Finally Finally Finally...I am free ....
Yippeeee!!! RD-May 02
It's been excruciating..as all fellow green card waiters know. Now that it is over though I would call myself failry lucky..well atleast I am not unlucky I think...I didn't have to wait 900+ days for I-485 like some fellow waiters, I did not get transferred to a local center for Interview either. My approval came in mere 794 days or 113 weeks or 26 months or 2+ years)
I came here in Mar 1999, working for a small Desi consulting company in Edison/iselin NJ area. That was a nightmare, so I switched jobs to an American company. They had started my green card process and had a very good (Indian) lawyer. (I think Gurnani & Gurnani in Edison, NJ).
However after an year I decided not to do consulting anymore, and at that time I joined a good company in New York, as a full time employee. Several times later during my Green Card process I wondered, what would have happened (how early would I have gotten my green card) if I had not switched companies at that time.
However, after the whole ordeal, I would say that people are TOO SCARED, you should let things be, and if you really need to do something (like changing job) , just do it, without fretting over it too much.
After working in NY for 3 years, I gradually grew dissatisfied with my job, and after 1 year of filing I-485 I switched jobs again (Under AC21 , did not inform VSC except for address change) and moved to California. Within 6 months of moving to California, my company went through a reorg and they told me to move to Seattle, WA. I did not want to leave that job so I moved to Seattle.
On Jan 29, I got an RFE (Employment letter etc.. the regular stuff) , and inspite of having sent forms for substituting attorneys, the RFE was sent to the old lawyer. It took me 2 months to track it down. And I sent the RFE reply in just under 3 months of it's issue. After that the wait began again...
Finally I decided to contact a Senator, which I did on 6/30 (via Email) and 7/08 (via Fax) (Senator Maria Cantwell). I got a letter from them dated 7/09 stating that they have contacted VSC and will get back to me when they have a response. The letter that I wrote to the senator is copied below. I was not too hopeful, I had read mixed experiences on various forums, some staing that contacting senator helped their case, some stating it is of no use.
But I was pleasantly surprised to see the approval notice in my email on 7/14. With an approval date of 7/13. So well I am pretty relieved, the whole Immigration community has been a great help. I would probably have gone mad without your support, so the first thing I am doing is writing this letter
I AM HAPPY
Well actually after that initial euphoria, I fell kinda numb now. Can't think of much. But I'll surely celebrate this tonight and probably for this whole week, with my family. Stuff is just bouncing around in my head...have to call parents in India...plan a trip to India...blah blah
==Copy of letter to Senator==
July 14, 2004
Senator XXChoose Yours @ http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ XX
XXX
Respected Senator,
RE: My Pending I-485 (Adjustment of Status i.e. Green Card) application at Vermont Service Center
I am a current resident of Bellevue, WA, working at XXX as a XXX in their XXX Group.
My Employment based I-485 application for adjustment of status was filed on May 15, 2002 in Vermont Service Center. On Jan 29, 2004 I received a Request for Evidence (RFE). The response to which was received by USCIS on Apr 16, 2004. Although the letter from USCIS stated that my case will be reviewed within 60 days of receipt of RFE, it has been well over 60 days, and I have received no update on my case. Overall it has been over 2 years since my I-485 was filed.
This wait for the I-485 to be approved has been excruciating to say the least. I and my family have been living in constant dread and insecurity for the last few years. Under the current provisions, there is no way I can progress in my job responsibility, so my professional growth has effectively been thwarted. I have also been unable to make any important decisions in my life, including - investing for my son’s college education, investing for our retirement, buying a house or enrolling in college for higher education - due to the uncertainty of the I-485 process.
For being a rule-abiding, tax-paying member of the society, and hopefully an American Citizen in the future, this is a painful way to be welcomed to the "land of opportunity". And I am saddened by the fact that, not just me but thousands others are caught in the quagmire of the current immigration process.
I plead you to urge USCIS to take action on my case. Any assistance that you provide will be appreciated and remembered.
Sincerely,
XXNAMEXX
(Resident Washington State)
==Details==
PD Mar 02
RD 5/15/02
ND 05/15/02
FP1 6/12/02
EAD2 4/17/03
FP2 12/23/03
EAD3 4/20/04
RFE 01/29/04
RFE Recvd 04/16/04
Contacted Senator(Maria Cantwell) 06/30/2004 by Online email from her website
Contacted Senator(Maria Cantwell) 07/08/2004 by Faxing her Seattle office
AD 07/13/2004 (after 794 days/ 113 weeks/ 26 months/2+ years)
EAC021915XXXX
The LUD was 06/03/2004 last time I checked, before that it was 04/19/04 (coinciding with the receipt of my RFE), now ofcourse it's showing LUD 07/14/2004
The emails I received are timestamped 07/14/04 10:03AM, and they say the AD is 07/13
Yippeeee!!! RD-May 02It's been excruciating..as all fellow green card waiters know. Now that it is over though I would call myself failry lucky..well atleast I am not unlucky I think...I didn't have to wait 900+ days for I-485 like some fellow waiters, I did not get transferred to a local center for Interview either. My approval came in mere 794 days or 113 weeks or 26 months or 2+ years)
I came here in Mar 1999, working for a small Desi consulting company in Edison/iselin NJ area. That was a nightmare, so I switched jobs to an American company. They had started my green card process and had a very good (Indian) lawyer. (I think Gurnani & Gurnani in Edison, NJ).
However after an year I decided not to do consulting anymore, and at that time I joined a good company in New York, as a full time employee. Several times later during my Green Card process I wondered, what would have happened (how early would I have gotten my green card) if I had not switched companies at that time.
However, after the whole ordeal, I would say that people are TOO SCARED, you should let things be, and if you really need to do something (like changing job) , just do it, without fretting over it too much.
After working in NY for 3 years, I gradually grew dissatisfied with my job, and after 1 year of filing I-485 I switched jobs again (Under AC21 , did not inform VSC except for address change) and moved to California. Within 6 months of moving to California, my company went through a reorg and they told me to move to Seattle, WA. I did not want to leave that job so I moved to Seattle.
On Jan 29, I got an RFE (Employment letter etc.. the regular stuff) , and inspite of having sent forms for substituting attorneys, the RFE was sent to the old lawyer. It took me 2 months to track it down. And I sent the RFE reply in just under 3 months of it's issue. After that the wait began again...
Finally I decided to contact a Senator, which I did on 6/30 (via Email) and 7/08 (via Fax) (Senator Maria Cantwell). I got a letter from them dated 7/09 stating that they have contacted VSC and will get back to me when they have a response. The letter that I wrote to the senator is copied below. I was not too hopeful, I had read mixed experiences on various forums, some staing that contacting senator helped their case, some stating it is of no use.
But I was pleasantly surprised to see the approval notice in my email on 7/14. With an approval date of 7/13. So well I am pretty relieved, the whole Immigration community has been a great help. I would probably have gone mad without your support, so the first thing I am doing is writing this letter
I AM HAPPY
Well actually after that initial euphoria, I fell kinda numb now. Can't think of much. But I'll surely celebrate this tonight and probably for this whole week, with my family. Stuff is just bouncing around in my head...have to call parents in India...plan a trip to India...blah blah
==Copy of letter to Senator==
July 14, 2004
Senator XXChoose Yours @ http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ XX
XXX
Respected Senator,
RE: My Pending I-485 (Adjustment of Status i.e. Green Card) application at Vermont Service Center
I am a current resident of Bellevue, WA, working at XXX as a XXX in their XXX Group.
My Employment based I-485 application for adjustment of status was filed on May 15, 2002 in Vermont Service Center. On Jan 29, 2004 I received a Request for Evidence (RFE). The response to which was received by USCIS on Apr 16, 2004. Although the letter from USCIS stated that my case will be reviewed within 60 days of receipt of RFE, it has been well over 60 days, and I have received no update on my case. Overall it has been over 2 years since my I-485 was filed.
This wait for the I-485 to be approved has been excruciating to say the least. I and my family have been living in constant dread and insecurity for the last few years. Under the current provisions, there is no way I can progress in my job responsibility, so my professional growth has effectively been thwarted. I have also been unable to make any important decisions in my life, including - investing for my son’s college education, investing for our retirement, buying a house or enrolling in college for higher education - due to the uncertainty of the I-485 process.
For being a rule-abiding, tax-paying member of the society, and hopefully an American Citizen in the future, this is a painful way to be welcomed to the "land of opportunity". And I am saddened by the fact that, not just me but thousands others are caught in the quagmire of the current immigration process.
I plead you to urge USCIS to take action on my case. Any assistance that you provide will be appreciated and remembered.
Sincerely,
XXNAMEXX
(Resident Washington State)
==Details==
PD Mar 02
RD 5/15/02
ND 05/15/02
FP1 6/12/02
EAD2 4/17/03
FP2 12/23/03
EAD3 4/20/04
RFE 01/29/04
RFE Recvd 04/16/04
Contacted Senator(Maria Cantwell) 06/30/2004 by Online email from her website
Contacted Senator(Maria Cantwell) 07/08/2004 by Faxing her Seattle office
AD 07/13/2004 (after 794 days/ 113 weeks/ 26 months/2+ years)
EAC021915XXXX
The LUD was 06/03/2004 last time I checked, before that it was 04/19/04 (coinciding with the receipt of my RFE), now ofcourse it's showing LUD 07/14/2004
The emails I received are timestamped 07/14/04 10:03AM, and they say the AD is 07/13
Last edited by a moderator: