S.O.S. on NIW -- I-140/I-485 issues

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g_horse2000

New Member
Subject: Anybody succeeded with NIW petition without legal help?

I am an Indian citizen, got my MS and PhD in Applied Economics related disciplines in the U.S., followed by 3.5+ years’ post-doctoral experience (will be 4 years in March 2008). My employer renewed my H1B for a short second term, less than three years, and hence I am running out of my H1B status soon (June 2008). I cannot afford the high lawyer fees involving the petition for a green card, and have been considering doing it on my own. I wish to apply in the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. If anybody who succeeded by applying on their own (or even with legal help), could you please tell me about your experience? In particular, I have the following questions, but any help will be appreciated.
1) What are the chances of succeeding with this petition without legal help? What are the pros of cons of this? Does legal help add credence to the petition?
2) If legal help will be a whole lot better, does anybody know of lawyers who can help at reasonable rates and will accept payments after approval?
3) If I do it on my own, should I file I-485 along with I-140?
4) As I understand from the I-140 instructions, for an I-140 application in NIW category, I need to furnish at least three of the ten documents/items listed in section B (Page 2, Column 1 of I-140 List of Instructions). Am I right?
5) With reference to section D (Page 2, Column 1 of I-140 List of Instructions), if I get a letter from my current employer, do I still need a letter from myself explaining how I intend to continue work in my area of expertise?
6) If approved, what is the estimated time it might take for I-140 and I-485 approval (with and without premium processing)? How effective really is premium processing?
7) What is/are the necessary documents I should have in hand to keep me in status after H1B expiry? Will acknowledgment of receipt of I-140 petition suffice or do I need to get it approved for this before my H1B expiry so I don’t fall out of status?

Many thanks in advance!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
g_horse2000 said:
Subject: Anybody succeeded with NIW petition without legal help?

I am an Indian citizen, got my MS and PhD in Applied Economics related disciplines in the U.S., followed by 3.5+ years’ post-doctoral experience (will be 4 years in March 2008). My employer renewed my H1B for a short second term, less than three years, and hence I am running out of my H1B status soon (June 2008). I cannot afford the high lawyer fees involving the petition for a green card, and have been considering doing it on my own. I wish to apply in the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. If anybody who succeeded by applying on their own (or even with legal help), could you please tell me about your experience? In particular, I have the following questions, but any help will be appreciated.

6) If approved, what is the estimated time it might take for I-140 and I-485 approval (with and without premium processing)? How effective really is premium processing?
Click to expand...
Last time I checked the premium processing for 140 has been suspended.

7) What is/are the necessary documents I should have in hand to keep me in status after H1B expiry? Will acknowledgment of receipt of I-140 petition suffice or do I need to get it approved for this before my H1B expiry so I don’t fall out of status?

Many thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

You should have filed 485 before H1B expiry to maintain valid status. Just the 140 receipt alone doesn't give you status. Approved 140 will help in getting 3 year H1 extension beyond the 6 year period, in case there is no Visa number available for your category & country.
 
Hi another_fella,

Thanks for your response. I have a related question or two. You said, "You should have filed 485 before H1B expiry to maintain valid status. Just the 140 receipt alone doesn't give you status. Approved 140 will help in getting 3 year H1 extension beyond the 6 year period, in case there is no Visa number available for your category & country." But, as I mentioned in my original post, my H1B will only be a little over 4 years and 3 months (a lot less than 6 years) in June 2008, when my current job ends. My 6-year term ends in March 2010. Does that make any difference to what you are saying? Of course, I know I can continue with another H1B if I can find another job, but if not, am I still going to be treated the same way as with an expired H1B after the full 6 years?

Also, what do you mean when you say "in case there is no Visa number available for your category & country"?

Thanks again!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
g_horse2000 said:
Hi another_fella,

Thanks for your response. I have a related question or two. You said, "You should have filed 485 before H1B expiry to maintain valid status. Just the 140 receipt alone doesn't give you status. Approved 140 will help in getting 3 year H1 extension beyond the 6 year period, in case there is no Visa number available for your category & country." But, as I mentioned in my original post, my H1B will only be a little over 4 years and 3 months (a lot less than 6 years) in June 2008, when my current job ends. My 6-year term ends in March 2010. Does that make any difference to what you are saying? Of course, I know I can continue with another H1B if I can find another job, but if not, am I still going to be treated the same way as with an expired H1B after the full 6 years?
Click to expand...

If you are planning to stay in US beyond June 2008 without filing H1 extension, then you should have filed 485 on or before that. Filing 140 alone does not give you valid status after the H1 expiration. Beyond June 2008, you would still be able to get H1 extension up to whatever period is left in the 6 year limit, either with the current employer or with a new one, without the help of approved 140. The approved 140 comes into play with respect to getting H1 extension beyond 6 years, which in your case starts after March 2010. If you are planning to file employment based EB2 485, then you better start it before the start of H1 6th year.

Also you may want to explore the option filing under EB1, since you have a PhD. The link to NIW/EB1 forums provided by AGC4ME should get you stared.

Also, what do you mean when you say "in case there is no Visa number available for your category & country"?
Click to expand...

Let us say you file under EB2 in Jan 2008, then your PD becomes Jan 2008 for the GC processing, under EB2 category for India. India is retrogressed for EB2, and as of today EB based immigrant Visa's are available only for those applicants who have filed on or before April 1st 2004. To understand better, you may want to spend sometime understanding the monthly Visa bulletin's at :

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

On the other hand if you file under EB1, you might be able to get through the process faster, compared to the long wait in EB2 for India.
 
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