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chay said:
thanks gette and kamran for your help....I've already sent the packet3 today and hope that before the interview date I'll be able to receive the police certificates from all the countries I used to live. I'll give you feedback on my case.
I'm really confused. I've received two packet3 documents from US embassy manila with different case numbers. When I called them, they can't give me a valid reason for this action. Later they told me that they created a new case number because they corrected my daughters name...I told them that it was very inefficient and confusing, they should had just updated my initial case number. They said that I'll just have to used the second case number and need to respond to it. I told them that its very dissapointing since I'm already waiting for the packet4 instead receiving another packet3...they've just wasted my 2 weeks of waiting.
 
485 pending, H1b pending. Is parole necessary?

Hello all,

I have been a long time visitor of this forum and I find it to be extremely valuable. Thanks to

everybody.

I received my green card in March 12th, 2006 after a wait of 5.5 years. I am so happy!!

Before receiving my green card, I got married in July. My wife filed her 485 with follow to join

immediately and she received her work permit shortly. She also received her fingerprint notice in

February and it was taken care of in February.

She is currently working at the same company she was working before we got married. She is working with

the H1b visa. Her second H1b expired and 1 year extension was approved before it expired.

We planned a visit to go back to our native county this coiming August and made an appointment with the

US embassy there. Since they make appointments no earlier than a month, we got an appointment slot for

August 15th.

The non American officer in the embassy told my wife that since she has two visa applications (A non

immigrant H1b extension and an immigrant visa application 485) they would not stamp her H1b extension.

The officer told her that she had to make a choice. If she wanted to pursue the 485 application then she

would need an advanced parole to leave the US.

We were shocked to hear this. I called USCIS and my attorney and made an appointment with the local

USCIS to speak to an officer in person. They all said that she didn't need parole because she had an

approved H1b extension. Also by law the embassy has to stamp the visa because it is already approved.

We emailed the embassy with this information but they insisted that she need a parole to leave the US.

We made an another appointment with the local USCIS here and the officer said that since the embassy is

requiring the parole document, we had no choice but to get the travel document.

After all this, we filed for the travel document (131). After filing, we made another appointment with

the USCIS office to check up on the application. The officer called the Service Center and she was told

that my wife's 131 application had problems and she had to go through extensive security check. The

officer told her that this is not the ordinary security check they do to everyone.

We are very dissapointed and sad. Nobody knows how long this takes. Some say months, some say years...

I will talk to my attorned tomorrow and find what the options are at this point.

Does anyone have an idea, suggestion or similar experience?

Regards
-Al
 
Visit visa when PD is not current

Unfortunately my wife is not able to get the visit visa. The officer didnt look at any of the documents. He took interview for about 10 minutes and asked my wife to wait for the PD to get current.
I gave her lot of documents including the letter from the Senator which he didnt look. He didnt asked for any of the documents and when my wife tried to give him the letter from the senator he said that he dont need any documents.
My all efforts ended up in failure but I know some lucky dude who got it. So there is no harm in trying.
Dont know how long it will take to get the PD current. I am July 2002 EB3. Its really hard to live in this uncertain situation when you dont know how long it will take.
Thanks for all the prayers. I hope it will end soon.

Good Luck to all.
 
I think that your case is pending because of the name check. The correct situation will be known when you get the infopass appointment.

Good Luck.


indian_4 said:
Hey friends,

Filed through USCitizen spouse.

No interview letter yet..Dont know what to do?

I am getting good offer outside CA but dont want to change the Address, otherwise, D.O will change, need to file AR 11, and lots of hassles...

Do you think I need to take infopass and visit DO once?

Hey which processing timeline do I need to see for the I-130? My DO is Santa Ana, CA.


Thanks in advance and best of luck....

----------------------
D.O Santa Ana, CA
4/26/06 = i485, i130, i131, i765 applied
6/16 = i131 approved
6/26 = got EAD on hand
Now Waiting for interview letter from uscis..
 
There is no harm in waiting for 2 weeks. Send your packet 3 with all the required docs as soon as you can.
Think about people who are waiting and dont know how long they have to wait. You should be thankful to God that your case is inline and PD is current. Dont get panic and do the best you can and wait for the results. Everything will be alright soon.
Good Luck.



chay said:
I'm really confused. I've received two packet3 documents from US embassy manila with different case numbers. When I called them, they can't give me a valid reason for this action. Later they told me that they created a new case number because they corrected my daughters name...I told them that it was very inefficient and confusing, they should had just updated my initial case number. They said that I'll just have to used the second case number and need to respond to it. I told them that its very dissapointing since I'm already waiting for the packet4 instead receiving another packet3...they've just wasted my 2 weeks of waiting.
 
Kamran Sorry to hear this.
Its Just frustrating and I know how you feel. My PD is APRIL 2002 and I dont know how long its gonna be before it becomes current...
I am planning to go back ... next Month..


kamrans said:
Unfortunately my wife is not able to get the visit visa. The officer didnt look at any of the documents. He took interview for about 10 minutes and asked my wife to wait for the PD to get current.
I gave her lot of documents including the letter from the Senator which he didnt look. He didnt asked for any of the documents and when my wife tried to give him the letter from the senator he said that he dont need any documents.
My all efforts ended up in failure but I know some lucky dude who got it. So there is no harm in trying.
Dont know how long it will take to get the PD current. I am July 2002 EB3. Its really hard to live in this uncertain situation when you dont know how long it will take.
Thanks for all the prayers. I hope it will end soon.

Good Luck to all.
 
How long you are planning to stay there. Make sure that you can present papers of job when your PD gets current as you have to present a proof that you can support your wife.
There is no harm in trying the visit visa. May be I am unlucky with it and you may get lucky.
Good Luck and stay in touch.


rammyrammy said:
Kamran Sorry to hear this.
Its Just frustrating and I know how you feel. My PD is APRIL 2002 and I dont know how long its gonna be before it becomes current...
I am planning to go back ... next Month..
 
kamrans said:
How long you are planning to stay there. Make sure that you can present papers of job when your PD gets current as you have to present a proof that you can support your wife.
There is no harm in trying the visit visa. May be I am unlucky with it and you may get lucky.
Good Luck and stay in touch.
Initially I am planning for 4 months ie till the end of the year.
Well even for tryng a visitor Visa the wait time is more than 6 months in India. The latest available date is end of January. And like you said its a lot of documentation. I have to leave my current Job and search for another when I come back.
I will be closely monitornig this forum..
 
I wish you good luck and thinking your decision is good. I dont see any hope for EB3 india to enter 2002 in a year or so. Its stagnant at April 2001 right now and they are talking about further retrogression.

Good Luck to all.


rammyrammy said:
Initially I am planning for 4 months ie till the end of the year.
Well even for tryng a visitor Visa the wait time is more than 6 months in India. The latest available date is end of January. And like you said its a lot of documentation. I have to leave my current Job and search for another when I come back.
I will be closely monitornig this forum..
 
Kamrans

Kamrans,

thanks for this info about Schedule A Quota, i've been reading about it for quite some time and here are my insights and some info i gathered:

a.) there's an on-going bill (Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill-S. 2611) that calls for Shedule A/EX Visa to be open/current till the year 2014-17. - hope this bill pass!
b.) if the US stops hiring foreign nurses, US healthcare will greatly suffer and the Americans(citizens) will knock on the heads of their senators and congressmen if this bill did not pass.
c.) if the bill do not pass before november(election time), re-electionist will have problem for re-election... - debate
d.) a predicted nursing shortage of more than 275,000 RNs by the year 2010(fact) in the US.

there are future jobs for foreigners in the US, read this> http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2004/02/art5full.pdf it will be a good investment for our children(their future jobs).

hope our prayers will be granted...

judex






kamrans said:
Judex,
You need to rush now. The most recent VB said that schedule A quota will end in October 1st and if there is no legislation it will end forever. So you need to rush. Here is what they say about schedule A in VB.

A total of 50,000 numbers were provided for use in the Schedule A (EX) visa category which was established last May. Visa demand in this category is approaching that limit, and may require the establishment of a cut-off date as early as October. Once all 50,000 numbers have been made available under the current limitation, processing under this category will end.

So you need to rush and apply with receipt notice of I-824.

Good Luck.
 
Can anyone tell me about the retrogression?

I still do not understand abou it (what is retrogression means) , all i know is that if you are under FOLLOW-TO-JOIN benefits you do not have to wait for any extra TIME for a visa # to become available.
here is what USCIS has in the web:

Following-to-Join Benefits for Spouses
Please note: This section is only applicable to lawful permanent residents who did not gain their LPR status as an immediate relative (parent, spouse, or unmarried child under 21 years of age) of a U.S. citizen.
If you were married before you became a lawful permanent resident, and your spouse did not physically accompany you to the U.S., your spouse may be eligible for following-to-join benefits. This means that you do not have to submit a separate Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for your spouse, and your spouse will not have to wait any extra time for a visa number to become available. In this case, you may simply notify a U.S. Consulate that you are a lawful permanent resident so that your spouse can apply for an immigrant visa. Your spouse may be eligible for following-to-join benefits if your relationship still exists and if one of the following is applicable:

You received a diversity immigrant visa
You received an employment-based immigrant visa
You received an immigrant visa based on your relationship to your U.S. citizen sibling
You received an immigrant visa based on your relationship to your U.S. citizen parent when you were already married


(For information on following-to-join benefits for children of lawful permanent residents, please see Petitioning Procedures: Bringing a Child to Live in the United States.)

If you fall into one of these categories, please submit the following information to the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:

Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition
A copy of the original application or petition that was used to apply for your immigrant status
A copy of the I-797, Notice of Action, for your original application or petition
A copy of your alien registration receipt card or I-551



If the I-824 is approved, the USCIS will notify a U.S. consulate that you are a lawful permanent resident so that your spouse can apply for a following-to-join immigrant visa. Your spouse must then contact the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing.

You should file the I-824 at the USCIS office that took the most recent action on your case
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Judex,
From the last one year I am closely monitoring whats going on in senate and in house. Any bill needs to pass from both houses and then president needs to sign it then it become law.
In december last year house passed a very strict bill and because of that there are protests going on all around in USA. The problem is that the US lawmakers and members of senate and congress dont see this matter as a separate matter for legals and illegals. Right now they all are working on CIR(Comprehensive immigration reforms). All the reforms for legal immigrants are also part of this bill. There should be separate bill for the legal immigration. There are lots in senate in house but nobody is working on it. The nerw one is named as SKIL bill and hopefully someone is going to work on it. Lot of contriversy is going on on CIR. Senate passed similiar version of the same bill in May 2006. Just after that house leader send a letter to the president that they dont like this bill and have complete disagreement with the senate.
So now the house is working on hearings in public to find out the situation. If they become agreed to it then they will pass another version of this bill. Then because of the difference in versions of house and senate the conference committe will be formed which will work on resolving the conflicts between the two. If that is resolved then the final version will be presented in senate and house again and if approved it will be sent to the president for his signature to become law.
See how many IF's are involved here. This is all political game and nobody care about the legal immigrants. All the provisions at this point is for the illegal immigration as they are big in numbers (about 11 million).
But since this is election year I hope that some miracle could happen. Nobody is going to pass any bill untill they see any political advantave out of it.
So wait for that time and pray. It doesnt matter if you are EB3 or schedule worker...
Let me know if its still not clear. I will try to further elaborate the process.
Good Luck to all.

judex said:
Kamrans,

thanks for this info about Schedule A Quota, i've been reading about it for quite some time and here are my insights and some info i gathered:

a.) there's an on-going bill (Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill-S. 2611) that calls for Shedule A/EX Visa to be open/current till the year 2014-17. - hope this bill pass!
b.) if the US stops hiring foreign nurses, US healthcare will greatly suffer and the Americans(citizens) will knock on the heads of their senators and congressmen if this bill did not pass.
c.) if the bill do not pass before november(election time), re-electionist will have problem for re-election... - debate
d.) a predicted nursing shortage of more than 275,000 RNs by the year 2010(fact) in the US.

there are future jobs for foreigners in the US, read this> http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2004/02/art5full.pdf it will be a good investment for our children(their future jobs).

hope our prayers will be granted...

judex
 
Hi

With respect there is no point in praying, that will not help

What we should do is get up on our feet , start marching and getting our voices heard

I am sick and tired of hearing about the guest worker program and illegals now it is time for us

Regards Sue
www.expatsvoice.org
 
In July last year I was thinking the same way as you. But the real situation si that you need to have the visa number available to get FTJ visa. This is a fact and we all are waiting just because of that. There are bills in senate and house and hopefully they have to work on it in which they will exempt spouses and kids of the EB applicant fromt he numerical cap.
Retrogression is the term DOS(Department of State) introduced which means that your priority date is not current. When you file any immigrant case with USCIS the very first step is the labor certification. In which the lawyer has to prove that person with this capabilities is not available in the local market at this rate so we need to give him green card so that he can work here permanently. The PD is decided when the DOL(Department of labor) receives your case.
If your PD is current this means that you can file your case with USCIS for AOS(adjustment of status) without waiting. If its not current then you have to see the visa bulletin of each month to see if you passed the cut off dates or not. These dates are established by DOS in each month visa bulletin. For example you filed your case in EB3 category and you dont belong to India, china, phillipine or mexico(they have their own quota so their cut off date varies differntly then others) then you have to see the ROW(Rest of the world) column in the visa bulletin. Currently its at Oct 2001. If you belong to India, china, Phillipine or Mexico then see the corresponding dates.
This retrogression is not new. It happened earlier as well in 1995. The reason is that there is a limit of 140,000 visas per year for all EB categories. Its then subdivided in different categories based on the formula. If the demand is high then the limit then they announce the cut off dates for that category and we call it as retrogression of the priority dates.
I hope its clear to you now. Let me know if you have additional quesitons.

Good Luck.


JCisLORD said:
I still do not understand abou it (what is retrogression means) , all i know is that if you are under FOLLOW-TO-JOIN benefits you do not have to wait for any extra TIME for a visa # to become available.
here is what USCIS has in the web:

Following-to-Join Benefits for Spouses
Please note: This section is only applicable to lawful permanent residents who did not gain their LPR status as an immediate relative (parent, spouse, or unmarried child under 21 years of age) of a U.S. citizen.
If you were married before you became a lawful permanent resident, and your spouse did not physically accompany you to the U.S., your spouse may be eligible for following-to-join benefits. This means that you do not have to submit a separate Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for your spouse, and your spouse will not have to wait any extra time for a visa number to become available. In this case, you may simply notify a U.S. Consulate that you are a lawful permanent resident so that your spouse can apply for an immigrant visa. Your spouse may be eligible for following-to-join benefits if your relationship still exists and if one of the following is applicable:

You received a diversity immigrant visa
You received an employment-based immigrant visa
You received an immigrant visa based on your relationship to your U.S. citizen sibling
You received an immigrant visa based on your relationship to your U.S. citizen parent when you were already married


(For information on following-to-join benefits for children of lawful permanent residents, please see Petitioning Procedures: Bringing a Child to Live in the United States.)

If you fall into one of these categories, please submit the following information to the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:

Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition
A copy of the original application or petition that was used to apply for your immigrant status
A copy of the I-797, Notice of Action, for your original application or petition
A copy of your alien registration receipt card or I-551



If the I-824 is approved, the USCIS will notify a U.S. consulate that you are a lawful permanent resident so that your spouse can apply for a following-to-join immigrant visa. Your spouse must then contact the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing.

You should file the I-824 at the USCIS office that took the most recent action on your case
 
I can feel the frustration behind but what you can do if all the persons who can make some changes say that they are aware of the situation and they are working on it. I talked to my senator couple of times and he said that they are fully aware of the issue and they are working on it.
Do you feel that legal immigrants can bring any change?. The illegals if granted the right to become lawful here will completely change the balance of power for one political party to the other. The legal immigrants are so small in numbers compared to illegal immigrants that their voices is hard to heard plus I feel that legal immigrants prefer to sit and watch the situation rather then stepping out and talking to lawmakers and senators abd the congressmen.
This is all political game and whenever they see if they can get something out from it by passing some bill they will do it overnight. Right now I dont see any need to expedite this process but who knows.
This whole problem started because of Clintons government decision to pass 245(i) without assigning the separate quota for them. So if you see 350,000 people in a category having a limit of 140,000 per year then you can imagine what will happen. This is what its happening now and the mess wont clear until another 2 years at least or they pass some bill.
Dont know how the minds of the think tanks thinks.

Good Luck.


susan ward said:
Hi

With respect there is no point in praying, that will not help

What we should do is get up on our feet , start marching and getting our voices heard

I am sick and tired of hearing about the guest worker program and illegals now it is time for us

Regards Sue
www.expatsvoice.org
 
Last edited by a moderator:
kamrans

thanks for another info...

if they(US) can decrease the illegal workers by 50%, legal workers will benefit from it...

i got a problem, the submitted Check(payment) of my wife was not signed by her, thats why we haven't received i824 receipt fro 2 weeks now(sh@t!-first time to use a check :)). Do we need to wait for the i824 to be returned? or send another i824 set? im planning to send a new i824 in 2 days...

thanks kamrans...

judex


kamrans said:
Judex,
From the last one year I am closely monitoring whats going on in senate and in house. Any bill needs to pass from both houses and then president needs to sign it then it become law.
In december last year house passed a very strict bill and because of that there are protests going on all around in USA. The problem is that the US lawmakers and members of senate and congress dont see this matter as a separate matter for legals and illegals. Right now they all are working on CIR(Comprehensive immigration reforms). All the reforms for legal immigrants are also part of this bill. There should be separate bill for the legal immigration. There are lots in senate in house but nobody is working on it. The nerw one is named as SKIL bill and hopefully someone is going to work on it. Lot of contriversy is going on on CIR. Senate passed similiar version of the same bill in May 2006. Just after that house leader send a letter to the president that they dont like this bill and have complete disagreement with the senate.
So now the house is working on hearings in public to find out the situation. If they become agreed to it then they will pass another version of this bill. Then because of the difference in versions of house and senate the conference committe will be formed which will work on resolving the conflicts between the two. If that is resolved then the final version will be presented in senate and house again and if approved it will be sent to the president for his signature to become law.
See how many IF's are involved here. This is all political game and nobody care about the legal immigrants. All the provisions at this point is for the illegal immigration as they are big in numbers (about 11 million).
But since this is election year I hope that some miracle could happen. Nobody is going to pass any bill untill they see any political advantave out of it.
So wait for that time and pray. It doesnt matter if you are EB3 or schedule worker...
Let me know if its still not clear. I will try to further elaborate the process.
Good Luck to all.
 
kamrans:

kamrans,

need your advice on part 3 of i824

1. Give the Following information about the orignal petition or application:
Type of Petition or Application (Form Name)
my wife doesn't have the I-485 coz of consular processing. does she need to put the i140 or the i551 on the "type of petition"?

Receipt Number:
i-797 of the i140 or the i551?


Filing Date of Petition or Application (mm/dd/yyyy) -
i140 or i551


Approval Date (mm/dd/yyyy) -
i140 or i551


hope you can enlighten me on this, thanks...

judex
 
kamrans,
Need your advice...I filed by 485 this month since EB2 India will be unavailable from next month and there is a chance that I might be laid off. I am single and I was planning to get REGISTER married in Sept and do official marriage in Feb of next year. I dont think interviews are available in the Chennai consulate to get my wife on H1 before November or Dec even if I decide to get married ASAP. My 485 cant get approved before OCT because EB2 visas are unavailable for India.

I am EB2 and my PD 12/01 is likely to become current in Oct and I could potentially get approved in Oct-Feb and I maybe forced to do FTJ. Will my wifes PD also be 12/01? If I do FTJ, how will it take for me to get my wife to the US? What category does she fall under EB2 employee based India / family based category? Which column in the visa bulletin must I look at?

Any other advice? Thanks in advance.
 
FTJ procedure

Hi,
Since your PD is 12/01 I think it would be better for you to get married between now and Ocotber. If you marry before your 485 approval date then you can bring your wife on FTJ. Your wife's priority Date will be same as your Priority Date in FTJ. If you marry after your 485 Approval date then you have no choice but to bring your wife in family based category. Chennai consulate does not require I-824, I think. So FTJ will be faster if your PD is current. Also, check your Private message.

-Thanks
HBG2001
doesitmatter said:
kamrans,
Need your advice...I filed by 485 this month since EB2 India will be unavailable from next month and there is a chance that I might be laid off. I am single and I was planning to get REGISTER married in Sept and do official marriage in Feb of next year. I dont think interviews are available in the Chennai consulate to get my wife on H1 before November or Dec even if I decide to get married ASAP. My 485 cant get approved before OCT because EB2 visas are unavailable for India.

I am EB2 and my PD 12/01 is likely to become current in Oct and I could potentially get approved in Oct-Feb and I maybe forced to do FTJ. Will my wifes PD also be 12/01? If I do FTJ, how will it take for me to get my wife to the US? What category does she fall under EB2 employee based India / family based category? Which column in the visa bulletin must I look at?

Any other advice? Thanks in advance.
 
No point in predicting something or commenting what they should do and whats gonna happen. I dont see any end of this game with no conclusion.
Anyway dont send another 824. They will send you the letter to send them the check. So send them the check and wait for it. Your wife can call the 1 800 number and find out what needs to be done.
Sending another 824 may create problem.



judex said:
thanks for another info...

if they(US) can decrease the illegal workers by 50%, legal workers will benefit from it...

i got a problem, the submitted Check(payment) of my wife was not signed by her, thats why we haven't received i824 receipt fro 2 weeks now(sh@t!-first time to use a check :)). Do we need to wait for the i824 to be returned? or send another i824 set? im planning to send a new i824 in 2 days...

thanks kamrans...

judex
 
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