Originally posted by love2002
This really isn't the best thread for discussing this but...
1.My lawyer is saying file I140 first and then go for I-485. in this case 140 is getting approved within 3-4 months. but if we apply for the concurrent processing, it takes more than 8 months for the 140 approval. does it true?
I dunno about this. If you are doing AOS, the bottleneck would appear to be how long the I-485 takes (currently about 18 months at VSC) so it would seem to be more important to get the I-485 into the pipeline asap. It doesn't really matter if the I-140 is done in 3 months or 13 months if the I-485 is taking 18+ months and isn't held up in any way by the I-140.
I have seen other threads suggest that I-140's take longer to process if these are filed concurrently with I-485's -- I don't know if this is the case. There is nothing in the BCIS I-140 processing times (up to 14 months or so depending on your EB status) to indicate that this situation exists, but there is some anecdotal evidence of this floating around.
If it really is possible to get an I-140 in 4 months if there is no concurrent I-485, then this makes CP look a lot more attractive IMO as long as your job situation is stable since you could probably be done with CP in 10-14 months or so (4 months for the I-140 + 6-10 months or so to get through the CP interview) vs about 18 months for the entire AOS process.
I've been trying to get more information on this for quite a while now and haven't really gotten anywhere...
2.Also I am wondering if we can apply 485 anytime after we filed the 140? ie., when 140 is pending , can we apply 485 anytime or have to wait for 140 to be completed?
I don't know -- I'd like to know about this also. The 485/AOS threads at this site may have more info. I'd be concerned (perhaps unnecessarily) that doing this could be perceived "badly" by the BCIS -- they could say that you are trying to "work" the system by speeding up the I-140 processing time, although, again, I don't see how this would benefit you if you go the AOS route (and if you plan to go the CP route, you should probably specify this on the I-140 application to begin with or you'll have to use I-824 to switch from the AOS default to CP (which can take 6+ months afaik unless the consulate accepts AC I-140).
Since 485 needs medical tests and other proof of documents and it takes some time ,I think it will be much quicker to apply for 140 first, then after a month apply for 485.
Please let me know will that be possible?
Again, I don't know if you can do the I-140 then the I-485 shortly thereafter, although it seems like this could be possible.
FWIW, in this area (DC) I recently called around and found that its taking about 2 weeks to get an appointment for medicals. The results can take 2 weeks to obtain I believe. Not having your immunizations current (or not having records of this) could cost you another couple weeks or more depending on your situation.
You could always arrange for the medical exams around the time that you expect your LC to be processed and go ahead with these if you get approved, thereby preventing the time to get an appointment from holding up the I-485. Or, if you feel lucky, you could go ahead with the medicals immediately (they are good for 1 year I believe) and take the chance that you will be approved for LC and not be out the $$$ for the exams (I was quoted about $200/adult, $95/child in the DC area).
As far as I know, the medicals are the biggest hurdle delay-wise to getting the I-485 into the pipeline. You can always start to gather other needed documents ahead of time so everything is ready to go as soon as the LC goes through (passport copies etc. -- see
http://www.immihelp.com/gc/aos/forms_docs.html or other similar sites for a list of what is needed).
ETA
