Does it make sense to do CP anymore???

W

willwin

Registered Users (C)
I guess for those who are already in the USA (employment based), doing CP is no longer a wise thing, with the kind of retrogression we are going through.

Whoever filed for I485 (in July/August) have started receiving their interim benefits (EAD, Advance Parole etc) while our applications are stuck in the Consular Office abroad.

And assuming our cases are going to be current (atleast) after a year or so (my PD is 03/2005), the equivalent 485 cases would have been approved as well - pending VISA number. Which means, they will get their GC, and we will be traveling home to take up the interview!

That what exactly happened in June/July.

Is it worth doing CP anymore? I know we are left with no options but to wait endlessly.
 
Is n't it better than the blackhole of name check?

I am just wondering whether it is better than the blackhole of namecheck! A friend of mine has a priority date of stone age and the story from USCIS is that your case is in name check! If you opt for CP, you are in or you are not in (which is a very remote possibility). I know several of my friends who have dates similar to or older to my prio date and have filed and are waiting for ack, whereas, here I am with GC (and of course minus 10K for the trip!).

But then you wont have the EAD and the portability and the spouse's ability to work etc etc.. I guess it depends on how close you are to the date and where you come from!

Yes. it depends!

H

willwin said:
I guess for those who are already in the USA (employment based), doing CP is no longer a wise thing, with the kind of retrogression we are going through.

Whoever filed for I485 (in July/August) have started receiving their interim benefits (EAD, Advance Parole etc) while our applications are stuck in the Consular Office abroad.

And assuming our cases are going to be current (atleast) after a year or so (my PD is 03/2005), the equivalent 485 cases would have been approved as well - pending VISA number. Which means, they will get their GC, and we will be traveling home to take up the interview!

That what exactly happened in June/July.

Is it worth doing CP anymore? I know we are left with no options but to wait endlessly.
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CP is still worth it due to faster processing when PD becomes current. You can always switch from CP to AOS.
 
But only when PD is current...

vintin said:
CP is still worth it due to faster processing when PD becomes current. You can always switch from CP to AOS.
Click to expand...

I guess in the current situation for someone to switch from CP to AOS, the PD has to be current so that 485 can be filed. So, ideally, you cant switch from CP to AOS anytime. Atleast will not get the benefits unless the PD is current.

Hanuman, thanks for your encouraging words.
 
guys.....i am in a similar boat and i am confused as well. my PD is EB2 Jan.2003 and i know (hope) that my PD will be current in Oct.2007 and later.

my PD is current this month as well but i don;t know whether CP makes more sense than I-485. My I-140 has not been approved so if I apply for CP then i will have to wait for my I-140 to get approved and then go thru the NVC. I-140 applications are now taking 6 months and then another 6 months to go thru NVC and to interview at the consulate. so we're talking atleast 1 year....unless premium processing for I-140 comes back.

Will there be any advantages if I go for I-485 (outside of AP and EAD)? Will AOS be faster than CP in my case? AOS is currently taking 10 months per USICS website.

thoughts??

thanks

PS: this is actually my second attempt at the green card. i got my consulate interview back in july 2007 but i had changed jobs last year so had to start the process all over again. i was so near....and now again i am way too far from it.

Hanuman55 said:
I am just wondering whether it is better than the blackhole of namecheck! A friend of mine has a priority date of stone age and the story from USCIS is that your case is in name check! If you opt for CP, you are in or you are not in (which is a very remote possibility). I know several of my friends who have dates similar to or older to my prio date and have filed and are waiting for ack, whereas, here I am with GC (and of course minus 10K for the trip!).

But then you wont have the EAD and the portability and the spouse's ability to work etc etc.. I guess it depends on how close you are to the date and where you come from!

Yes. it depends!

H
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Oct 2007 VISA bulletin

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3800.html

This is really annoying. After using close to 70,000 VISA numbers, they have moved the EB3 category back to APRIL 2001!!!

Will they ever think about this retrogression and do something about this. Highly frustrating.

Correct my logic, if I was wrong. My assumption is that most of the cases that are ready for issuance of GC are the ones that are in the consulates. USCIS is taking close to a year to even start processing applications after receiving them (see their processing times in the official website). This means even if a 2004 case has filed 485 application, they are not going to touch it for another 10 months, which means that application should not impact retrogression yet (as it is not approved yet). Whereas the cases in Consulate are approved already.

So, if they move the date to say, 2006, still, only applications pending with Consulate become eligible for VISA which I dont think will be huge in number. Ofcourse, it will also enable new applicants to file for AOS which anyway is gonna sleep in that long, endless queue.

Shame that we are so desperate of GC....
 
what are CP guys supposed to do for next few years???

Hanuman55 said:
I am just wondering whether it is better than the blackhole of namecheck! A friend of mine has a priority date of stone age and the story from USCIS is that your case is in name check! If you opt for CP, you are in or you are not in (which is a very remote possibility). I know several of my friends who have dates similar to or older to my prio date and have filed and are waiting for ack, whereas, here I am with GC (and of course minus 10K for the trip!).

But then you wont have the EAD and the portability and the spouse's ability to work etc etc.. I guess it depends on how close you are to the date and where you come from!

Yes. it depends!

H
Click to expand...


Hanuman,

Guys who filed 485 have started receiving their EAD, AP. They have also initiated name check and most have completed finger printing. In few years, when their PD becomes current, their applications are approved-pending VISA numbers and hence they will get their card. We will get our interview scheduled and travel back and forth and may take 3-6 months. And, no interim benefits as well and risk of not having it (employer going out of business etc).

You really think CP are in safe hands and better position than 485?
 
You have to evaluate your own situation...

I understand you, it is no easy call. I went thru hell and gave up thinking about it, took the days as they came... Here is some story.. But NOT all of it..

My papers were in the Consulate when the retrogression hit. Took 30 months to get out of that. Child turned 21, had to change to F1, University told in no uncertain terms that F1 would be declined. Just 1 semester short and would be 3 months overage - Was prepared to let my child complete degree as a visa overstayerl! But then F1 came, so did the EAD. My employer was diversifying, what if he sells off this business and concentrates on the other. The contact thru whom I had joined had split...

Weeks before the dates became current, started asking my employer for employment letter. 3 weeks before the scheduled interview date, I was suggested to change to 485! Rumors hit that employer was in some trouble with the Consulate on an earlier H1. Well, we were so deep in water, we would swim this one too.

A week before our interview, while we had already landed in India, the visa fiasco happened and there were talks of litigation. Everything would come to a standstill if the litigation started, knowing pretty well how they choose the jurisdiction to file the writ! We were wondering how to return after getting H1 stamped and how to get F1 stamped when you have already graduated and using EAD?

In the Consulate, we were simply asked to swear and sign that the application is true and were issued the visa. ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTIONS WERE ASKED. You wont believe it!

Would I do it again if I knew then all I know now? NO WAY. Would I suggest the CP option to anyone - I would say you know your situation, you decide. My employer is a good man (there may not be that many to whom you would say this), but his employees have cheated him, I have heard, very badly, including sullying his reputation. Is this something you can foresee? I know a guy from another company who was laid off the project the day he was attending the consular interview.

There are so many imponderables whichever way you choose .......... so you weigh your situation as best as you can and dont look back. There will always be room for second guessing... The whole thing is barely better than gambling..., so you choose! If you are with a decent company, and you dont care how much they make off of you, they treat you well, go for it, spouse does not mind attending college and not being able to work, you dont mind the tight rein on your purse due to single income, go ahead, you wont regret. But then, I am predicting the future of this mad cap bureau's work!

H





willwin said:
Hanuman,

Guys who filed 485 have started receiving their EAD, AP. They have also initiated name check and most have completed finger printing. In few years, when their PD becomes current, their applications are approved-pending VISA numbers and hence they will get their card. We will get our interview scheduled and travel back and forth and may take 3-6 months. And, no interim benefits as well and risk of not having it (employer going out of business etc).

You really think CP are in safe hands and better position than 485?
Click to expand...
 
I would strongly recommend CP

I would strongly recommend CP. With CP there is definite time period for the whole process which typically 3 to 6 months after 140 approval. With 485 its a hit or miss. Either you could get your GC within 3 to 6 months or wait for years (many are waiting upto five years) in name check. If your PD is current, go for CP. I got my GC in exactly 5 months after I140 approval and I am so glad that I did CP. Many of my friends who got 140 approved years before me are still stuck in name check with no end in sight. To me, going for CP is a no-brainer.

You can call up USCIS if NVC has not recieved the I140 approval.
 
Thanks Hanuman and Very_hopeful!

Hanuman, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It was a roller-coaster ride and a nightmare as well!

Very_hopeful, I guess, you were one among the very few lucky guys who got through in this July wave.

Well, when I filed for CP, I thought that was the best thing I could do. My PD is March 2005 and EB3 India. I got my LC approved from Backlog Center in Jan 2007 and there was no sight of PD becoming current. Hence, I applied for I140 specifying CP assuming that my paper would atleast move until Consulate before it goes into sleep (and my assumption was that if I had chosen 485 route, I may not be able to apply for 485 for a very long time, without knowing that the gates would open in July for a very short time - 30 days!).

Result - as I anticipated - my paper (230) got approved and had landed in Chennai. Meantime, 485 has flooded USCIS and PDs have retrogressed happily back to 2001.

Though I have no compelling reasons to go for 485, I thought the interim benefits would be nice-to-have in this nobody-knows endless queue.

I am going to do the only thing I can - wait and improve my skills on patience.

Thanks again folks! Appreciate your time on this forum despite that you guys have got through this hell.

I very well know the prime period of my career is being wasted in the GC queue. Having decided to be in this Country for sometime, do we have an option?




Hanuman55 said:
I understand you, it is no easy call. I went thru hell and gave up thinking about it, took the days as they came... Here is some story.. But NOT all of it..

My papers were in the Consulate when the retrogression hit. Took 30 months to get out of that. Child turned 21, had to change to F1, University told in no uncertain terms that F1 would be declined. Just 1 semester short and would be 3 months overage - Was prepared to let my child complete degree as a visa overstayerl! But then F1 came, so did the EAD. My employer was diversifying, what if he sells off this business and concentrates on the other. The contact thru whom I had joined had split...

Weeks before the dates became current, started asking my employer for employment letter. 3 weeks before the scheduled interview date, I was suggested to change to 485! Rumors hit that employer was in some trouble with the Consulate on an earlier H1. Well, we were so deep in water, we would swim this one too.

A week before our interview, while we had already landed in India, the visa fiasco happened and there were talks of litigation. Everything would come to a standstill if the litigation started, knowing pretty well how they choose the jurisdiction to file the writ! We were wondering how to return after getting H1 stamped and how to get F1 stamped when you have already graduated and using EAD?

In the Consulate, we were simply asked to swear and sign that the application is true and were issued the visa. ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTIONS WERE ASKED. You wont believe it!

Would I do it again if I knew then all I know now? NO WAY. Would I suggest the CP option to anyone - I would say you know your situation, you decide. My employer is a good man (there may not be that many to whom you would say this), but his employees have cheated him, I have heard, very badly, including sullying his reputation. Is this something you can foresee? I know a guy from another company who was laid off the project the day he was attending the consular interview.

There are so many imponderables whichever way you choose .......... so you weigh your situation as best as you can and dont look back. There will always be room for second guessing... The whole thing is barely better than gambling..., so you choose! If you are with a decent company, and you dont care how much they make off of you, they treat you well, go for it, spouse does not mind attending college and not being able to work, you dont mind the tight rein on your purse due to single income, go ahead, you wont regret. But then, I am predicting the future of this mad cap bureau's work!

H
Click to expand...
 
I was thinking of CP as well. So did not file 485 till now. This should be filed in a day or two.

I-140 is stuck due to no premium processing option.

I have come to the following conclusion:

1. File I-485
2. After 6 months jump the employer and do my own thing.

With CP do not know what will happen. I-140 approval could take 6 months. Then add another 6 months to get the stamping done at the consulate. So am wasting 6 months. But with AOS, can move to another job and stop getting fleeced by thie current employer. CP was better if the Premium processing was in effect. I waited for 3 months hoping that Premium processing will come back, then gave up in favor of 485
 
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800,000 485 applications filed in 2 months!! Will take 10 years for GC!!!!!

Read this:

http://www.immigration-law.com/

http://www.lewslaw.com/US_Immigration_Updates.htm#10022007a

With 800,000 applications and reservations per country, it may take over 10 years to get GC.

Guys with PD 2004 may have to wait 3-4 years, PD 2006 6-8 years!!

And most affected are guys in CP queue!!!

No interim benefits and having those benefits could be the only shield during this long wait.
 
Simple

worrieddude said:
On what basis do you say that CP queue is affected?
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Simple and straight forward. The only advantage of going through CP is faster processing.

But, if retrogression is going to take that advantage away, then there is no charm in CP as there are no interim benefits and in fact it is risky if the wait is too long (say 2-3 years) and either if the employer close down or one has to change jobs. The GC process has to be started all over.
 
Life is full of risks. You need to make a smart decision at any given time.
One can never predict what will happen tomorrow. I tried and failed, so decided to go 485 route instead of CP.
 
Smart decision?!

worrieddude said:
Life is full of risks. You need to make a smart decision at any given time.
One can never predict what will happen tomorrow. I tried and failed, so decided to go 485 route instead of CP.
Click to expand...

You will never know what a smart decision is when it comes to US EB based immigration until you get your GC in hand.

CP would appear "smart" if dates become current (for ones PD) and get an interview scheduled while 485 applications are not even processed (may be they would have got interim benefits but the CP guy would have got the GC itself). Remember 485 processing time is now more than 10 months (meaning 485 applications are not even touched for 10 months after filed with USCIS).

485 appears "smart" if dates never become current and CP guys wait for several years for interview while AOS guys wouldhave enjoyed all the benefits of EAD, AP ...

There is no pattern here.
 
only 320000 application filed during July 2007 and not 800,000

http://murthy.com/bulletin.html

This is a good news (relatively)!

I strongly believe most 2005 CP cases would get their GC by end of FY 2008.
2006 cases by 2009 and 2007 by 2010. Again my prediction is only for CP cases. 485 may take longer.

Any comments?
 
Unless the priority date becomes current for you, CP or AOS will not matter.
AOS may take longer due to name check. But if that is not the case, AOS is better off, because of EAD etc.

At this moment in time, I have given up on CP, am planning to use AC21 and do my own thing. With CP, it will take about the same time (I think).
 
Not just name check!

worrieddude said:
Unless the priority date becomes current for you, CP or AOS will not matter.
AOS may take longer due to name check. But if that is not the case, AOS is better off, because of EAD etc.

At this moment in time, I have given up on CP, am planning to use AC21 and do my own thing. With CP, it will take about the same time (I think).
Click to expand...

485 has advantages like EAD and AP. But on the flip side it is not just name chcek, there is something called processing time for 485! Now, USCIS is processing Oct/Dec 2006. Which means even if your PD becomes current tomorrow and name check is done, you may not get your GC because your 485 will not be processed until it reaches the processing time (which could be a year from now).

That is why I predict, CP cases would get clear in June 2008 because the applications are already in Consulates. The only advantage for CP cases, ofcourse (and all hidden risks)!!
 
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