GC Approved for me and my family

V

Viv Richards

Registered Users (C)
It is now my time to celebrate.
Heard AVM on 07/18/02 evening 7:15 PM .
Could n' t believe my ears.With the mercy of God Almighty,heard the good news that GC has been approved for me , wife and two kids.

Details :
EAC-01-278-XXXXX
RD :08/03/01
ND :09/24/01
PD:Apr 00
EB3,VA
NO RFE.Wish you all good luck.
Already updated Rupnet which has id as Ashish.

This is the first time I am posting a thread.

I would like to share some of my experiances.
My Recommendation is we Indians should process thru good Indian lawyers who knows our style of working and documentation in our country.I got processed thru an attorney thru my Employer who had processed my H1 who is from this country.My Employer mentioned that this attorney has processed 6 cases for them earlier and I fell for it.
The required documentation and procedures were not properly explained before start of the case.
Initially all I was asked to submit my updated resume.I had submitted the very next day and came to know that only after 4 months ,the request for labor certification was filed.Had I waited just one more month,I could have applied under EB2.The attorney did not mention about consolate processing and advance parole at all.
Thank God,my labor got approved in a month and I-140 also got approved within a month.Subsequently I was informed that I-485 can be applied only when it becomes current and no further details were disclosed.Though I repeatedly asked about the documentation required for I-485,the attorney did not disclose it.Finally one fine morning after 3 weeks of becoming the current,the big application booklet was sent to my companys' marketing office which got redirected and came to me after 2 weeks.Thank God, nothing was lost
.I was not having birth certificate for me and my wife. However for both of my kids, we did have.Reluctantly we submitted our school leaving certificate records as the proof.Whereas I came to know that many Indian attorneys have clearly mentioned the format for affidavit much in advance.We had got affidavits later but thank God, we did not get a RFE for this.The paralegals who were processing the case files with attorney have been changed frequently.In fact the EAD Photos were approved by the paralegal but got rejected and correct photos were needed for resubmission.
I am with the same Employer till now.However I had changed my residence from one town to another within the same county.This attorney is not aware of FORM AR-11.The attorney simply wrote a covering letter to INS mentioning the case no. and change of address.When I talked to an IIO three weeks back,I got the address updated over phone.


The one std. answer from attorney :everything is fine.the case may take 8-10 months from now which has upset my Employer to a large extent.

When I talked to IIO on June 25th,I was told that they were processing cases of AUG 1,01 RD and that my case was not assigned to an officer yet but considering normal circumstances ,could expect the approval within 4-6 weeks.
This week when I called the IIO on Monday 07/15,I was told that very recently the case has been assigned to an officer and I should wait at least a month to check the status of my case.The IIO confirmed my address update informed the status of our family and told that next time onwards my wife only should seek details of her and my kids cases.

On seeing a no.of approvals yesterday,I checked the AVM without any hope.

BUT GOD HAS FINALLY GIVEN FREEDOM.

My family has gone for vacation to INDIA a month back.I will be joining them this month end and plan to return to US in first week of Sept on H1/H4 and then go for stamping.The attorney says this won't create any problem.Of course I had got my H1/h4 stamped here at St.Louis ,last year itself and is valid till MAY2004.Though I had EAD,I had not used it. Will this be fine?
Any one who has similar experiance,pl. give your input.

Can anybody share their recent stamping experiance at Arlngton?

Actually I came to know about this site only 2 months back.The Input from this site is enormous.Thanks to Rajiv Khanna and Company.

:) :) :)
 
congrats

viv - Congrats !

YOu better confirm one thing. As of I know the moment i-485 is approved your h1 becomes invalid. You may be in for serious trouble.
However if you are outside USA at the time of approval you can come back safely on H1 or AP. Please confirm with any expert.
 
travel with i-485

first congrats viv
as far as i know once you apply for i-485 you are no longer on h1 visa. my lawyer says we need adv payrole to travel out side of usa, u may come back to usa but there will be some problems with your application of GC. he was saying when they scan your h1 at the airport it will show them that it is not valid or something? may be he is wrong. i have h1 visa till jan 2003 but my lawyer says no to travel on h1 since we have filed i-485.
 
Taurus/Gujju,

Considering Ashish's situation wherein he has approval in hand but plans to get stamped afterwards................


does it mean, it is OK to travel if one is on EAD/AP and with plans to get stamping after coming back to the USA?
 
Originally posted by dma_va
Taurus/Gujju,

Considering Ashish's situation wherein he has approval in hand but plans to get stamped afterwards................


does it mean, it is OK to travel if one is on EAD/AP and with plans to get stamping after coming back to the USA?
Click to expand...

I am not very sure but remember reading about this somewhere that once i-485 is approved your H1/EAD/AP becomes invalid. However if you are not in USA at the time of approval you still can come back , but at the port of entry you will have some kind of interview (they call you inside the office and verify your details).

If one has approval notice better to go for stamping and then leave the country. Approval date on i-485 notice is GC effective date. So you cannot be on both GC status and EAD (or H1). Husband and wife can go for stamping separately and on two different dates it does not matter.
 
Congrats

As far as I know one can use H1/ AP to travel till I-485 is pending. Once I-485 is approved, all valid non-immigrant visa would become void. If a person was already outside the US when the case was approved then they can enter the US with their H1/AP status and get their passport stamped.

In this case I would strongly recommend to get it stamped in the passport before trvelling outside the US. If you are still planning to travel without getting your passport stamped then seek good legal advice because it might be considered as you are abandonning your GC.

-jericho02
 
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Thanks.

But my and family's situation is a bit tricky. We plan to travel on 8/19. Assuming I get approval notice on 8/15; does INS Receipt Notice give any timeframe for going to passport stamping or can I go there the very next day?
 
Congrats Viv !!

As others have mentioned I would also suggest to get your PP stamped before leaving the country !! Your wife can get her PP stamped when she comes back and that should be fine.

Still I would seek a competent lawyers advice.

BR
 
Originally posted by dma_va
Thanks.

But my and family's situation is a bit tricky. We plan to travel on 8/19. Assuming I get approval notice on 8/15; does INS Receipt Notice give any timeframe for going to passport stamping or can I go there the very next day?
Click to expand...

dma_va,

YOu can go very next day for stamping. No timeframe mentioned. However some INS offices stamp only on specific day of the week (such as Wednesday, Friday ..) . Your notice will explain stamping hours info , INS office address etc.

That's the reason INS officer usually interviews people if their GC is approved and passport is stamped. They enter your data at port of entry and system shows you are in different status. They call you inside for interview (i.e an INS officer will question you). If the reason is valid - such as you were not in USA when your case was approved, they let you in without any further questioning. But if someone has approval notice in hand and still passport is not stamped they can conclude that you have abondoned your GC process. So you have to be careful. Also your case is approved (as per AVM) but notice not received by mail may be a valid reason. Because AVM message is not a legal entity.

I advice you to talk to your attorney. Otherwsie you may get into trouble at the port of entry.
 
Taurus,

This was precious info.

One more query, if you please..............

I am in South-Central VA, three hours down from Arlington.

Would you know in my case which INS center will be designated for stamping? FYI, my FP was done in area local to my city
 
Guys,
Please read the below article in full, it comes directly from INS books, it answers most of your question on H visa, it also answers Viv's concern, here is the excerpt.......

How Does the Approval of an Application for Adjustment of Status
During the Alien's Absence From the United States Affect His or Her
Readmission?

In accordance with 8 CFR 211.1, a Form I-797 approval notice for an
adjustment of status application is insufficient to establish an
arriving alien's entitlement to lawful permanent residence. An H-1 or
L-1 nonimmigrant (or a dependent family member) whose application for
adjustment of status was approved during the alien's absence from the
United States will be granted deferred inspection in accordance with
Sec. 235.2(b) upon presentation of a valid I-797 notice of approval of
the application for status. Such deferred action shall be for the
purpose of providing conclusive evidence that the alien's status has in
fact been adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident.

I hope this helps.
 
Originally posted by dma_va
Taurus,

This was precious info.

One more query, if you please..............

I am in South-Central VA, three hours down from Arlington.

Would you know in my case which INS center will be designated for stamping? FYI, my FP was done in area local to my city
Click to expand...

I have no idea abuot locations in VA. However INS website lists different INS offices in different states. YOu can check in this link.

http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/alphaa.htm

After reading Thakursaheb's post I remember the process of interview at entry point is called "deferred inspection". In normal circumstances INS officer stamps on you rpassport and lets you in. If anything is wrong he will send you to separate room for inspecting your documents.
 
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Taurus,
What I have learnt from my attorney and from Sheila Murthy's chat descriptions is "Deferred Inspection" is no different then "Secondary Inspection"(that you have to do incase of traveling on AP), in both cases they check you papers thoroughly and eventually lets you in.
 
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