Hello Everyone:
We finally got our I485 approval emails on Jan 9, 2007 and the letters in mail today. The current status on our application says the cards have been mailed. Hopefully, we will receive them shortly.
Timeline -
EB3 India (Wife - Dependent EB3 World)
Started Labor Cert - Dec 2001
Labor Approved - May 2004
I140/I485 (Concurrent) - Dec 2004
I140 Approval - May 2005
I485 Approval - Jan 9, 2007
Here is a brief update on our cases -
After filing 485, I was "fortunate" to get stuck in the dreadful name check and in a few months after that we got into the visa retrogression mess. I was patient and did the following:
1. Diligently read through all relevant posts on this forum.
2. Regularly called USCIS for status updates.
3. Filed for Cross Chargeability paperwork (Lawyers sent a one page letter to USCIS).
4. After a year, I started sending emails with compelling personal story for Congressman and Senator in my area. After couple of emails, I got a response from the Congresswoman (Senator's office responded but did not proceed further).
In Mar 2006 (After 30 days), I got an email from the Congressman's office that my FBI name check cleared and the application will be adjudicated when the visa numbers become available. We waited until the EB3 World category became current.
In Sept 2006, EB3 world was current and I inquired the case status once again. I was shocked to see a USCIS letter that stated my background checks were still pending. I contacted the congressman's office again for help but they declined this time around. I called the USCIS 800 number and mentioned that Congressman had sent me an email stating my background checks were cleared a while back.
In Oct 2006, I inquired again and this time the letter said there are no visa numbers available. I called up the lawyers and asked them to send the cross chargeability paperwork again and inquired about Mandamus. They said that Madamus can be risky since the adjudication was delayed due to background checks and that is not controlled by USCIS. However, they said they will ask an AILA rep to follow up on our cases in a month. The AILA rep did follow up and in mid Dec we got LUD on our cases. On Jan 9, 2007 we got our approval emails and today the greencards were mailed.
After going through 2 EAD/APs and hundreds of anxious days, I have learned this: Have patience and do your own immigration related homework. Make sure you diligently follow up on your case. This is a fantastic forum for people to gather and share information. A BIG THANK YOU to UN, RealCanadian, ginnu and others that have constantly answered questions for many others going through this irrational system. I hope that everyone sees the light at the end of this tunnel called greencard.
Good Luck!
gcwagon
We finally got our I485 approval emails on Jan 9, 2007 and the letters in mail today. The current status on our application says the cards have been mailed. Hopefully, we will receive them shortly.
Timeline -
EB3 India (Wife - Dependent EB3 World)
Started Labor Cert - Dec 2001
Labor Approved - May 2004
I140/I485 (Concurrent) - Dec 2004
I140 Approval - May 2005
I485 Approval - Jan 9, 2007
Here is a brief update on our cases -
After filing 485, I was "fortunate" to get stuck in the dreadful name check and in a few months after that we got into the visa retrogression mess. I was patient and did the following:
1. Diligently read through all relevant posts on this forum.
2. Regularly called USCIS for status updates.
3. Filed for Cross Chargeability paperwork (Lawyers sent a one page letter to USCIS).
4. After a year, I started sending emails with compelling personal story for Congressman and Senator in my area. After couple of emails, I got a response from the Congresswoman (Senator's office responded but did not proceed further).
In Mar 2006 (After 30 days), I got an email from the Congressman's office that my FBI name check cleared and the application will be adjudicated when the visa numbers become available. We waited until the EB3 World category became current.
In Sept 2006, EB3 world was current and I inquired the case status once again. I was shocked to see a USCIS letter that stated my background checks were still pending. I contacted the congressman's office again for help but they declined this time around. I called the USCIS 800 number and mentioned that Congressman had sent me an email stating my background checks were cleared a while back.
In Oct 2006, I inquired again and this time the letter said there are no visa numbers available. I called up the lawyers and asked them to send the cross chargeability paperwork again and inquired about Mandamus. They said that Madamus can be risky since the adjudication was delayed due to background checks and that is not controlled by USCIS. However, they said they will ask an AILA rep to follow up on our cases in a month. The AILA rep did follow up and in mid Dec we got LUD on our cases. On Jan 9, 2007 we got our approval emails and today the greencards were mailed.
After going through 2 EAD/APs and hundreds of anxious days, I have learned this: Have patience and do your own immigration related homework. Make sure you diligently follow up on your case. This is a fantastic forum for people to gather and share information. A BIG THANK YOU to UN, RealCanadian, ginnu and others that have constantly answered questions for many others going through this irrational system. I hope that everyone sees the light at the end of this tunnel called greencard.
Good Luck!
gcwagon
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