General questions re: concurrent filing

G

glensmith

New Member
Hi guys,

My H1-B expires Jan 4th 2008 and my employers are starting to fill out the paperwork for my green card application. I was reading that it is possible to concurrently file your I-140 and I-485. Has anyone ever done this? I have a few questions about concurrently filing...

In part 2 of I-485 where it asks for the application type (a-h) the only option that looks right for filing concurrently is "(a) - an immigrant petition giving me an immediately available immigrant visa number has been approved. (Attach a copy of the approval notice or a relative, special immigrant juvenile or special immigrant military visa petitio filed with this application that will give you an immediately available visa number, if approved)". There isn't an option specifically stating that I'm filing concurrently. Option (a) suggests that I have had my I-140 approved.

I spoke with a USCIS agent and they weren't familiar with filing concurrently at all. They spoke to their supervisor and I was told that I could file concurrently if I phoned that National Visa Center (603-334-0700) and asked if there were any visa numbers available to me. I've called multiple times, but have been unable to speak to a human. Are any of you familiar with this? Are there visa numbers available to me (UK citizen, 28 years old, EB-3 skilled professional status)?

We've kind of left this to the last minute - my visa expires in 4 weeks. We still haven't submitted the labor certification request. Is 4 weeks (taking into account th Christmas/New Year break) adequate time to get the labor certification and I-140 sent in and at least get the I-140 receipt? If we don't receive the receipt by January 4th, what happens? Do I need to leave the country? Will I still be able to work? Would I be on paid leave? I ask about the latter, because I was put on paid leave with my last employer because they failed to submit some paperwork required for me to work for them.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice.

- Best regards,
Glen
 
Glen,

Why dont you try extending you H-1 ? This may be easier and faster. You can then keep working on you GC application.

Regarding concurrent filing : you can file if the visa numbers for the category/country you are filing are current. I did mine sometime ago, I am not sure if the rules have changed.

LC : I will let others answer this question. I doubt that you can get this done in 4 weeks.

MDGUTS
 
Thanks for the quick reply, MDGUTS. I can extend my H1-B for one more year, but we've decided to get my green card now as it only costs an extra ~ $100 for my employers in applications fees, and negates the need to do the same thing this time next year. If I do opt to just renew my H1-B, am I correct in assuming that I do not require a new labor certification? (My job/duty/assignement is unchanged since last renewal).

I will google for information right now, but if you'd care to tell me how to find out if the visa numbers for my category/country are current, that would be great! I assume that by "current", you mean that there are visa numbers still available? If so, is that a green light to concurrently file?

Thanks again,
Glen
 
According to this page visa numbers for me (UK citizen; EB-3 category) are not current - they're sitting @ March 1st, 2001. Assuming this is correct, can anyone confirm that this means I cannot file concurrently.

Does anyone else advise that I just drop/halt the GC application for now and deal with an H1-B extension for now?

Extra note: My american fiance and I are (obviously) engaged and expecting a baby in a few months; we were planning to marry after I got my green card through work. Can anyone advise me as to whether it's faster/easier/cheaper to do it through marriage? What would be better for me (well, us) in the long run?

Thanks again,
Glen
 
glensmith said:
According to this page visa numbers for me (UK citizen; EB-3 category) are not current - they're sitting @ March 1st, 2001. Assuming this is correct, can anyone confirm that this means I cannot file concurrently.

Does anyone else advise that I just drop/halt the GC application for now and deal with an H1-B extension for now?

Extra note: My american fiance and I are (obviously) engaged and expecting a baby in a few months; we were planning to marry after I got my green card through work. Can anyone advise me as to whether it's faster/easier/cheaper to do it through marriage? What would be better for me (well, us) in the long run?

Thanks again,
Glen
Click to expand...

First off, I’m not a lawyer. I’ve just gone through rough times with my employer during this process and it caused me to research and read this forum for my knowledge.

You are talking many things at the same time. In short, taking 4 weeks into account, I don’t know if you’ll be able to file perm LC and get the result within that because there’s a certain period of time they require for you to put the ad and do the recruiting if you haven’t done so.

Filing concurrently is for after LC is done. It’s for I-140, I-485.. You’ll have to get LC approved first in order to move on filing I-140, etc..

The link that you gave above is old. For the official numbers use this visa bulletin from the government http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3841.html

Your best shot for employment base green card is to extend your H1B. At the same time, you can also start doing perm LC.

However, filing through marriage would be the easiest and cheapest. You can even file yourself without the lawyer. My sister just did and she’s now become US citizen after 5 years holding GC.
 
Thanks, mercedesbenz198. I'm leaning toward just extending my H1-B, gettind married and getting my GC that way. I know that I-495 fees come to around $1010. Can anyone tell me (roughly) how much a GC through marriage (without using a lawyer) would cost. Would anyone advise against using a lawyer? Wow, this has gone way off the OT!

Thanks,
Glen
 
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