June 1991 - 1997 was working in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, as a Senior Executive Travel.
Dec 1996, I had a Vacation due and a Free Business Class Ticket from Air India, and my Brother was always on my case to Visit them, So I thought what the heck.
Brother insisted that I Forward my Resume to all major Airlines and Travel Agencies, got called for quite a few Interviews, but every one of them wanted a GC holder, even had a Job Offer from The UN, but alas no GC, so they said Sorry, eventually found one who was willing to do a H1 for me, Negotiated salary, signed forms applied for H1 and went back to Muscat.
H1 was approved on 18 Mar 1997, Lawyer sent me the Package of documents to Muscat, for Visa Stamping at Bombay, received Package end March, April 01 1997 Resigned with 30 day Notice. Started disposing of stuff I had accumulated over the years, made a Deal on my Toyota Corolla, where I could use it till the last day.
May 02 1997 Bid Good Bye to Muscat, arrived Bombay, relaxed for a few days, then went to the American consulate to get my H1 and my wife and kids H4 stamped, Lawyer had done a real good job, Affidavit of support for Family, Original approval Notice, Employment letter, American Equivalent Credits of my Indian Degrees, etc etc everything was sent to me, Had no problems at all, got all 4 passports Stamped.
June 03 1997 Came back to NY Alone, joined Employment, Brother again Insisted I stay with him, But I insisted on renting a small basement in Fresh Meadows, Kids were now schooling in Bombay.
April 06 1998 Summer Vacation in school starts, April 07 1998, wife and kids and my parents (B2 Visa) arrive in NY, by this time had managed to Rent a Apartment.
Nov 1999 found a company willing to sponsor my GC.
Nov 15 1999 applied for LC, had 2 RFE's.
First for (Certification of code of Federal regulations, part 656) God knows what it meant, but Lawyer took care of it.
Second was for Financial Status of Company sponsoring me.
In the mean time H1 was nearing Expiry on Mar 01 2000, and Company was not willing to renew. Applied for B2 Twice once in Mar 2000 and then again in Sep 2000, second B2 was valid till Mar 01 2001.
LC was approved on Jul 22 2000.
Dec 2000 Life Act was Passed, Hence Lawyer advised, even if now I become out of Status, less than 180 days no problem, more that 180 days $1000.00 penalty
Aug 27 2000 Applied for I 140, again 2 RFE's
First asking My Bank statements for last 6 months
Second was regarding Companies Tax Returns.
I 140 Approved on Apr 16 2001, but unfortunately dates were not current.
Then Jul 2001 all dates became current.
July 16 2001 applied for AOS, and EAD
As it was less than 180 days between Mar 01 2001 and Jul 16 2001 (Out of Status period) lawyer advised no need to pay $1000.00, but then I was still working, and actually should have paid the Penalty, (First time Lawyer Screws up, by the way same Lawyer since H1 days.)
Received EAD on Sep 14 2001 for self and Family, same day applied for SSN for wife and Kids, received SS cards in pproximately 2 weeks time, for wife and elder son, but no SS card for the Younger one, waited a whole 2 months and went back to SS office and was advised there was no application for him, Applied again and this time received the younger ones SS card in 2 weeks.
In the mean time as soon as I received my I 485 receipt and EAD, we brought a Beautiful Town House in Edison NJ, (No sense in Flushing money down the drain in rent, I know people who have been here for scores of years and still rent, not me though), was tough though getting a Mortgage, No credit and all, had to go for a 20% down no document check loan, (Ex boss, brother, and a very good Friend helped). Parents staying with me have their own room; kids have their own room, Wife as wives go only concerned with Jewellery.
Also in Sep 2001 Started Our Partnership business, again with the above mentioned Good Friend, Started with a Bang, Sep 11 2001 did not help, but now am doing Ok.
The waiting Game now begins; a year passes, well almost just 1 day before the anniversary.
Jul 15 2002 Heard AVM Intent to deny notice mailed on Jul 12 2002.
Jul 19 2002 Received NOID (Requesting I485A and 1000.00 each for anyone over 17)
Jul 19 2002 Applied for EAD renewal.
Jul 26 2002 Sent I485A and 2 cks for 1000.00 (Self and Spouse)
Aug 05 2002 received new EAD card valid till Sep 19 2003.
Aug 07 2002 AVM changed Fees received and processing resumed
Aug 13 2002 Checked Online Banking and discovered checks for self and wife encashed
Aug 27 2002 at 7am AVM still says processing resumed
Aug 27 2002 talked to an IIO and was informed that on Aug 23 2002 my case was transferred to Newark/Teterboro office, and that a notice to that effect has been mailed to me.
Sep 16 2002 Received Interview Appointment letter from Newark, Interview scheduled for Oct 18 2002.
Documents for myself Passport, I 94 if any and current letter of employment.
Documents For spouse and kids, passport and I 94 if any.
Oct 18 2002 Reached Newark Federal Building loaded with Three 1 Inch files loaded with every document you can name, H1, LC, I 140, EAD, I 485, Renewed EAD, Passports, Adit Pics, Bank Statements, Tax Returns, Pics of me and Family, in our house, at camping, at the Niagara Falls (American Side), Parents GC (By now they have received GC sponsored by my Brother, who is a Citizen), birth certificates, Marriage Certificate, Copies of Medical (Green Copy which is our copy), Finger Printing Notices, Social Security Cards, Pay stubs for last 6 weeks (From Company Sponsoring my GC), copies of all the Checks I wrote to INS (Banks
Check Cleared Copies too).
Last but not the least, all I 94's (H1, B2 and 2nd B2), appointment Notices for all four of us, and Employment Letter.
Officer Mr. Meth took FP (Fore finger Right hand) for me and wife, offered us a wet tissue to clean our fingers, led us into his office, Had us take the Oath, detached the H1 I 94's from all our passports, stamped all the passports and handed each passport to the respective Passport holder, did not ask about the other I 94's, did not ask for Pics, did not ask for EAD's did not even ask for the Employment Letter, remarked that concludes our business, stood up and shook hands with us all.
My take on this is, when a Case is Transferred It is Pre assigned to an Officer, who studies the files and cases, (He had 1 inch thick files on each of us) and has already decided what his decision is, the Interview is just a Formality (Now you tell me)
the actual stamp reads
10/18/2002
PROCESSED FOR I - 551
TEMPORARY EVIDENCE OF
LAWFUL ADMISSION FOR
PERMANENT RESIDENCE
VALID UNTIL 10/17/2003
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED
A#951XXXXX
E-36 AT NEW (For self) E-39 AT NEW (For Spouse) and E-30 AT NEW (for kids)
Signed by Officer
Dec 1996, I had a Vacation due and a Free Business Class Ticket from Air India, and my Brother was always on my case to Visit them, So I thought what the heck.
Brother insisted that I Forward my Resume to all major Airlines and Travel Agencies, got called for quite a few Interviews, but every one of them wanted a GC holder, even had a Job Offer from The UN, but alas no GC, so they said Sorry, eventually found one who was willing to do a H1 for me, Negotiated salary, signed forms applied for H1 and went back to Muscat.
H1 was approved on 18 Mar 1997, Lawyer sent me the Package of documents to Muscat, for Visa Stamping at Bombay, received Package end March, April 01 1997 Resigned with 30 day Notice. Started disposing of stuff I had accumulated over the years, made a Deal on my Toyota Corolla, where I could use it till the last day.
May 02 1997 Bid Good Bye to Muscat, arrived Bombay, relaxed for a few days, then went to the American consulate to get my H1 and my wife and kids H4 stamped, Lawyer had done a real good job, Affidavit of support for Family, Original approval Notice, Employment letter, American Equivalent Credits of my Indian Degrees, etc etc everything was sent to me, Had no problems at all, got all 4 passports Stamped.
June 03 1997 Came back to NY Alone, joined Employment, Brother again Insisted I stay with him, But I insisted on renting a small basement in Fresh Meadows, Kids were now schooling in Bombay.
April 06 1998 Summer Vacation in school starts, April 07 1998, wife and kids and my parents (B2 Visa) arrive in NY, by this time had managed to Rent a Apartment.
Nov 1999 found a company willing to sponsor my GC.
Nov 15 1999 applied for LC, had 2 RFE's.
First for (Certification of code of Federal regulations, part 656) God knows what it meant, but Lawyer took care of it.
Second was for Financial Status of Company sponsoring me.
In the mean time H1 was nearing Expiry on Mar 01 2000, and Company was not willing to renew. Applied for B2 Twice once in Mar 2000 and then again in Sep 2000, second B2 was valid till Mar 01 2001.
LC was approved on Jul 22 2000.
Dec 2000 Life Act was Passed, Hence Lawyer advised, even if now I become out of Status, less than 180 days no problem, more that 180 days $1000.00 penalty
Aug 27 2000 Applied for I 140, again 2 RFE's
First asking My Bank statements for last 6 months
Second was regarding Companies Tax Returns.
I 140 Approved on Apr 16 2001, but unfortunately dates were not current.
Then Jul 2001 all dates became current.
July 16 2001 applied for AOS, and EAD
As it was less than 180 days between Mar 01 2001 and Jul 16 2001 (Out of Status period) lawyer advised no need to pay $1000.00, but then I was still working, and actually should have paid the Penalty, (First time Lawyer Screws up, by the way same Lawyer since H1 days.)
Received EAD on Sep 14 2001 for self and Family, same day applied for SSN for wife and Kids, received SS cards in pproximately 2 weeks time, for wife and elder son, but no SS card for the Younger one, waited a whole 2 months and went back to SS office and was advised there was no application for him, Applied again and this time received the younger ones SS card in 2 weeks.
In the mean time as soon as I received my I 485 receipt and EAD, we brought a Beautiful Town House in Edison NJ, (No sense in Flushing money down the drain in rent, I know people who have been here for scores of years and still rent, not me though), was tough though getting a Mortgage, No credit and all, had to go for a 20% down no document check loan, (Ex boss, brother, and a very good Friend helped). Parents staying with me have their own room; kids have their own room, Wife as wives go only concerned with Jewellery.
Also in Sep 2001 Started Our Partnership business, again with the above mentioned Good Friend, Started with a Bang, Sep 11 2001 did not help, but now am doing Ok.
The waiting Game now begins; a year passes, well almost just 1 day before the anniversary.
Jul 15 2002 Heard AVM Intent to deny notice mailed on Jul 12 2002.
Jul 19 2002 Received NOID (Requesting I485A and 1000.00 each for anyone over 17)
Jul 19 2002 Applied for EAD renewal.
Jul 26 2002 Sent I485A and 2 cks for 1000.00 (Self and Spouse)
Aug 05 2002 received new EAD card valid till Sep 19 2003.
Aug 07 2002 AVM changed Fees received and processing resumed
Aug 13 2002 Checked Online Banking and discovered checks for self and wife encashed
Aug 27 2002 at 7am AVM still says processing resumed
Aug 27 2002 talked to an IIO and was informed that on Aug 23 2002 my case was transferred to Newark/Teterboro office, and that a notice to that effect has been mailed to me.
Sep 16 2002 Received Interview Appointment letter from Newark, Interview scheduled for Oct 18 2002.
Documents for myself Passport, I 94 if any and current letter of employment.
Documents For spouse and kids, passport and I 94 if any.
Oct 18 2002 Reached Newark Federal Building loaded with Three 1 Inch files loaded with every document you can name, H1, LC, I 140, EAD, I 485, Renewed EAD, Passports, Adit Pics, Bank Statements, Tax Returns, Pics of me and Family, in our house, at camping, at the Niagara Falls (American Side), Parents GC (By now they have received GC sponsored by my Brother, who is a Citizen), birth certificates, Marriage Certificate, Copies of Medical (Green Copy which is our copy), Finger Printing Notices, Social Security Cards, Pay stubs for last 6 weeks (From Company Sponsoring my GC), copies of all the Checks I wrote to INS (Banks
Check Cleared Copies too).
Last but not the least, all I 94's (H1, B2 and 2nd B2), appointment Notices for all four of us, and Employment Letter.
Officer Mr. Meth took FP (Fore finger Right hand) for me and wife, offered us a wet tissue to clean our fingers, led us into his office, Had us take the Oath, detached the H1 I 94's from all our passports, stamped all the passports and handed each passport to the respective Passport holder, did not ask about the other I 94's, did not ask for Pics, did not ask for EAD's did not even ask for the Employment Letter, remarked that concludes our business, stood up and shook hands with us all.
My take on this is, when a Case is Transferred It is Pre assigned to an Officer, who studies the files and cases, (He had 1 inch thick files on each of us) and has already decided what his decision is, the Interview is just a Formality (Now you tell me)
the actual stamp reads
10/18/2002
PROCESSED FOR I - 551
TEMPORARY EVIDENCE OF
LAWFUL ADMISSION FOR
PERMANENT RESIDENCE
VALID UNTIL 10/17/2003
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED
A#951XXXXX
E-36 AT NEW (For self) E-39 AT NEW (For Spouse) and E-30 AT NEW (for kids)
Signed by Officer
.