Interview expereience - what next?

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resident1374

Registered Users (C)
My interview was good till the last question....

Our interview was scheduled for 10:30 and we were called in at 11:00. The officer was extremely nice and cordial. The only question was regarding - how are we Indian-Catholics? We explained briefly about the Catholics in India. We then talked about our marriage. Showed him our wedding photos and he kept few of them for his records. He verified my employment status. All was good!

That was it. He verified my wife's name and other items on the I130 form and he shifted the focus to the I485 form and asked all the Yes/No questions. Questions were all good and he told me keep the I-94 till I get my GC.

And then the last question - "Did I travel outside US after filing?" and I answered "Yes - to Canada". Well, I traveled on my H1B which was sponsored by my company. That stopped everything. He informed and explained the law is once you file you GC the only way you can travel is on AP (which I received only when I came back from Canada). You can still travel on H1B as long as the it employment based GC. My GC was family-based but I traveled on H1B which was employer-based.Travelling without AP is abandonment of the GC process. Disappointment on our faces (wife and me).

He told me that he will try his level best to get my case approved. My employment-based GC papers are still pending at some other office and both the cases have to be merged.

He told me that I may have to re-file the I485 but he will try to approve my employment based GC (the I130 looks good for approval). He told there will be money involved for re-filing and he will try to make me NOT go through that situation of the re-filing process and save some money along the way.

He told us to as he wanted to talked with his supervisor and 3 other officers to see what can be done about my case. But unfortunately, no one knew what to do….so, now we have wait on the USCIS decision.

The officer was extremely nice and hopefully everything will turn out the way we hoped for. My wife was nervous but then she calmed down.

What a day! We were almost there...and we all (including the officer) were disappointed.

Any comments?
 
An AOS is not considered abandoned if the applicant travels overseas and returns on an H-1B visa. I am not too sure if that AOS has to be employment based. I have yet to come across any language confirming or denying this limitation. This does not mean that such limitation does not exist. I am sure other more knowledgable forum members will chime in.

resident1374 said:
He informed and explained the law is once you file you GC the only way you can travel is on AP (which I received only when I came back from Canada). You can still travel on H1B as long as the it employment based GC. My GC was family-based but I traveled on H1B which was employer-based.Travelling without AP is abandonment of the GC process.
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I think the interviewer is mistaken. The final rule on this issue says nothing about the type of petition on which the I-485 is based. And this situation is common enough that we surely would have seen such a restriction elsewhere or denials by now if this rule were restricted to EB 485's.
http://ashwinsharma.com/2007/11/01/...rule-on-travel-for-h-and-l-nonimmigrants.aspx

Hopefully this will be resolved upon higher review.

Is your employment-based PD current?
 
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The language expects that the AOS applicant will continue working for the same employer. I am guessing the interview officer is mis-interpeting that clause and thinking that the AOS too needs to be employee based.

Jackolantern said:
Hopefully this will be resolved upon higher review.
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Just wait for him to approve it. No need to worry about it, because I can't find anywhere in immigration law where you abandoned your GC application. Isn't H1B visa a dual-intent visa?
 
Thank you for all your replies!

Yes, the officer told me I can travel on H1B if the AOS is employment-based (provided the H1B & the pending AOS is of the same employer). But as for family-based AOS - I have to travel via AP (issued when I filed my Family based AOS). Remember, that I got my AP in January 2010 but I traveled to Canada in Dec 2009.

Yes, it is bit complicated. The officer did ask his supervisor and 2 other officers and it was no help as they had not faced a similar situation before. No one was sure what to do?

Now, all we can do is wait and watch for the decision letter from USCIS...To Jackolantern - my employment-based AOS is not current. EB3 India will take forever...so I am pinning my hopes on this. My wife was nervous of the outcome but all I can do is to wait and then re-file if it is denied based on abandonment.

And I thought Canada was the 51th State :)
 
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