EricS I-485 is approved! Freeeedooooooom!!

EricS

Active Member
I am very happy to share this news with all of you that by the grace of GOD, my 485 is approved!

I got the emails this morning, 05/05/05, that my 485 was approved on 5/4/2005 and a new card has been ordered.

It has been a long 4 yr journey, may be not as long as some others, but it was full of bumps and stop signs. LC was filed in Oct 2001 in RIR after months of preparation. Then it got stuck in the April 2001 LC loop in NJ. Then we got a NOID on LC for revising the proffered wage from 65 K to ~80 K. We did that and LC was approved in Nov 2003. Our wonderful attorney took couple of months to put together the case.

After a years wait, 140 and hence 485s were denied in Nov 2004 due to Ability to pay and Education issue. We talked to our attorney and he just gave up. Talked to our CPA, same thing. These were the guys whom we have been telling since last 6 months that 140 may get denied due to A2P and we may need to do something. They always said that they will handle it when it comes. When the denial came, they simply backed out.

I was so depressed. I was already in my 6th year of H1. Even if I applied for new LC, there were no chances of getting a 7th year H1 ext. Anyway I applied for 2 new LCs from 2 different states after paying expenses out of my pocket. I was also thinking of taking a pre-approved LC, but could not find any reliable company for that.

Then.... came..... UnitedNations!
He was the first person to tell me, "You will be approved". I had hard time believing him first, but reading thru his posts and talking to him, I realized what knowledge he has. I put full faith in him. We filed MTR without any attorney's help. UN was the one who prepared the more than 100 page MTR for me. My friend, Hidden_Man, had already done all the ground work with UN and our employer when his 140 got denied, and it proved so helpful. In fact, I may not have done it without his help. My MTR was accepted and 140 was approved in a month. Considering Dec holiday season, it was pretty fast. For more details about my MTR please read my post #1301 in UnitedNations ability to pay thread.

http://www.immigrationportal.com/showpost.php?p=1027682&postcount=1301
So many people have asked me about my above post. This above URL does not work so I have inserted the text here:
=================
WOW!! This case has been approved...
With GOD's grace and UnitedNations help, my 140 got approved yesterday.

Actually saying "help from UN" is not fair. There was no lawyer involved in filing my MTR and UN actually prepared whole of my case. From
1> deciding what to write on 290B,
2> what goes on in my employer's letter,
3> What goes in CPA letter (from UN),
4> what argument to use,
5> what AAO decisions to use,
6> minute details on how to amend the tax returns,
7> even up to the wording to use on the exhibit index
and the list goes on and on.

Here is a brief description about my case

I joined this employer in Sept 2001.
LC was filed in Oct 2001 for 65K as proffered wage.
LC was approved in Oct 2003 for 77K.
I-140 and 485 applied in May 2004.

I got paid much less than the proffered wage in all three years
2001 I was paid 5K
2002 I was paid 25K
2003 I was paid 51K

Company tax returns didn't had enough net profit or net current assets to overcome the difference. The gap was huge. My lawyer, CPA and 2 other lawyers that I talked to, had no hope that this case can ever get approved. While I was still waiting for this denial to come thru, another case from my company got denied due to the same issue. UN suggested that we amend the tax returns. It was very difficult to convince our employer to do so. UN helped us again by spending so much time explaining every thing to our employer and to the CPA. Then he helped us by giving details up to the finest level on how and what to amend in the tax returns. We called UN so many numbers of times for help. That other 140 got approved after MTR with the amended tax returns.

Then my denial came, my I-140 and 485 was denied on 11/16/2004.
My I-140 was denied on 2 basis:
1> "Ability to pay issue"
2> Official transcripts not submitted for education.
The second reason was that my lawyer did not attach an education evaluation for my Degree. I was using my own LC. In addition to asking for the ability to pay in 2001, 2002 and 2003, it was asked to demonstrate that the company is financially viable going forward.

There was another problem, My 6th year in H1 had already started. Even if I applied new LC, I could not have got 7th year extension. I was so depressed that I had lost all hope of getting GC anytime soon.

Initially I had no hope that my case will get approved as we had to use proration for year 2001. Everyone else was also of the same opinion, except UN. He was the first person who said I have a chance, my case should get approved.

Initially my aim of filing the MTR was just to have some thing pending so that I can file 7th year extension, but when I looked at the draft of the letter that UN had prepared for my case, everything changed for me. The argument was so strong and I felt confident that at-least my case will be approved in the AAO, if not in VSC.
UN has already posted details about my case, I could not have explained it so clearly as UN did. This is the quote.
unitednations said:
update on a few peoples cases.

I've asked them to post it and they said they would but I'll give a brief description of their cases for everyone's benefit.

First person: case was denied without RFE sometime in November. His company already had a person denied in the previous month, so he was prepared for a denial. The earlier person was approved after we amended the company tax returns.

However, the second persons case was a little more tricky because even with the amended tax returns there wasn't enough net income in the first year for his proffered wage. Revised net income was $50K but he only got paid $5K and his labor was over $70K.

After explaining the tax return amendments in the denial response, I went hard after the proration of the salary in the first year. Showed AAO decisions, explained that USCIS is asking for more salary then is required and only amount from priority date needs to be shown. What helped in his case was that he was only employed with this company for the last four months of the year, so it was easier to use proration.

In his denial notice, the adjudicator went a step further and said that the employment of the beneficiary should not negatively impact the continuity of the business. Essentially, they added another burden in proving ability to pay that we had to discuss the future prospects of the company and new contracts that they have obtained. We actually showed the contracts. We also showed the most recent cash balance of the company to show that it was more then enough to pay the proffered wage for 2004.

Since in the denial, USCIS had mentioned Yates memo as the reason to deny straight away without RFE, we used that memo to say that it also discussed that if a person is currently getting paid proffered wage then company has established ability to pay.

His case was also denied because his lawyer never included his education evaluation. We also submitted this.

We submitted the appeal sometime in middle of December 2004, his case got reopened on january 6th and was approved yesterday.

Summary:

Used amended tax returns which had gotten another person approved
proration in first year
2004 cash balance
paystubs in 2004 from July 2004 when he started to get paid proffered wage
education evaluation

Interesting part of this is that we didn't go through a lawyer.
I am so thankful to UN, if my 140 got approved, it was due to him. I never imagined that I will ever see these words on my I-140 "This case has been approved..........".

I also want to thank Mr. Rajiv Khanna for hosting this site and giving us this opportunity to share and gain good knowledge from people like UN.

I also want to thank my friend who did the ground work of getting the tax returns amended with UN's help. Please accept my thanks and let everyone know who I am talking about (if they have already not figured out ).

Thank you so much UN, you made a difference in my life.
Best of Luck to all of you!
=================

Thank you UN, you are simply great!

Then I got my FP in Feb 2005. Tried to do early FP, but had to wait. Now for last couple of days, I was watching other people get approved with NDs in as far as Dec 2004 and was thinking what is happening to my case. As you may know, my wife's case was also denied along with my 485. Her 485 got reopened in March 2005. FP season was already over by then and we did not get FP for her. So finally, yesterday, we decided to call USCIS to request to send a FP notice as the published dates for 485 is June 3rd 2004 now (ours is ND 5/18/2004). I called 800 # and we got transferred to VSC. The officer who took the call said that, although your ND is 5/18/2004, but yours are reopened cases on MTR, so those processing dates do not mean anything to your cases. It may take months for your cases to be touched.

My heart sank and I was thinking what is going to happen. I will have to shell out another $3000/- for H1 ext and above all this uncertainty. I did not want to use EAD as I was not very sure what will happen to my 485. We were about to hang up disappointed, when I asked him if can please check the status of my case. He asked for my A# and in a very normal way said " Your case is approved today". We couldn't believe what he was saying. Anyway, I thanked him and we hung up the phone. Then I started waiting for Website update and Email. I haven't checked my email, these many numbers of times in one day as I checked yesterday. I waited till 11 PM, still no update. I started feeling that he may have punched in a wrong A# and it was not my case. I still had hope as I had seen so may people reporting that they received email notification the next day about approval.

I couldn’t sleep very well and got up early. Still no email, no update on the website. Finally, at 7:15 AM I got 2 emails announcing my approval. Website also updated. The message says that after approving, a card has been ordered. My wait is over!

Now we are waiting for my wife to get a FP notice, lets see when that will happen.

I am so thankful to Mr. Rajiv S. Khanna, that he hosts this wonderful website, where we can all share our experiences and progress on our cases. If it were not for this forum, I would have never met UN and may be had to wait another couple of years to get my GC or may have given up and just went back.

Thanks to my friend, Hidden_Man, for doing all the ground work for MTR. I feel so bad that his 485 is stuck in the name check, I wish he also get his approval soon.

There are so many wonderful people on this forum, who help others in need. Thanks to them and thanks to all the forum members, who share their experiences and make this unpredictable journey, a little less stressful. Thank you all!

I wish the PDs become current soon and all of you, who are waiting for approval, get it soon. I know what it is like waiting. I wish no one has to go thru what I went thru.
Best to luck and thanks!

I am right here, trying to help others, as much I can.
God bless you!
=======================
LC: filed-10/2001 approved-11/2003
EB3 - VSC - 140 485 EAD: Concurrent ND: 5/2004 - EAD AD - 7/2004
140 Denied 11/2004, Ability to Pay and Edu - MTR I-290B filed 12/2004 - 140 reopened and Approved 01/2005
FP ND 2/2005 FP date 4/2005 Done 4/2005
485 Approved and Card Received - 5/2005
==
Spouse 485: ND 5/2004, Denied 11/2004, Reopen 3/2005
FP 5/2005
AD 6/2005
PP Stamp 7/2005
CR 8/2005
========================
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Congrats Eric. It was a long due.

Yes, UN is a great person, he has helped so many people in this forum, directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, he is a bit unlucky. Hopefully, he will also get his approval very fast.

Enjoy your freedom and good luck to your spouse for a speedy approval.
 
Congrats Eric,

I am very happy for you. Wish you all the best and enjoy the freedom.

GC_VSC
 
It is very heart-moving to read your emotional roller coaster story. CONGRATULATIONS and enjoy your freedom! Best wishes to you and UnitedNations (Life Saver)!!!
 
Apollo_13 said:
Congrats Eric. It was a long due.

Yes, UN is a great person, he has helped so many people in this forum, directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, he is a bit unlucky. Hopefully, he will also get his approval very fast.

Enjoy your freedom and good luck to your spouse for a speedy approval.

I am surprised to know that UnitedNations still doesn't have his approval. He must be granted a Honorary Greencard. :)
 
fantastic story..... Many Congrats - well deserved!

I have not read many posts by UN - but what a super super person he/she must be - hats off.

Congrats once again, Eric.
 
All the best!

Wow, what an amazing story! I almost had a heart attack just reading this, I can't imagine what it must have been like...

Congratulations!
 
Same with me....

Hi Everyone,
I also received the same email this morning 05/05/05 with the message "485 was approved on 5/4/2005 and a new card has been ordered.” Happened both for my wife & me. I have to wait for my two children to get through too. Need to see my country. So long I am outside...more than 5 years....

Thanks to everyone for sharing such valuable information. Good luck to all of you. I prey for you all.
 
Congrats EricS.... Enjoy the Freedom....

EricS said:
I am very happy to share this news with all of you that by the grace of GOD, my 485 is approved!

I got the emails this morning, 05/05/05, that my 485 was approved on 5/4/2005 and a new card has been ordered.

It has been a long 4 yr journey, may be not as long as some others, but it was full of bumps and stop signs. LC was filed in Oct 2001 in RIR after months of preparation. Then it got stuck in the April 2001 LC loop in NJ. Then we got a NOID on LC for revising the proffered wage from 65 K to ~80 K. We did that and LC was approved in Nov 2003. Our wonderful attorney took couple of months to put together the case.

After a years wait, 140 and hence 485s were denied in Nov 2004 due to Ability to pay and Education issue. We talked to our attorney and he just gave up. Talked to our CPA, same thing. These were the guys whom we have been telling since last 6 months that 140 may get denied due to A2P and we may need to do something. They always said that they will handle it when it comes. When the denial came, they simply backed out.

I was so depressed. I was already in my 6th year of H1. Even if I applied for new LC, there were no chances of getting a 7th year H1 ext. Anyway I applied for 2 new LCs from 2 different states after paying expenses out of my pocket. I was also thinking of taking a pre-approved LC, but could not find any reliable company for that.

Then.... came..... UnitedNations!
He was the first person to tell me, "You will be approved". I had hard time believing him first, but reading thru his posts and talking to him, I realized what knowledge he has. I put full faith in him. We filed MTR without any attorney's help. UN was the one who prepared the more than 100 page MTR for me. My friend, Hidden_Man, had already done all the ground work with UN and our employer when his 140 got denied, and it proved so helpful. In fact, I may not have done it without his help. My MTR was accepted and 140 was approved in a month. Considering Dec holiday season, it was pretty fast. For more details about my MTR please read my post #1301 in UnitedNations ability to pay thread.

http://www.immigrationportal.com/showpost.php?p=1027682&postcount=1301

Thank you UN, you are simply great!

Then I got my FP in Feb 2005. Tried to do early FP, but had to wait. Now for last couple of days, I was watching other people get approved with NDs in as far as Dec 2004 and was thinking what is happening to my case. As you may know, my wife's case was also denied along with my 485. Her 485 got reopened in March 2005. FP season was already over by then and we did not get FP for her. So finally, yesterday, we decided to call USCIS to request to send a FP notice as the published dates for 485 is June 3rd 2004 now (ours is ND 5/18/2004). I called 800 # and we got transferred to VSC. The officer who took the call said that, although your ND is 5/18/2004, but yours are reopened cases on MTR, so those processing dates do not mean anything to your cases. It may take months for your cases to be touched.

My heart sank and I was thinking what is going to happen. I will have to shell out another $3000/- for H1 ext and above all this uncertainty. I did not want to use EAD as I was not very sure what will happen to my 485. We were about to hang up disappointed, when I asked him if can please check the status of my case. He asked for my A# and in a very normal way said " Your case is approved today". We couldn't believe what he was saying. Anyway, I thanked him and we hung up the phone. Then I started waiting for Website update and Email. I haven't checked my email, these many numbers of times in one day as I checked yesterday. I waited till 11 PM, still no update. I started feeling that he may have punched in a wrong A# and it was not my case. I still had hope as I had seen so may people reporting that they received email notification the next day about approval.

I couldn’t sleep very well and got up early. Still no email, no update on the website. Finally, at 7:15 AM I got 2 emails announcing my approval. Website also updated. The message says that after approving, a card has been ordered. My wait is over!

Now we are waiting for my wife to get a FP notice, lets see when that will happen.

I am so thankful to Mr. Rajiv S. Khanna, that he hosts this wonderful website, where we can all share our experiences and progress on our cases. If it were not for this forum, I would have never met UN and may be had to wait another couple of years to get my GC or may have given up and just went back.

Thanks to my friend, Hidden_Man, for doing all the ground work for MTR. I feel so bad that his 485 is stuck in the name check, I wish he also get his approval soon.

There are so many wonderful people on this forum, who help others in need. Thanks to them and thanks to all the forum members, who share their experiences and make this unpredictable journey, a little less stressful. Thank you all!

I wish the PDs become current soon and all of you, who are waiting for approval, get it soon. I know what it is like waiting. I wish no one has to go thru what I went thru.
Best to luck and thanks!

I am right here, trying to help others, as much I can.
God bless you!
 
I-485 approved...

Hi Eric,
One important I just forgot to mention in my last response. May be I am too overwhelmed after receiving my email. Just call USCIS yesterday and got approved email today...Unbelievable...

I forgot to congratulate you in the first place...Sorry about that...Yours is really an emotional roller coaster, but with an excellent final outcome.

I hope you have very good life and god bless you & your family...
 
Hearty congrats!!!

EricS said:
I am very happy to share this news with all of you that by the grace of GOD, my 485 is approved!

I am right here, trying to help others, as much I can.
God bless you!

Eric first of all , CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
You went thru a lot. While reading your post, I can literally feel the pain and frustration that you must have went thru during those times .
People who live here dont really understand what it means to have gc or get each stage cleared. Its people like you and me and all on this forum that know how difficult it is to spend every day checking email and online status to see if there is any LUD or change of message or if if you are lucky an approval status.

UN and hidden have really done great in helping you achieve this. Well people here say that firefighter and policemen are heros,...well i say that these people are heros too. To help somebody to such an extent who is in great need of help is heroism.

I am more happy for your approval than mine. I got it without any complications. My approval was sweet to me but I am sure yours must have felt even sweeter than mine.

Enjoy Eric!!!! Enjoy the freedom. I hope your wife gets it soon too.
Good luck to her.
 
EricS said:
I am very happy to share this news with all of you that by the grace of GOD, my 485 is approved!


Then.... came..... UnitedNations!
He was the first person to tell me, "You will be approved". I had hard time believing him first, Thank you UN, you are simply great!
congratualtions, Eric !! :) I know you for a while... Abilty to Pay .. guy ! :D

You have to make reality check to keep believing UN words. :p
 
Apollo_13 said:
Yes, UN is a great person, he has helped so many people in this forum, directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, he is a bit unlucky. Hopefully, he will also get his approval very fast.

I know for sure, UN will get approval as soon he responds to his RFE. UN is on top it and getting things in place.
 
Thanks!

Thanks to FastAndLucky, maybesomeday, Apollo_13, gc_vsc, srichalam, mvinays, docneedsdoc, ziv711, bud2003, rohilr, sid2005, wait_4ever, grunggy, lohith and all other members.

FastAndLucky,
Thanks for your good wishes!

maybesomeday,
Yes, the feeling is sinking in slowly, after all it took more than 4 years to get this feeling, it will take some time for it to really sink in.

Apollo_13,
Yes, UN has replied to his RFE recently, I also hope he get his approval soon.

gc_vsc,
I wish you also get your approval soon!

srichalam,
Do you have FP recd message on your 485? Have you checked your name check status? Wish you get your GC soon!

mvinays,
I hope your LC gets approved soon. I agree with you that UN should be granted a Honorary Greencard.

docneedsdoc,
Looks like your case is also set for approval shortly.

ziv711,
Yes, I survived with the support of this forum, wealth of information here!

bud2003,
Wish you also get your approval soon!

rohilr,
Your ND is same as mine, I know how you could be feeling. This should give you hope that they have not forgotten May 2004 cases. Hope you get your approval soon!

sid2005,
Congratulations to you also and I wish you good luck in life!

wait_4ever,
Thanks for your wishes and understanding. Best of luck to you in your life!

grunggy,
You will be getting your card pretty soon, best of luck!

lohith,
I also know you for a while :) , I have talked about you with UN so much, that I feel I have actually met you. I wish we meet some day!
I talked to UN this morning, infact he was the first one who I called after getting my approval and this was on purpose. He has already submitted his RFE response and I wish he will get approval soon!

FastAndLucky said:
congrats man, you deserve it! good luck in your new life after GC. :)
 
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