I-140 Filed. H1-B 7th year filed. What is my status?

[zamo]

As I am seeking permanent residency in this country, I wanted to know what should be my status at this point. Should I have indefinite status until the I-140 gets approved (or denied)?

I ask this because, as I am legal in the US, my county in FL does NOT want to provide me with Homestead Exemption in order to cap my peroperty tax increase to 3% yearly and get a $25,000 exemption to the assesed value of my house.

They require a proof of residency (which sounds missleading as I am a FL resident since 1999). My taxes are going up $1,000 this year (on top of $1,500 last year).

Any way I can fight that, as I am living in my house, and I have been a resident of Florida for many years with no intentions of going back to my country of origin (unless the process gets denied).

This is driving me crazy!

Thanks

 

[civ2ru]

Filing or approval of I-140 doesn't change your status. Your status is H1 until your adjustment of status (I-485) is approved. If you should lose your H1 status while your I-485 is pending, you'll still be legal but not a permanent resident until AOS is approved.

Hope you'll be able to apply this info to your situation.

 

[zamo]

Filing or approval of I-140 doesn't change your status. Your status is H1 until your adjustment of status (I-485) is approved. If you should lose your H1 status while your I-485 is pending, you'll still be legal but not a permanent resident until AOS is approved.

Hope you'll be able to apply this info to your situation.

Thank you.

Based on the quote

Under the dual intent doctrine, a person may come to the U.S. temporarily and lawfully seek permanent residence (for himself/herself and immediate family members, spouse and children under 21) in the United States at the same time, without affecting H1/H4 status. Therefore, the filing of a labor certification or an employment based preference petition will not cause denial of an H-1B petition filed with the USCIS or an application for an H-1B visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad. While green card application is pending, H1/H4 visa holders can travel in and out of US using non-expired H1/H4 visa without need for Advance Parole or EAD. H-1B foreign specialty workers are not required to maintain foreign residence and may seek permanent residence in the U.S.

I am trying to explain to the authorities of my county that I should be treated as a Florida Resident and thus get my exemption approved. It is not fair for me, who is legally seeking residency without taking advantage of any loophole in the law, to be paying such amount of money out of my pocket due to property increase (thanks to the speculators who have driven the real state prices up).

Quoting the FL attorney general

The terms "permanent resident" and "permanent residence" are defined respectively in section 196.012 (17) and (18), Florida Statutes, as follows:

"(17) 'Permanent resident' means a person who has established a permanent residence as defined in subsection (18).
(18) 'Permanent residence' means that place where a person has his or her true, fixed, and permanent home and principal establishment to which, whenever absent, he or she has the intention of returning. A person may have only one permanent residence at a time; and, once a permanent residence is established in a foreign state or country, it is presumed to continue until the person shows that a change has occurred."

Administrative rules promulgated by the Department of Revenue to implement section 196.031, Florida Statutes, provide additional direction regarding these requirements. Rule 12D-7.007, Florida Administrative Code, states in part:

"(1) For one to make a certain parcel of land his permanent home, he must reside thereon with a present intention of living there indefinitely and with no present intention of moving there from.
(2) A property owner who, in good faith, makes real property in this state his permanent home is entitled to homestead tax exemption, notwithstanding he is not a citizen of the United States or of this State.[7]
(3) A person in this country under a temporary visa cannot meet the requirement of permanent residence or home and, therefore, cannot claim homestead exemption."

I can argue (1), (2), but I would need to explain about my I-140 filling in order to be covered on (3).

Any other comments please?