunity at one of the Big 4 companies. Should I wait in my current company and assume and I will get GC as soon as I become current and go to the new company in few months after getting GC? Should I pursue the new opportunity and just go to the new company? If I go to the new company do I need to submit supplement-J or just wait for USCIS asking for it. Any help is highly appreciated.

[Moveon]

Hi Gurus

I have a quick question. I am Feb, 2010 (EB2 and RD of 2012 when I submitted I485 at that time) and hoping to become current in the next couple of months (for FAD). I received an RFE back in 2018 for both supplement-J and medicals and submitted them. I have changed jobs earlier this year and proactively submitted submitted supplement-j (based on the company policy, around Jan of 2020). I am looking at another promising opportunity at one of the Big 4 companies. Should I wait in my current company and assume and I will get GC as soon as I become current and go to the new company in few months after getting GC? Should I pursue the new opportunity and just go to the new company? If I go to the new company do I need to submit supplement-J or just wait for USCIS asking for it. Any help is highly appreciated.

You do not need to submit Supplement-J when you change jobs, there is no such rule . I would switch if I were to be in your place . Make sure that your new company will give you lawyer access to file when dates get current .

[incredible]

You do not need to submit Supplement-J when you change jobs, there is no such rule . I would switch if I were to be in your place . Make sure that your new company will give you lawyer access to file when dates get current .

Thank you very much.

[idliman]

Hi Gurus

I have a quick question. I am Feb, 2010 (EB2 and RD of 2012 when I submitted I485 at that time) and hoping to become current in the next couple of months (for FAD). I received an RFE back in 2018 for both supplement-J and medicals and submitted them. I have changed jobs earlier this year and proactively submitted submitted supplement-j (based on the company policy, around Jan of 2020). I am looking at another promising opportunity at one of the Big 4 companies. Should I wait in my current company and assume and I will get GC as soon as I become current and go to the new company in few months after getting GC? Should I pursue the new opportunity and just go to the new company? If I go to the new company do I need to submit supplement-J or just wait for USCIS asking for it. Any help is highly appreciated.

As explained before there is no requirement to proactively submit I485J or AC21. In fact most attorneys will discourage doing it and advise the company against it. However, once you had submitted a first time I485J, there is a chance that USCIS might approve your case without another RFE (even if you had switched jobs). It depends on the book-keeping from USCIS and adjudicating officer. Sometimes people proactively submit I485J. The two reasons that I can think of are:

1. Their PD is about to become current; They want to keep an updated medical on file; Sending a I485J will automatically kick-in a RFE for medicals; In four months time their I485 will be complete for themselves and their dependents. Do this only if your same or similar job justification is very good. Otherwise you are taking chance on the denial of I485J.
2. Maybe the applicant is facing a "reduction in force" or "layoff" environment; Proactively submitting I485J will probably buy the applicant two more years.

There is very low chance of Feb 2010 EB2I becoming current immediately. The 7% quota for this year (approx 5200) will push the dates only till end of Jan 2010. Maybe Feb 2010 (if you consider any down-porting to EB3I). So any movement after that date will be based on quarterly spillover or yearly spillover. If DT admin wins, I don't think they will move PDs till Summer of 2021. They will go slow and try to waste as much GCs as possible. If JB wins, then suddenly a pro immigration admin will take charge. Then the PDs might move faster. In any case it is going to take a few bulletins (may be 3 or more) for your PD to become current. My analysis is based on the past trends with DT admin. I would be happy to be proved wrong and the dates move faster.

In most likelihood, your medicals will expire before your PD becomes current. So you can switch companies and make sure that they agree to support your I485J. You might file a I485J after joining the new company or wait for an RFE and respond. Hope this helps.

[incredible]

As explained before there is no requirement to proactively submit I485J or AC21. In fact most attorneys will discourage doing it and advise the company against it. However, once you had submitted a first time I485J, there is a chance that USCIS might approve your case without another RFE (even if you had switched jobs). It depends on the book-keeping from USCIS and adjudicating officer. Sometimes people proactively submit I485J. The two reasons that I can think of are:

1. Their PD is about to become current; They want to keep an updated medical on file; Sending a I485J will automatically kick-in a RFE for medicals; In four months time their I485 will be complete for themselves and their dependents. Do this only if your same or similar job justification is very good. Otherwise you are taking chance on the denial of I485J.
2. Maybe the applicant is facing a "reduction in force" or "layoff" environment; Proactively submitting I485J will probably buy the applicant two more years.

There is very low chance of Feb 2010 EB2I becoming current immediately. The 7% quota for this year (approx 5200) will push the dates only till end of Jan 2010. Maybe Feb 2010 (if you consider any down-porting to EB3I). So any movement after that date will be based on quarterly spillover or yearly spillover. If DT admin wins, I don't think they will move PDs till Summer of 2021. They will go slow and try to waste as much GCs as possible. If JB wins, then suddenly a pro immigration admin will take charge. Then the PDs might move faster. In any case it is going to take a few bulletins (may be 3 or more) for your PD to become current. My analysis is based on the past trends with DT admin. I would be happy to be proved wrong and the dates move faster.

In most likelihood, your medicals will expire before your PD becomes current. So you can switch companies and make sure that they agree to support your I485J. You might file a I485J after joining the new company or wait for an RFE and respond. Hope this helps.

Thank you for detailed explanation. This helps clarify my thoughts. Not sure why my employer's attorney wanted to file 485J back in January of this year when I joined them. But anyway, now since it is filed already, I can't do much about it. I haven't received any update on that either for close to 9 months now. Regarding date movements, you may be right as Feb is still 4 + months away (from Sep 09) and with month or two months at the most movement, it may reach in Jan or Feb of 2021 (that too if all goes well).
I remember back in 2018 when USCIS sent RFE asking for 485 J and when I submitted it, it got approved (and received approval mail) within 3 months. But this year's 485 J has no activity on it after it was submitted in Jan/Feb time frame. My medicals would also have expired as it was filed last in 2018 August, as part of RFE response.

Your response threw another question for me though, in case my 485J that was filed in Jan from my current company, gets denied, should I immediately file a new 485 J from my new company? what would be the scenario of 485 J denial. My same/similar position is been maintained for the last 12 years. I have refused or not tried for any promotions and stayed true to my roles for quite some time, just so that i do not want to jeopardize the 485.

[idliman]

Your response threw another question for me though, in case my 485J that was filed in Jan from my current company, gets denied, should I immediately file a new 485 J from my new company? what would be the scenario of 485 J denial. My same/similar position is been maintained for the last 12 years. I have refused or not tried for any promotions and stayed true to my roles for quite some time, just so that i do not want to jeopardize the 485.

I485-Js get their own receipt number. So you can check on their status. There are two ways of checking status: 1) via case status and 2) via DHS account. In my case one of the sites, show I485J as approved. The other one does not have any status updates. So you might want to check on both sites. Also I did not get an approval notice on I485J. Maybe it was sent to the attorney or it was not sent at all.

I have not heard about anyone's I485J being denied. Maybe the standards are very loose. So I don't think you should worry. My guess is it has been approved internally. If you had any problems, they would have notified you already. Don't know if you can call in using I485J receipt notice to check status. Maybe others on this forum have better idea / exposure on this.

As explained, there is no requirement of I485J unless a RFE is sent. So maybe the USCIS process is not setup well when someone proactively sends I485J. Just a guess. Good Luck.

[incredible]

I485-Js get their own receipt number. So you can check on their status. There are two ways of checking status: 1) via case status and 2) via DHS account. In my case one of the sites, show I485J as approved. The other one does not have any status updates. So you might want to check on both sites. Also I did not get an approval notice on I485J. Maybe it was sent to the attorney or it was not sent at all.

I have not heard about anyone's I485J being denied. Maybe the standards are very loose. So I don't think you should worry. My guess is it has been approved internally. If you had any problems, they would have notified you already. Don't know if you can call in using I485J receipt notice to check status. Maybe others on this forum have better idea / exposure on this.

As explained, there is no requirement of I485J unless a RFE is sent. So maybe the USCIS process is not setup well when someone proactively sends I485J. Just a guess. Good Luck.

Thanks Idllman. Both the websites show that they have received the documents and sent receipt. They may probably pick it up when the date is current or as you said may have internally approved it already. The reason for my question was that the company that I am in now (which filed 485 J in Jan) is a startup and they do not have a lot of profits (although they have good revenues).

[vsivarama]

Thanks Idllman. Both the websites show that they have received the documents and sent receipt. They may probably pick it up when the date is current or as you said may have internally approved it already. The reason for my question was that the company that I am in now (which filed 485 J in Jan) is a startup and they do not have a lot of profits (although they have good revenues).

A company's profits only come into question if they are not paying you the prevailing wage in the Perm determination. Having said that, it's a check that's made for i140 filing (ability to pay). If you are already on AOS, I am not sure if they will revisit all the Perm details.

[incredible]

A company's profits only come into question if they are not paying you the prevailing wage in the Perm determination. Having said that, it's a check that's made for i140 filing (ability to pay). If you are already on AOS, I am not sure if they will revisit all the Perm details.

That is a valid point. But 485 Supplement J has couple of questions that wants to know about the company's revenue and profits. That is generally not something to worry about when working for big or even most of the companies. When working for startups those two are little bit difficult to answer for two reasons. Startups may not have any revenues especially in the first or second year (as they are still trying to build software) and even if they have good revenues, they may not have yet breached the break-even and may not have achieved profit. USCIS need not worry about all this as long as company is paying the prevailing wage, but who knows though.

[Viking]

Have been following the forum for a while. Few questions:
1) I am currently employed with a firm where they are filing my I-1485/EAD (June 2011 EB3). I am in a layoff situation as well, while I am trying to buy some time, not sure if I would get complete 6 months
2) What is I am laid off before even I get EAD? If I find another employment on h1B, my EAD can still come and legally valid or I need to file another I-765
3) I understand you need 6 months after I-485 application for AC21 portability. But I heard conflicting view. Some of the folks say, it it good as long as your previous employer does not revoke I-140

Would really appreciate all the insights, unfortunately got into this situation when things turned on brighter side

[texas_]

Hi Gurus,
Just curious, what happens if a person has EAD/AP approved and loses Job.
Do they have to go back to India ?

[Zenzone]

Hi Gurus,
Just curious, what happens if a person has EAD/AP approved and loses Job.
Do they have to go back to India ?

If 180 days have passed from the pending I-485 receipt notice date, you are good. You will have to find the next job in the same or similar job category and file a supplement - J form and adjust when your final action date becomes current.

[srimurthy]

If 180 days have passed from the pending I-485 receipt notice date, you are good. You will have to find the next job in the same or similar job category and file a supplement - J form and adjust when your final action date becomes current.

It also depends if we are using EAD or still using and on H1. If H1, I guess you have a grace period (don't know the no of days - but the no of days one can be in no status) to find a job and if you switching employer file for transfer.
Others may correct

[mknop1]

If 180 days have passed from the pending I-485 receipt notice date, you are good. You will have to find the next job in the same or similar job category and file a supplement - J form and adjust when your final action date becomes current.

What if, god forbid, you don’t find a job for like 6 months ? How much of a grace period do you have ? Trying to understand what it means when it’s 180 days after filing 485.