My conversation with USCIS Lawyer

Thanks a ton Rajiv.

The entire GC aspirants appreciate your hard work, promptness, dedication, efforts and what not.

You are our SAVIOR

As an IMMEDIATE relief, I propose the following even before efforts are taken to reduce the backlog, in the order of preference:

1. Counting the I-485 portability from the I-485/I-140 filing rather than from the I-140 approval
2. Elimination of repeated Advance Parole and Fingerprinting
3. Elimination of repeated EAD

Thanks Rajiv,
On behalf of ALL GC aspirants
 
Mr.Khanna,

My wish list:

(1) Issue EAD with in 60days & make it valid till I-485 adjudication

(2) Issue AP with in 30 days

(3) No repeat FP;
<BTW: It's a joke. Don't understand the rationale behind the current repeat FP process; Applicant's finger (leave alone the finger print) is not changing over the course of the adjudication; then why is this repeat FP exercise!!!????:( >

(4) Allow AC-21 portability after 180 days of filing for I-140 adjudication pendency.

(5)Adjudicate any LC certified/NIW I-140 petition with-in a reasonable time-frame
<BTW: I wish it's 90days!!!!!!!!>


(6) Adjudicate I-485 with-in a reasonable time-frame;
<BTW: I wish it's 180days!!!!!!!!>

(7) Issue "interim GreenCard"; If I-485 is not adjudicated with-in a reasonable time-frame after filing (180 days may be...). I-140 approval may be considered as a pre-condition for issuing the "interim GreenCard".


(8)
- Allow for filing of "review petition(s)", if a I-140 or I-485 case is not adjudicated with-in a stipulated time-frame;
- Guarantee an action or reply on "review petition(s)" with-in 30 days

<BTW: Relatively speaking after I-140 approval "Consular Processing" route takes much faster time to get GC. Arguably, if any US foreign consular out-post can do all the security or other clearances relatively, faster or efficiently(?), why can't the same thing happen with-in US ?????. >


Hope we get some re-dressal out-of-this lawsuit.

Thanks for your effort(s),
 
USCIS Cannot Issue RFE after 6 months!

Mr. Khanna. Thank you so much for your efforts.

I would think the most important suggestion that would make it easier on everyone is to have this amendment to AC 21:

If the adjudication of I-485 takes greater than 6 months, USCIS has no right to issue an RFE (Request for Evidence). USCIS has to approve the case if the case is pending for more than 6 months.

Since USCIS has not even kept its promise of timely adjudication, who is it to ask for evidence after 6 months on evidence of empoyment.
It would make it easier for people considering going back to school while waiting for their green card, and generally provide us more freedom in choosing jobs as well..

thanks for your efforts again. I am looking forward to USCIS response to our lawsuit ..
 
Useful status information

my priorities are

1. Useful status information. Few days ago I made status inquiry thru 800 number and yesterday I received letter from USCIS.

it just says "You application is still in pending".

Is this for we are wasting our time and wasting their time.

2. Approvals should be in chronological FIFO order atleast with 1 or 2 months variation as someone suggested.

3. Once RFE is generated within the 485 processing time, they should not ask for any further evidence like pay stubs, w2 forms again and again.
 
Thanks to Rajiv Khanna...

1. Customer service to provide usefull information (not just reading the information available on the web site)

2. EAD, AP and FP valid until I-485 process is over.

3. Approve I-485 cases in FIFO (First In First Out) basis atleast to some extent. With three months overlap.
 
Re: Re: suggestions to solve everyone's problems

Originally posted by operations
Bear in mind, we can lose in court. This lawsuit raises some serious issues about what the courts can and cannot do. The theory of "separation of powers" says, the three branches: legislature, judiciary and executive cannot normally intervene in each other's busness. I do not want to say too much, but if they make me an offer that takes care of most of our problems (I am making a list from your suggestions and my own), we should consider accepting. But I am not stopping the fight until we have agreed. The fight goes on.
Click to expand...

Yes Mr. Khanna, Just because they have come to negotiations we should not ask just like the auto insurance claim deals. We got be fair to cover the major issues of an immigrant daily life with unusual delays of I-485 and I-140 which keeps jobs at jeopardy.

I have employers ready to offer me jobs 25K more than what I'm earning now but, can't take job because of my I-140 stuck since 365 days @ TSC. If I loose job my current employer(being small business) is not in a position to find another job. That means I (my skills) have jobs all over USA, still I'm scared of loosing my job and in turn my status with pending I-140 and I-485.
 
How about temporary resident cards

I think we should ask for a temporary resident card if the case has not been processed in the maximum time specified in the application which is (18 months) or better yet an automatic approval.


If waiting for 18 months is not enough....then I dont know what is?
 
Overhaul of EAD/AP issuance policy

I am with everyone in issuing indefinite EAD/AP - at the very least an interim AP (similar to i-EAD) should be issuable upon request, if pending for more than 90 days. And such a policy change should be retroactive, so that those who did travel overseas without AP *after* the 90-day waiting period cannot be denied entry or their I-485 abandoned only because they left with a pending AP application. It has already caused a lot of suffering to scores of holiday travelers in 2003-04 who have to continually change their travel plans. I say this policy should be implemented immediately.

What a ridiculous, antiquated law --- they even have the gall to enforce this stupid law when they themselves don't honor the processing times on their own receipt notices (which state, or at least used to state, 30-60 days).
 
Suggestions

Long term resolution:
1) I-485s should be adjudicated within 180 days, I-485 receipts (originals) should also be acceptable for travel abroad and employment during the 180 days thereby reducing the need for more petitions.

Immediate relief:
(I had filed I- 485 based on an approved I-140 so please take my comments in that context.)

1) After I-485 is pending for 180 days, petition should not be denied on grounds of current job (or lack there of) as against the one mentioned in LC.
2) Eliminate RFEs, second finger printings for cases which provided all relevant information, but the information has become out of date only because of delays in processing. This will eliminate the recursive delays speeding up the processing.
3) Start adjudicating I-485s immediately with high priority and in the order they were received.
 
I think if they remove the restriction of what we can and canot do with our careers while they sit on our applications would be a tremendous help.

I have been in this country for 10 years now all legally and I am sick of being tied to one company or another. I would like to go out and do whatever I want to. Freedom!!

Thought this was the land of the FREE ??

Infact so sick of it that I am almost ready to pack up and head up North.
 
I am reading the posts here and what amazes is the complete lack of logic driving some of the many INS laws. If one of the reasons for the delay tactics is to generate more revenue (via renewal application fees), why not just have us pay the fees each year for an automatic renewal - similar to our vehicle registration fee ? They can send us a little sticker in the mail that we could affix to each of our documents (AP, EAD, and whatever else that needs renewing).
 
I-140 in 90 days and I-485 in 180 days

Rajiv Ji,

I truly appreciate your efforts in resolving our immigration backlog problem.

I will suggest that USCIS should be requested that we need the following:-

a) I-140 should be approved in 90 days.

b) I-485 should be approved within 180 days from day of filing.

If they want, they can make these processes as Premium Processing by charging more fees.

Thanks,
-Honeybee
:)
 
Make realistic requests and be flexible with the fee charge

Portability before I-140 approval and one time EAD/AP/FP are reasonalbe and doable, while immediate adjudication of I-485 within 180 days may not be. We ARE willing to pay more one way or the other so they can still have the same revenue or more if that's their concern. Please try to make a point that it would truely be a win-win if they could move the personnel working on these numerous meaningless repeated EAD/AP cases to the processing of I-140/I-485.
 
Re: What are they offering

Dear Mr. Rajiv,

I think our case is very stong currently against UCIS since right now president Bush is proposing legal status for illigal and senat is discussing this proposal on Feb.12 and we have a storng argument in front of court that Government is not addressing legal immigrant issues and that's the reason I think, UCIS might be looking for a settlement since this is a very storng case in US court about unfair treatment.

In light of above, I think we have goldan opportunity to get best out of it in case of settlement.

I think the main demand should be:

"Adjudicate all the I-485 cases pending over 540 days (pending at service centers or local offices) with in a month since stipulated time period on receipt is between 365-540 days. I think, this is a genuian demand we can make".

Than comes to other genuian demands..
 
I Can't believe anyone can be so selfless as Rajiv. I know many lawyers, including my own, charge so much for even a little help..

That's indeed a good start. Some people here have the opinion that the real issue is I-485 and I-140 and not EAD, AP, FP.
But, think again, if USCIS does not have to work for renewing EAD, AP etc, they can devote more time to other cases, hence indirectly helping to reduce the backlog...

this "small" start is really good enough !!!!
 
First of all.. thank you very much.. Rajiv for everything you've done/ you are doing and you'll do for the whole immigrant community...

In my view.. alongwith sincerely trying to reduce the 485 backlogs, USCIS should also make AC21 portability more flexible and wider. Currently in order to usee AC21 you need to have job with equal or higher salary and same or similar job description. Given the current economy and job market, it's very hard to keep the current job (especially for software consultants) or find a new job right away, if current one is lost, with the same/similar salary and job responsibilities.. it is harsh reality of S/W consultant's life that he/she can't be picky about the role and responsibilities and salary... moreover... I think EAD/AP should also be valid upto the 485 approval not just yearly....

I Sincerely thank you Rajiv and all for this great effort....
 
Just a couple of observations.

First, everybody sounds like USCIS admitted guilt and will do whatever just to settle, so we can just ask for a moon. It does not look like the case to me.

Second, I though that the point of this thread was to come up with some ideas that can be presented to the court, but not to vote the most popular demand.

Third, while most of the people were quite reasonable from my standpoint, I think we need to keep in mind that neither USCIS nor the court would accept anything that does not fit into current immigration law, like automatic approval after some time.

USCIS can change the technical details of the process, but not the basic rules, no matter how much we would like it.

The point is to come up with something that they will have find dificult to object, but realistic to implement.
For example, we may just request to reduce the processing time to 180 days, and they will say "Of course we will do it by 2006, but now we do not have enough money". They would not argue with it, but nothing will change.

I am sorry for such a tone, anybody, feel free to scold me :)
 
AC21

Most of us are already working for the sponsoring employer of the I-140 when we apply for AOS.

If USCIS issues an RFE for employment and we can provide evidence that we have worked for the sponsoring employer for a 180 day period after submittal of the AOS application, then this should satisfy the "employment intent". Having satisfied the "employment intent", we should be free to take any job at any salary.

My other recommendation is that EAD and AP should be 1 application and 1 document, preferably in the wallet size form of the current EAD. I don't agree that this document should be valid until adjudication of the 485. This is not practical as the document needs to have a defined expiration date for security purposes. However, in light of the backlog issue, it would make sense to start issueing this 1 document to be valid for a 2 year period. Basically, this would be a Temporary Residence card.
 
Thanks for your input folks

The govt. is NOT in a weak position. they have some very strong arguments on their side. We need to present our demands and meet with them. If their attitude is uncompromising, we will take our chances in court. But that could take years.

If they are willing to work things out, I will present you their counter proposal, if they choose to make one. At some point, I hope AILA will provide some input. But for now, I wish to hear only the voice of the community, which you are doing here and through emails. I have noted all the common concerns.

My prposal draft will not be perfect. I know that. But i will do my best to act on your behalf as a group representative (class counsel). Not just for individual voices. So you will have to live with some compromise. But there is no way I will compromise to our prejudice even if we have to fight all the way to the Supreme Court. We lose, we lose. There are always appeals.
 
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