General Immigration Discussion

[qblogfan]

I can't believe these agencies can hold a case for two years. What kind of things do they need to check and take two years? 2 years waiting is inhumane!

These agencies don't care about our plans of future life. These fat asses only want to take long vacations and enjoy life. They don't care about the applicants and their families at all!

They just don't give a damn to what kind of impact this long wait can cause to the applicants. If a case is denied after two years waiting, the applicant may get screwed big time because he/she has to change plans for the future.

I don't think EB applicants are being treated in a humane way.

Pleasantly surprised to see the 8 month only Lag in PERM audits. When I got audited in 07, it frigging took them two years to get back to me.

[krodhityogi]

yes, my perm ended up being denied after a wait of 2 years+. the silver lining was the support from my company and my company's lawyers that provided all sorts of supporting documents asking the CO to reconsider the decision. In the end, the denial was overturned to approved.

i am thinking of relocating and filing another PERM in the near future, and the nightmares have started to come back. however, the above numbers provide some hope.

I can't believe these agencies can hold a case for two years. What kind of things do they need to check and take two years? 2 years waiting is inhumane!

These agencies don't care about our plans of future life. These fat asses only want to take long vacations and enjoy life. They don't care about the applicants and their families at all!

They just don't give a damn to what kind of impact this long wait can cause to the applicants. If a case is denied after two years waiting, the applicant may get screwed big time because he/she has to change plans for the future.

I don't think EB applicants are being treated in a humane way.

[qblogfan]

All the best to you and your family. I understand your frustration and it is a crazy system. You are lucky to get PERM approved after audit and hope you will get GC ASAP!

yes, my perm ended up being denied after a wait of 2 years+. the silver lining was the support from my company and my company's lawyers that provided all sorts of supporting documents asking the CO to reconsider the decision. In the end, the denial was overturned to approved.

i am thinking of relocating and filing another PERM in the near future, and the nightmares have started to come back. however, the above numbers provide some hope.

[Jan2008]

Hello All,

Sorry this is outside of the usual topic but I wanted to check if all the folks from the east coast are safe and sound after Hurricane Irene rolls out to the north tip of USA. Take care all!

P.s. Q, please feel free to delete this as this is outside the forum topic. Thanks!

[Jan2008]

Q & other Guru's,

I have a question and this is outside of the forum topic. One of my collegaue has a valid H1 till Sept 30, 2011. Despite pushing for renewal since June, her employer recently took up her case. They filed her LCA on Aug 24th and are planning premium processing for H1 renewal. What are her chances of getting approval before Sept 30, 2011? If she gets rejected (God forbid) and files I-539 (her Husband has valid H1 till Feb 2012) and does not hear back before Sept 30.. Is she out of status? Does she have to leave the country before H1 expires and get visa from home country? Please advice as she is not able to get a hold of her company lawyer.

[veni001]

Q & other Guru's,

I have a question and this is outside of the forum topic. One of my collegaue has a valid H1 till Sept 30, 2011. Despite pushing for renewal since June, her employer recently took up her case. They filed her LCA on Aug 24th and are planning premium processing for H1 renewal. What are her chances of getting approval before Sept 30, 2011? If she gets rejected (God forbid) and files I-539 (her Husband has valid H1 till Feb 2012) and does not hear back before Sept 30.. Is she out of status? Does she have to leave the country before H1 expires and get visa from home country? Please advice as she is not able to get a hold of her company lawyer.

Jan2008,
USCIS will make a decision within 15 days upon receipt for PP cases, assuming no RFE.

As long as H1B is filed by next week, +ve or -ve outcome should be known before current status expiration (in this case 09/30/11).

For what ever be the reason if your colleague is expecting -ve decission she can file for H1-->H4 by end of Sept'11.

[haripathhi]

To add to Q and Veni's replies,

If they are planning to file in Premium Processing, USCIS must send a reply within 15 days. In case they issue an RFE, based on the recent memo's regarding RFE's I think they have a month (from the RFE issue date) to respond (please google this info). Also, a candidate is legally able to stay in the country if they have filed for extension (just based on the receipt number) for 180 days (from the filing date). USCIS will answer any questions pertaining to the the filed petition only after 60 days of the filing date. Hope this info helps...Good luck to the candidate!

Q & other Guru's,

I have a question and this is outside of the forum topic. One of my collegaue has a valid H1 till Sept 30, 2011. Despite pushing for renewal since June, her employer recently took up her case. They filed her LCA on Aug 24th and are planning premium processing for H1 renewal. What are her chances of getting approval before Sept 30, 2011? If she gets rejected (God forbid) and files I-539 (her Husband has valid H1 till Feb 2012) and does not hear back before Sept 30.. Is she out of status? Does she have to leave the country before H1 expires and get visa from home country? Please advice as she is not able to get a hold of her company lawyer.

[qesehmk]

Those on east coast... enjoy the work from home.

[mesan123]

Hmm no work from home for most...as no power in there homes too ... i am lucky as i didnt loose power but towns next to me all dont hve power...

Those on east coast... enjoy the work from home.

[Govindagovinda]

Hi, i have been following q's blog for quiet a while quietly. I am really amazed to see your depth of knowledge in different areas.... Immigration to Economy.I love the comraderie among members and respect to others.Keep up the great work... u r the complete guide for a lot of people like me who are bad at number crunching and interpretation of technical jargon. Thanks to all of you....
Now coming to the point, i have a question......
I am working for a consulting firm, say A and work work as consultant for the client B. My client is offering me a permanent position.
My Priority date is December 2008. Don't remember the exact date. My employer is a nice guy and i think he will be fine with me taking the permanent position and don't withdraw I140.
My client starts GC process after 1 yr.
My question is if the dates become current before i get my new I140, whats going to happen? Can i still apply 485 with old I140?

[qesehmk]

That would be on the border of being considered a fraud. Why risk so much when your new 140 may already be on its way.

Technically if employer A would be willing to respond to any USCIS audit etc and say yes this would be future employment, possibly this could be ok. But still I think you have so many things going well for you, I really wouldn't recommend thinking of using old 140.

But lets see what other people think. I would be glad to be wrong.

Hi, i have been following q's blog for quiet a while quietly. I am really amazed to see your depth of knowledge in different areas.... Immigration to Economy.I love the comraderie among members and respect to others.Keep up the great work... u r the complete guide for a lot of people like me who are bad at number crunching and interpretation of technical jargon. Thanks to all of you....
Now coming to the point, i have a question......
I am working for a consulting firm, say A and work work as consultant for the client B. My client is offering me a permanent position.
My Priority date is December 2008. Don't remember the exact date. My employer is a nice guy and i think he will be fine with me taking the permanent position and don't withdraw I140.
My client starts GC process after 1 yr.
My question is if the dates become current before i get my new I140, whats going to happen? Can i still apply 485 with old I140?

[haripathhi]

Hi GG,

Welcome to this blog! If the dates become current (that's a big IF - going by the latest trend of DOS/USCIS) and you apply based on your old I-140 with your previous employer, there is a fat chance of a RFE.

Now here's the part that might be conducive to you: If your PD is Dec 2008, by the time your date becomes current, you'd have your latest I-140 in hand and ready to file I-485 through your new employer.

Good Luck!

Hi, i have been following q's blog for quiet a while quietly. I am really amazed to see your depth of knowledge in different areas.... Immigration to Economy.I love the comraderie among members and respect to others.Keep up the great work... u r the complete guide for a lot of people like me who are bad at number crunching and interpretation of technical jargon. Thanks to all of you....
Now coming to the point, i have a question......
I am working for a consulting firm, say A and work work as consultant for the client B. My client is offering me a permanent position.
My Priority date is December 2008. Don't remember the exact date. My employer is a nice guy and i think he will be fine with me taking the permanent position and don't withdraw I140.
My client starts GC process after 1 yr.
My question is if the dates become current before i get my new I140, whats going to happen? Can i still apply 485 with old I140?

[polarbear]

quick question - for the birth certificate "affidavit" that needs to be supplied as a supporting document, does anyone know how the affidavit can be obtained if the parents are not in India but in a third country (for example Dubai). will the affidavit have to be notarized at the Indian embassy in that country? Anyone in similar situation.

[TheTexan]

Hello All,

I am planning a trip to India next year and was thinking of spending some days in Frankfurt or Paris. I believe I'll require a schengen visa. Has anyone here obtained one before? Is too much of a hassle especially with out H1B - GC in process background?


Thanks.

[qesehmk]

I am planning a trip to India next year and was thinking of spending some days in Frankfurt or Paris. I believe I'll require a schengen visa. Has anyone here obtained one before? Is too much of a hassle especially with out H1B - GC in process background?

i don't see any problems .... you need to send your passport to a first country you will land in that region and get the visa. I had done it once but that was for business purpose. But I really don't know why they wouldn't give you tourist visa.

[donvar]

Some friends and I are doing a campain to push for quarter spillover. It will benefit both EB2C and EB2I.

What has been your plan so far in the campaign?

Q and other Gurus,
Would it help if we make an appointment with the CIS Ombudsman regarding this issue?

Before, we do that, we need to form a group.
Also, we need to see what action CIS Ombudsman would take , except just putting it down as recommendation later in 2012 report to USCIS.

[qblogfan]

We sent emails to local congress people and ask them to pay attention to the low consumption of EB visas in the Q1/Q2.

According to the law, CO should assign spillover on a quarter basis, but he is not doing that. His decision caused EB2 C&I addtional 6-9 months extra delay. I don't know whether you guys realized that or not. For example, if your PD is 5/10/2006 and you missed the summer of 2010. Due to Co's decision on yearly spillover, you had to wait to May or June 2011 to get your GC because EB2-I got stuck to 5/8/2006 for 9 months! Actually according to the law, you should have been greened in the first quarter of 2010!

I think CO knows this law, but it takes much efforts to get the statistics and he has to do more calculation every quarter. That can increase his work load significantly. Everybody wants to minimize his work load, but EB2 C&I are suffering more because of this!

One of our representatives sent an email to CO regarding this. CO said he will compensate EB2 C&I in the Q3 and Q4, but we are waiting for 6-9 months more! Why should EB2 C&I wait for 6-9 months more while they are rushing to approve EB1 and EB2 ROW in 2 months?

Allocation of “otherwise unused” numbers in accordance with Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA) Section 202(a)(5)

INA Section 202(a)(5) provides that if total demand in a calendar quarter
will be insufficient to use all available numbers in an Employment
preference, then the unused numbers may be made available without regard to
the annual per-country limits. Based on current levels of demand, there will
be otherwise unused numbers in the Employment First and Second preferences.

What has been your plan so far in the campaign?




Before, we do that, we need to form a group.
Also, we need to see what action CIS Ombudsman would take , except just putting it down as recommendation later in 2012 report to USCIS.

[Kanmani]

CIS Ombudsman Annual Report is to Congress . So there is a chance for Judiciary committee members to come across some issue like this exists .
Moreover , USCIS is replying to ombudsman's recommendations , in view of possiblities to implement or otherwise.

Atleast achieving a recommendation to USCIS for implementaiton is a goal.

[qblogfan]

yes, we are trying to draw attention to this issue.

although it might not work, we still need to fight.

Thousands of EB2C-I applicants have been suffering for a long time. Our best ages of 20s-30s have been wasted on GC waiting because of somebody's misunderstandings of immigration laws. We need to fight and fix it.

CIS Ombudsman Annual Report is to Congress . So there is a chance of Judiciary committee members to come across some issue like this exists .
Moreover , USCIS is replying to ombudsman's recommendations , in view of possiblities to implement or otherwise.

Atleast achieving a recommendation to USCIS for implementaiton is a goal.

[donvar]

We sent emails to local congress people and ask them to pay attention to the low consumption of EB visas in the Q1/Q2.

According to the law, CO should assign spillover on a quarter basis, but he is not doing that. His decision caused EB2 C&I addtional 6-9 months extra delay. I don't know whether you guys realized that or not. For example, if your PD is 5/10/2006 and you missed the summer of 2010. Due to Co's decision on yearly spillover, you had to wait to May or June 2011 to get your GC because EB2-I got stuck to 5/8/2006 for 9 months! Actually according to the law, you should have been greened in the first quarter of 2010!

I think CO knows this law, but it takes much efforts to get the statistics and he has to do more calculation every quarter. That can increase his work load significantly. Everybody wants to minimize his work load, but EB2 C&I are suffering more because of this!

One of our representatives sent an email to CO regarding this. CO said he will compensate EB2 C&I in the Q3 and Q4, but we are waiting for 6-9 months more! Why should EB2 C&I wait for 6-9 months more while they are rushing to approve EB1 and EB2 ROW in 2 months?

Allocation of “otherwise unused” numbers in accordance with Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA) Section 202(a)(5)

INA Section 202(a)(5) provides that if total demand in a calendar quarter
will be insufficient to use all available numbers in an Employment
preference, then the unused numbers may be made available without regard to
the annual per-country limits. Based on current levels of demand, there will
be otherwise unused numbers in the Employment First and Second preferences.

That compensation is never going to happen because CO will always get "fresh unexpected " EB1 and EB2Row demand in Q3 and Q4 and then the law will "prohibit" him to do so.

Any ideas what else we can do about it ? I think we should set up appointment with CO , ombudsperson and anybody we can speak to.

People , please give ideas.

[donvar]

CIS Ombudsman Annual Report is to Congress . So there is a chance for Judiciary committee members to come across some issue like this exists .
Moreover , USCIS is replying to ombudsman's recommendations , in view of possiblities to implement or otherwise.

Atleast achieving a recommendation to USCIS for implementaiton is a goal.

Getting the recommendation in which report ? You mean 2012 report and hoping that USCIS starts implementing it in FY 2013 ?

[qblogfan]

Yes, he will always find excuses to minimize the approvals of EB2 C&I. We sent him tons of emails, but he always replies with some excuses of nonsense.

Frankly many folks who got GC in this summer should have been greened in the first quarter of FY 2011 from Oct.-Dec.2010.

From Oct.-Dec.2010 only 24k GC was issued and totally there were 14k spillover in Q1 of FY 2011.

Folks waited for 9 extra months!

That compensation is never going to happen because CO will always get "fresh unexpected " EB1 and EB2Row demand in Q3 and Q4 and then the law will "prohibit" him to do so.

[donvar]

Yes, he will always find excuses to minimize the approvals of EB2 C&I. We sent him tons of emails, but he always replies with some excuses of nonsense.

Frankly many folks who got GC in this summer should have been greened in the first quarter of FY 2011 from Oct.-Dec.2010.

From Oct.-Dec.2010 only 24k GC was issued and totally there were 14k spillover in Q1 of FY 2011.

Folks waited for 9 extra months!

Who else we can talk to ? Is there anybody else to whom we can highlight this issue? If not anything we should at least make some noise.
Also, I think instead of sending emails, we should meet people who can highlight this issue.

[donvar]

If it is going to happen, Yes it should be in FY 2013 . Just a hope . We are not activists , I dont expect anyone here to go for hunger strike to achieve our goal in a month's time .

What else we can do as an individual ?

I am seeking ideas on any kind of legal proceeding to highlight this issue. However I know that he is not breaking any law.

[qesehmk]

Yes. The law granted him discretion in spilling over visas. All he is doing is he is making a wrong choice (from our perspective of course). So we need to "pyaarse usko samajhao". (i.e. cajole him into this rather than be confrontational). Second thing to understand is this decision is not his own .... so the cajoling needs to be beyond CO or VO. You also need to talk to USCIS.

I am seeking ideas on any kind of legal proceeding to highlight this issue. However I know that he is not breaking any law.