
Originally Posted by
redsox2009
I wanted to share some positive news. Last week I received my 485 Approval notices.
I personally wanted to Thank Q and Spec for all their efforts and help in getting this community move forward. I learned a lot through this forum and I helped some of my friends.
Throughout the journey, I made some mistakes, but in the last mile, I made sure I was one step ahead of the game and got my 485 approved.
My first PERM was supposed to be in 2006 and I did not push my management to get the Perm done and in 2007 when I was ready for PERM I requested my employer if there are any unused PERMS which I could use. Employer mentioned to me there are 3 PERMS and I can use them if I my experience falls in any one of the categories to support the documentation. I was out of the country and when I returned back, guess what was new policy!!! PERMS cannot be transferable.
In 2007 my PERM started and due to the economic meltdown and recession, my perm was on hold. In 2009 my company lawyer literally HUNTED me down and begged me to file PERM, I was so absorbed in the carrier goals and aspects and forgot about PERM. If I have to say THANKS she will be the first person. My management put tons of hurdles to stop the PERM and she fought on my behalf and got the PERM done in a timely fashion. At one point my company attorney threatened the company that the company is liable for a civil lawsuit if the company doesn't act accordingly.
In 2011, a bright ambitious guy moved to a new company and in the process, he forgot to push HR about the PERM. Guess who missed the GC filing slot in 2012. You guessed it correctly.
I learned my lesson the hard way and since then I focussed much of my time with family and started running the numbers when and where the dates are and started using this forum for more analysis and forecasting.
In 2014, I changed the company and made sure my PERM was started after the 90 day wait period.
Around Jan 2018, I was 100% confident that by September 2018, my dates will become current under the EB3 category. However, I was a couple of months early to my predictions. My date became current in Nov 2018. Around March 2018, I went to my company management and requested to start the downgrade process and the company HR said the company policy is "no two I-140's for the same employee". It took me 6 months to request them to change and show them the cost-benefit and get the approval. Around Oct 2018, my company finally approved my second I-140 i.e. to downgrade the application. In Nov 2018 My company immigration attorney sent me a form to sign the I-140, I told them "I will sign the document after seeing the Visa Bulletin" and I told them I'm more than 100% confident that my date under EB3 will be current. In a couple of days, Bulletin got released and my date became current. Since I fought and got my downgrade process, some of my colleagues took advantage of the new policy and they got their downgrading started. Around Dec 2018, I filed my I-485.
Believe me, since then I made numerous calls to USCIS to get the ball rolling. My fingerprint was delayed by a week, and made sure the I got fingerprint within the next 10 days. My interview dates were delayed by a month, guess who was on the phone. I did not hesitate to call them when I felt something was needed. This month My final action date was current and I called USCIS on OCT1st and raised the SR. This was my last mile, I was one step ahead of the game plan since Jan 2018.
When some of my colleagues were filing for their PERMS, I literally begged them to file PERM ASAP, and not to argue with the management about the EB2/EB3 category. I advised many folks to file PERM and get the date locked. I advised them if you miss a date by a single day, it could lead you to wait for a month or decade. Some of my colleagues followed my advice and some ignored my advice.
Believe me on Sept 24th when Bulletin was released my phone kept ringing from morning 7:30 AM to 11:30 PM, some of my colleagues called to Thank me and some to know the process of downgrading, some of my friends called to learn the process and asking my inputs. Around Sept 29th, my company said they changed the Policy back to " No two I-140's", but I kept telling my colleagues to keep pushing and some managers were directly in touch with me on how to get the ball rolling, etc..
A couple of days later the company gave in and allowed my colleagues to downgrade the applications. Since Sept 24th I'm getting calls from some of my old friends and they wanted to know the process and asking for help in getting their company to agree to downgrade. I kept calling them and advising accordingly.
Lessons I learned during my GC process. Never give up and keep your spirits high up.
1.) Never delay in filing the PERM.
2.) if you change the company, act fast and swiftly in getting your PERM filed and approved. Always assume your date will be current in the next bulletin or else you will sloppy with filing.
3.) When your date is current, and after you file I-485, keep up with activities and make sure the USCIS is working on your application.
4.) When talking to USCIS, you don't tell them what should happen, ask them where your file should be (in which stage). If your file is behind, I'm pretty sure they will feel guilty and work on your file.
Good Luck to all new filers and Best wishes to all of you.
Keep this community grow and increase your immigration knowledge.