Concurrent Filing - Using Cross Chargeability

So it seems that if we re-enter using AP, our EADs will be automatically triggered since using AP is considered abandoning H status. I wouldn't want to go to Canada for stamping and freeze our butt's off at 4 AM with an infant so it seems the only option is we'll have to look into stamping our H1/H4 at an Indian consulate.

What are the odds (any anecdotal evidence) of an I485 being rejected for couple who came to the country for Masters degree on F1>OPT>H1 for me, and F1>H4 for wife. We've never been out of status. I guess our case is quite straightforward, but who knows what the INS has up their sleepy sleeve. Am trying to gauge if it's worth the risk to enter on AP, effectively throwing away 3 years of H1 still remaining while our 485 plods along.
 
I got a background check pending letter from Customer service.. Does this mean I am stuck in the name check process or are there other background checks besides name check?

Is it worth taking an Infopass appointment to enquire more?
 
Possible

It is possible that your case is waiting to NC clearance. However the USCIS may be sending this out as a standard response. Ask your congressman or senator to look into it also. You can also try the Infopass.
 
Any advice on my predicament will be appreciated:

Wife and I am are planning to travel to India in February 2008. We have received EAD and awaiting Advance Parole from INS, which should arrive within the next fortnight hopefully.

Am trying to decide if it is worth the risk to go to Ottawa for visa stamping so that I can re-enter on H1/H4 and not use Advance Parole. This is because I want to have H1/H4 as back up if our I485 for AOS is rejected for whatever reason.

Our case is quite straightforward for Canadian consulate but my concern is that I have a Muslim name and I hear the Canadian consulate will very likely start background check. Is it possible that during the interview if they tell me that my case will take time to resolve that I can ask for my application to be cancelled and they return my passport and I 797 immediately so that I can use Advance Parole to re-enter the US? I don't want to be stuck needlessly in Canada.

My feeling is that the probability of being rejected for H1 stamping in Canada is significantly higher than our 485 being rejected. Is the Canadian stamping worth the risk and effort expended?
 
dojidesi said:
Any advice on my predicament will be appreciated:

Wife and I am are planning to travel to India in February 2008. We have received EAD and awaiting Advance Parole from INS, which should arrive within the next fortnight hopefully.

Am trying to decide if it is worth the risk to go to Ottawa for visa stamping so that I can re-enter on H1/H4 and not use Advance Parole. This is because I want to have H1/H4 as back up if our I485 for AOS is rejected for whatever reason.

Our case is quite straightforward for Canadian consulate but my concern is that I have a Muslim name and I hear the Canadian consulate will very likely start background check. Is it possible that during the interview if they tell me that my case will take time to resolve that I can ask for my application to be cancelled and they return my passport and I 797 immediately so that I can use Advance Parole to re-enter the US? I don't want to be stuck needlessly in Canada.

My feeling is that the probability of being rejected for H1 stamping in Canada is significantly higher than our 485 being rejected. Is the Canadian stamping worth the risk and effort expended?
Click to expand...

Dojidesi -

In my opinion, if you have reason to believe that it would be risky to go for your visa stamping in Canada, then it would be safer if you simply get it done in India for the only reason that its better to be stuck in India than in Canada!.

Personally, I am not extending my H1B/H4 which expires in a couple of days and plan to roll over to my EAD instead and use the AP for reentry. I might be wrong, but I believe you can always refile for your H1B if, (godforbid) your I485 is rejected for whatever reason so if a need arises we always have that option.
 
overboard said:
I got a background check pending letter from Customer service.. Does this mean I am stuck in the name check process or are there other background checks besides name check?

Is it worth taking an Infopass appointment to enquire more?
Click to expand...

Hi overboard,

I read in another thread that if u get a letter stating BC pending then it can be 2 scenarios:
1. NC request was sent from USCIS and the reply to that is yet to be returned. or
2. NC has returned with "something"(dont know what) and USCIS still says BC pending then what it means is USCIS is evaluating the result.

Only way to eliminate this is by knocking on the doors for Senator/congman/FL, who can enquire directly with the FBI and get the status for you. If the status u get from FBI, thru these channels, is "in process", then ur NC has not returned, if it says returned a while ago(may be 6 months or more, dont know this no.) then it can be that ur NC returned with "something" and USCIS is evaluating it.

My 2 cents.

Warm regards,
-Still
 
Last edited by a moderator:
dojidesi said:
Any advice on my predicament will be appreciated:

Wife and I am are planning to travel to India in February 2008. We have received EAD and awaiting Advance Parole from INS, which should arrive within the next fortnight hopefully.

Am trying to decide if it is worth the risk to go to Ottawa for visa stamping so that I can re-enter on H1/H4 and not use Advance Parole. This is because I want to have H1/H4 as back up if our I485 for AOS is rejected for whatever reason.

Our case is quite straightforward for Canadian consulate but my concern is that I have a Muslim name and I hear the Canadian consulate will very likely start background check. Is it possible that during the interview if they tell me that my case will take time to resolve that I can ask for my application to be cancelled and they return my passport and I 797 immediately so that I can use Advance Parole to re-enter the US? I don't want to be stuck needlessly in Canada.

My feeling is that the probability of being rejected for H1 stamping in Canada is significantly higher than our 485 being rejected. Is the Canadian stamping worth the risk and effort expended?
Click to expand...

dojidesi,

I think you can use the parole when you come back as that would make life easier. However, if you still want to keep your H1B status, you can do that by filling an extension of H1B once you get back using your parole. That way you dont need to get your stamping done and yet can get back to your H1B status. Only thing is the cost of extending the H1 again.

Check this from http://www.immigration-law.com/-
______________________
Reinstatement of H-1B Status for Returning H-1B 485 Applicants from Overseas Trip in Advance Parole

There are and will be some H-1B professionals who have to travel on Advance Parole rather than on a H-1B status because of their special circumstances. This includes unmarried professionals who need to maintain a H-1B status so that they can bring their future spouses to the U.S. on H-4 status and apply for the green card process. Under the current USCIS policy and laws, these professionals have two options to reinstate their H-1B status. One is to leave and return to the U.S. using a valid H-1B visa in the passport. This option is available only when they have a valid visa in the passport to return. Second option is to file I-129 H-1B extension petition. The second option does not require the professional to leave the country to reinstate the H-1B status. They can just reinstate their H-1B status within the country. When they take the second option, they should make it sure that they file the H-1B extension petition while their current approved H-1B remains "valid." Accordingly, when they apply for the H-1B extension, they should submit a copy of parolee I-94 together with the valid approved H-1B approval notice.
_________________________

Hope that helps.

Cheers!
Navneet
 
overboard said:
I got a background check pending letter from Customer service.. Does this mean I am stuck in the name check process or are there other background checks besides name check?

Is it worth taking an Infopass appointment to enquire more?
Click to expand...

Hi Over,

The background check pending letter does mean the name check is pending. I had gotten the same too when I had initiated the SR for the first time. Try calling the service center using POJ.

Cheers!
Navneet
 
Thanks Still and Navneet..

Based on other postings I have seen it could be NC or stuck somewhere in USCIS..

The strange thing is I did my second round of fingerprinting in July and never saw a LUD on my case. So hopefully the fingerprints made it where it needed to.. Anyway of following up on it.. Is it thru calling the cust serv no?
 
Update

Hi All,

I had answered the request for my details to my Senators office via snail mail. I had posted it on Monday and got a reply from his office today.

Excerpts from the letter :
In an effort to be of assitance to you, I have contacted the proper officials with the USCIS to ask that your request be favourably and expeditiously considered. While I cannot direct the agency to rule in your favour, I can help ensure that your case is given every possible consideration. Because of the number of cases pending, it may take a few weeks or even months for a decision to be made. However, I will continue to stay in touch with the agency to ensure that a decision is made as soon as possible.

I just have one phrase: GOD BLESS HIM AND ALL HIS STAFF.

Letter also states the contacts in his office who are assigned to my case. I know I have to contact them, speak to them over phone, and explain to them the NC saga and redirect the effort towards FBI. But I feel I have some hope.

Feels great to share this also with all you folks out there.

Feel like kicking myself for not listening to Ks earlier on for writing letters.

Warm regards,
-Still
 
Stillpatient,

Dont kick yourself ! At least you are working on you case actively now.
You should be thankful that you have a senator willing to work with you. Some of us have not been that lucky.

Good Luck !
 
MDGUTS1307 said:
Stillpatient,

Dont kick yourself ! At least you are working on you case actively now.
You should be thankful that you have a senator willing to work with you. Some of us have not been that lucky.

Good Luck !
Click to expand...

I know thats why I said GOD BLESS YOU.

Warm regards,
Still
 
Hi Over,

Please find attached some of the templates that I used to come up with mine.

Here is my suggestion: dedicate a weekend to creating your own letter. First go thru each of these. Pick paragraphs/sentences that is suitable to u, ur case. Then pick those that are nearly suiatble to you then tweak/modify them to suit ur case.

Your letters should have:
1. Meat in it (at least 2 printed A4 size pages long).
2. The middle portion(leaving the intro and conclusion paragraphs) of ur letter should be "heart-melting".
3. There should be any mis-information even by mistake, specially regards to dates and time frames.
4. You need to research a little bit, about ur senator/congman. Each one has their own webpage and go thru their latest activities, speeches, stands on various issues, specially immigration. If u that the senator/congman is against immigration then it is no use send him/her any kind of corresp. You can also google and find out all senators stand on immigration. I forgot the site.
5. Use USPS to post the mail and send the letter to their Washington DC address. This may delay their receipt of the letter due to extra security checks, but have a feeling it will get higher priority than sending it to their local offices. After his/her DC office assignes it to the local office then start corresp with them at their local ofiice.
6. Some of the posted files have some date in the filename, it means it is the date of the post when I found it. Must have been used around that time. Notice that the earlier letters were smaller. So use the lstest ones more.

One of the files have some address info as well some answers.

These are my 2 cents.

Last but not least Good luck on ur corresp venture.

-Still
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just got back...

Hey folks,
Sorry for having disappeared over the past week. Just got home from a week long business trip. I'm going to go through the thread and see what I've missed. Apologies to all who sent me a PM and called me. I got your messages on my cell this morning and shall start corresponding back as soon as I get showered and into some clean clothes.
 
Thanks all for the replies to my earlier post. We've decided to skip the trip to Canada for H1 stamping, and are going to use AP to enter the US. If the 485 is rejected (hope it isn't), we're getting out butts out of the US. Life's too short to not make the most of it elsewhere.

Fingers cross for the AP to arrive soon. I checked the USCIS site and there was a LUD yesterday for our AP's. Any chances it was our cards mailed out? It's almost 3 months since 485 filing.
 
dojidesi said:
Thanks all for the replies to my earlier post. We've decided to skip the trip to Canada for H1 stamping, and are going to use AP to enter the US. If the 485 is rejected (hope it isn't), we're getting out butts out of the US. Life's too short to not make the most of it elsewhere.

Fingers cross for the AP to arrive soon. I checked the USCIS site and there was a LUD yesterday for our AP's. Any chances it was our cards mailed out? It's almost 3 months since 485 filing.
Click to expand...

The LUD will say "Approval Notice Sent" if the AP approval was mailed to you.
And I agree with you about life being too short to waste re-attempting this GC crap the second time over.
All the best.
 
StillPatient said:
Hi Over,

Please find attached some of the templates that I used to come up with mine.

Here is my suggestion: dedicate a weekend to creating your own letter. First go thru each of these. Pick paragraphs/sentences that is suitable to u, ur case. Then pick those that are nearly suiatble to you then tweak/modify them to suit ur case.

Your letters should have:
1. Meat in it (at least 2 printed A4 size pages long).
2. The middle portion(leaving the intro and conclusion paragraphs) of ur letter should be "heart-melting".
3. There should be any mis-information even by mistake, specially regards to dates and time frames.
4. You need to research a little bit, about ur senator/congman. Each one has their own webpage and go thru their latest activities, speeches, stands on various issues, specially immigration. If u that the senator/congman is against immigration then it is no use send him/her any kind of corresp. You can also google and find out all senators stand on immigration. I forgot the site.
5. Use USPS to post the mail and send the letter to their Washington DC address. This may delay their receipt of the letter due to extra security checks, but have a feeling it will get higher priority than sending it to their local offices. After his/her DC office assignes it to the local office then start corresp with them at their local ofiice.
6. Some of the posted files have some date in the filename, it means it is the date of the post when I found it. Must have been used around that time. Notice that the earlier letters were smaller. So use the lstest ones more.

One of the files have some address info as well some answers.

These are my 2 cents.

Last but not least Good luck on ur corresp venture.

-Still
Click to expand...

Thanks for the guidance Still ..
 
LUD for Address Change?

Hi,
I did a online change of address AR 11 0n 19th oct 2004 and I recieved a a LUD on 24th. I am wordering if the LUD was for thr address change or something else.
Do we get a LUD for address change?

Nidhin
 
nidhin_n said:
Hi,
I did a online change of address AR 11 0n 19th oct 2004 and I recieved a a LUD on 24th. I am wordering if the LUD was for thr address change or something else.
Do we get a LUD for address change?

Nidhin
Click to expand...

Hi Nidhin,

I got an LUD also when I did a change of address.

Over
 
Got my NameCheck cleared.

Hi All,

I had an infopass appointment today. IO told me that my namecheck is cleared now. I asked her if she was 100% sure that namecheck is cleared, she said "why would I lie to you".

WooHooo.

Now what are the next steps. Which doors should I knock on next, I am all ready to send a ton of letters.

Thanks,
Manas
 
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