is this approval or what?

[catone]

Hello everybody,

My husband and I are both in our last year of NIW, started Sept '01, then a gap of 2 months in between employers (3 yrs on H1b with the 1st employer, then again H1b with 2nd -and current- employer). Our 5 yrs on aggregate will be up Nov '06. Early this month both of us had our code 3 biometrics done and the online USCIS message changed to "On March 3, 2006, the document we made based on the approval or registration of this case was mailed directly to the person to whom issued". So far we haven't received anything, so my question is: is this approval or what? what are we supposed to receive, maybe an RFE ? I140/I485s filed concurrently Sept '04, I140s got approved with the 2nd employer Mar '05. Also, there is no other document pending (like AP or EAD). Any ideas? Any similar experiences?
Thanks in advance, any insight greatly appreciated

 

[hadron]

This is a message that can pop up for any reason. Usually it is a response to an inquiry.

If an I485 is approved, it either :
- disappears as untraceable out of the computer one day
- a message 'this case has been approved' appears

Code3 fingerprint is good. That means they can issue a GC without a passport stamping appointment at the local office.

 

[catone]

This is a message that can pop up for any reason. Usually it is a response to an inquiry.

If an I485 is approved, it either :
- disappears as untraceable out of the computer one day
- a message 'this case has been approved' appears

Code3 fingerprint is good. That means they can issue a GC without a passport stamping appointment at the local office.

Thanks hadron, I was hoping you would respond. So we shouldn't set our hopes too high and just wait. Is there anything that will come in the mail or not? And can they approve our I485s before the 5 yrs are over?
Anybody else out there with same scenario?
Thank you

 

[hadron]

> So we shouldn't set our hopes too high and just wait.

I would suggest that. Often this message just means that some piece of paper is on the way to you or your employer. If you read the wording of it 'based on the approval or registration of this case' you would think it is your GC thats in the mail, but in most cases it is just a photocopied note saying 'you or your designee contacted us.....'.

> And can they approve our I485s before the 5 yrs are over?

There is God and then there is the INS. Both can do pretty much what they want. They work on a markedly skewed bell-curve. For every 10 people whose approval is delayed for no good reason, there is probably one who gets a premature approval.