Case approved - Sep 1999, AC21

M

mercedes

Registered Users (C)
Friends,

My case was approved on 8th April 2002, after a long wait of almost 3 years. I had all the problems with my case that one can possibly have (except that there was nothing illegal with my case). Following are some details -

India / EB3 / PD Oct 1998 / RD Sep 1999 / FP 2 times / EAD Renewal 3 times

My case was transferred to 3 different local offices because of INS confusion over my place of residence.

I had changed my job and my case qualified for AC21 provisions. I am still employed by my previous employer, but on LOA. My previous employer was very gracious in providing me with all the necessary documentation. I am proud to mention that it is an Indian company.

I had a very simple interview at the local INS office. I was well prepared with documentation and all the supportings that are necessary for the interview. The Immigration Examiner checked every single document that I submitted. She even joked about one or two things, but I was too stressed to notice the joke (and that did not offend her !). She had a little confusion over my first name, because I have one of those never ending long first names. But it took minutes to clear it out.

The whole interview process took about 50 minutes. Some standard yes/no questions that anybody (speaking English) can answer. Our passports were stamped and we were told to expect the cards within 2 months.

It does not get any simpler than this.

My best wishes to everybody in the queue.
 
Ram

Wow!! You have travelled a very long road. I liked your comment about the Indian company providing you with the documents. Always nice to know that our own people help us in realizing our goals. I am a proud Indian too and feel disappointed when I read all the negative vibes about the "DESI\' companies. Let us not forget that almost all the time it is a company that is Indian owned has given us the first break in a foreign land. We may not "owe" everything to these companies but let us not disparage our own people. CONGRATULATIONS!!
 
Congrats!!!

Wish you all the best in all that you do, and thanks for your honest opinion.

good luck
hope99
 
Mercesdes,

Congratulations,Do you know why your case is transffered to local office? Is it because you have a very long first name or something else? Please answer this.
 
Hi Mercedes, Could you please answer these questions

You mentioned that you are on Leave of Absence from your previous(indian) employer.
How did you present (LOA)it in the interview?
What supporting documents did you take from the previous employer?
How did you explain it to the officer?
Can you give all the details since I will be in the same situation.

Thank You
- Labor
 
Few more details

I have no idea why my case was tossed around in different local offices, but my long first name was not the reason for sure, as was mentioned in one of the posts to these messages.

I have a feeling that they randomly transfer cases (after Sep 11th) to the local INS offices. One more possibility is that my case was originally filled with VSC, but my actual place of residence was not under VSC\'s jurisdiction. It went to VSC because the employer\'s state happens to be under VSC. The case was approved at a center which comes under Texas.

About the LOA - In the interview I told the Examiner flat out that I am on LOA with the sponsoring employer. I guess it made things easier. Then she asked me to show the pay stubs from my previous employer and the new employer to see if there is a gap between pay periods. Basically they are interested in knowing whether you were "unpaid" for any time.

There are standard letter formats which AC21 candidates can use. But make sure that you have the letter from your current employer. Also get a copy of your LC and make sure that the description matches.

All the noise about maintaining same salary level is utter non-sense. I am getting significantly higher than my previous job, but that did not bother the INS. The only requirement is that the new employer should pay you at least what is mentioned on your LC. Otherwise you might get into troubles.

Hope this answers a few questions. If you need any more information, please continue to post to this message, and I will reply as soon as possible.
 
AC21 Letter Format

Mercedes,

Congratulations on the approval of your GC!

You mentioned that standard-format AC21 letters are available. Could you please post a standard AC21 letter format or point us where such a letter is available on the Internet?

Thanks
 
Answers to the above questions

I had changed my job 28 MONTHS after I-485 filling. I was well over 800 days !

About the letter format - If I remember correctly, there is a Yahoo discussion group about 180-days cases, and a user of that forum had posted 3/4 different letter formats. Although INS has not defined a format for such cases, it can be a good starting point. Your attorney can always improvise on them.

For some reason I was not able to post messages for the past two days. I guess it is happening with everybody, because I saw some messages to that effect.
 
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