TRACKER: Feb - June 2003 in Spreadsheet

Please dont post details that are already in the spreadsheet. that is what the spreadsheet exists for. so that we dont have to keep looking at posts that we already have the data for.

amani. please check the spreadsheet for the details that you require.

prashant.
 
Here are my details......
I-140,485 filed concurrent

ND-June 10,03
AP/EAD - Approved & received on July28,03.
 
Dear Prashant (Robocop)

Thanks a lot for the modifications you have done to the excel sheet. The modification that I wanted was simpler and probably little clearer.

I am attatching the same excel sheet with the filter added on the header where you have the freeze on the window. Please check this one out and if you like it, please use it in the future.

Again, I appreciate your effort in keeping this thread up to date and more useful.

Thanks.,
 
Re: RFE for I-140

Originally posted by wisc_labor_cert
I got an RFE for my I-140 (EB3-RIR)

I - 140
RD/ND APR-14-2003
RFE -- AUG-20-2003
AD -- ????????

I-485/I-767/I-131
ND - JUL-11-2003
AD -- ???????

I don't know the details regarding the RFE since we did not receive the notification yet. Will post the details about RFE once I get some information from my lousy law firm.
Click to expand...



My RFE is related to Company's ability to pay.

I sent a clear email to my attorney before filing for I-140 asking her to include company's audited financial documents. Well she never bothered to do it.

Now she is sending the company's annual report.

I think half the battle is won if you choose the right attorney. Otherwise it is a constant battle.

One of my friend is filing from Arizona, any of you know a good attorney in Phoenix?

Based on the spreadsheet, it looks like NSC does approve fairly quickly after they receive the response for the RFE. Let us hope for the best.

Thanks!
 
wisc_labor_cert

You are right. Attorney is the key for the process. Since you have the audited financial reports, it should be very easy for your case now. All the best.

As far as I know, the attorney can be anywhere in US since the Immigration law is federal in nature. Rajeev Khanna, Shiela Murthy and Aparna Dave are well known attorneys. What I did in my case was: I took appointment with three attorneys and picked the one that I thought would listen and understand my concerns and consider various options available. In my opinion, I give 50 % - 50 % credits to reputation and the time they can allocate for our case (ofcourse the patience as well).
 
Could you give me some info on this

Raju,

I am planning to change my attorney. My LC was approved recently. I want to go through the CP process. I am planning to file my I-140 through a different attorney.

Could you advise me whom i should go with?. You can email me at fiedel72@hotmail.com

Thanks,
Dave
 
Thanks Raju

I am the same Dave who asked you for some info when my LC was remanded back to State for supervised recruitment.

The process went through smoothly and ultimately my LC was approved on 25th August. I am planning to take the CP route. Thanks very much for your advice and suggestions on choosing an attorney. You suggestions were really helpful.

I have one more question for you, though Rajeev Kumar, kdivekar and bvganesh had already replied to them. Let me know your thoughts on those please.

Here is the situation:

My H1 visa stamped in my passport is valid till 1st November 2004. My I-94 was valid until 1st June 2003. But since I had my 797 that was valid till 1st November 2004, I know that I am not out of status.

Since I was ignorant of the laws, in my wife's and daughter's case I made a mistake. My wife has a valid visa till 1st November 2004 but her I-94 expired on 15th February 2003. I did not file for her H4 since I was not aware of the rules.

Similarly, in my daughter's case her visa expired in July 2002 but her I-94 was valid till 15th February 2003. Again in her case I did not file for her H4.

In May 2003, I finally noticed my mistake. So I traveled with my family to Ottawa, Canada and got my Daughter's visa stamped and the validity is till 1st November 2004.

At the port of entry when we came back, we did not have any problems and all three of us were given new I-94's. The validity of these I-94's are till 1st November 2004.

My question is, will this create any problem for when I go through the CP process?. Can this be rectified?. Suppose I don't opt for the CP process and file I-140/I-485 concurrently, will this again be a problem at the final stages.

I am in a dilemma whether to go for CP or not because of this.

My second question is, what should I do with the I-94's that came with the 797 petition. I changed around 4 companies after coming to the US and went back to India once. I handed over the I-94 that was attached to my passport but did not give them the I-94's that was attached to 797. Would this create a problem again in CP?. Can I hand these I-94's at the port of entry when I am going for the CP process.

Shed some lights on these issues and your suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
 
CP

I have chosen the CP option over Adjustment of Status (I-485). Now my friends are saying that I made a mistake by going that way.
1. Is it true that we can't enter US, if it gets rejected in India?
2. Does anyone know of some work-around for the worst-case scenario?
It would be greatly helpful if somebody, who is planning for CP, lets me know the details.

Regards
pachaiattai

PS:- I am not pessimistic. I just want to make sure everything is covered.
 
Hi Dave (Jalabalajings):

1] For your family's H4 extension issue, what ever you did (Canada visit) is excellent. Particularly so because they did not cross the 180-day period. In my opinion, this should not create a problem for your CP process. I am not sure if it is going to be a problem for I-485 or not. I remember a case that is posted in this forum about INS seeking more details about a 45 days of over stay (NSC). If I remember right, in that case, the Visa is approved with the interview.

Bottom line is: With either of the processes, You may be asked for details, but over-stay of less than 180 days should not be major problem.

Another thing is: The validity of Visa stamp in the passport does not matter as long as you are within USA. The only thing that matters is the I-94.

2] When you are leaving US for ex.. for a CP interview, you will need to hand over the latest I-94. I think that should be enough. You could probably ask the officer about the previous one's also.

I have opted for CP just because I wanted to get my GC sooner. I am waiting for the I-140 approval. I hope NSC will now speed up the CP based I-140 processing as well. It used to be pretty good. Now the I-140 processing for CP cases is lagging behind the regular cases by atleast 2 months. But still, Overall.. CP process is much faster. To the best of my knowledge, if your documentation is good, CP process is very smooth.

Wish you all the best.
 
dbsraju

Hi Raju,

Many thanks for your detailed reply. I know the question regarding overstay would come up during the CP process or at I-485.

I was not very confident about it. But now, after reading your reply I feel kind of relieved. Similarly the replies from KDivekar, bvganesh and Rajeev Kumar was also encouraging.

On the advice of Rajeev Kumar I also visited Ron Gotcher's web site (www.immigration-information.com) and was relieved that the overstay below 180 days would not affect the final process.

Anyway I am going to keep my finger's crossed and going for CP. Other than the overstay problem I don't think I would have any other problem with CP.

The reason I choose CP is the same as yours. I have another 18 months on my H1 and want to get my GC as fast as I can.

Another question for you is, Is the original copy of the LC approval needed when filing for I-140?. If not can I ask my attorney to amil it to me after he receives it.

Also do you know what are the documents needed from myself and from my company for filing I-140.

Your answers would be really helpful.

Thanks again,
Dave
 
Hi Dave,

For filing I-140, you need the original LC.
You need the following doc's:
1] Company Federal Tax return copies for last one or two years. OR audited financial reports.
2] Your foreign degree evaluation reports.
3] Your previous experience certificates - copies.
4] Transcripts from your degree / PG - copies.
5] Reference letters from experts in field and from peers. (I think these are important if you are going to file it in EB2). These are not required, but good to have them.
6] Current visa approvals (H1 & H4's). I have submitted the copies of I-94; front and back of the passport also, but not required.
7] Employer Support Letter.. Since I-140 is filed on behalf of the employer, my attorney suggested that we file a letter from the employer. All it had was like.. we have a job opening for which we have obtained the LC from DOL, job descr.. salary.. permanent position.. we submit our financial reports.. expecting the approval very soon.. and a brief profile of the company.
8] G-29 or notice of appearance for the attorney. If you are applying for CP, my suggestion is that you submit a G-29 for yourself as well along with another G-29 for your employer. For I-140 alone, G-29 signed by the employer is sufficient. But for CP.. this is what somebody told me: You can save sometime later on if you submit the G-29 signed by you as well. If not, NVC will need to send you a communication asking you to authorize them to send the Packe-III doc's to your attorney. But, it is just that somebody told me and my attorney agreed with it. So, it is upto you.
9] Ofcourse, the check or money order. Is it $135.00 ?

Please add / correct these if any body finds something..
 
Hi Dave,

For filing I-140, you need the original LC.
You need the following doc's:
1] Company Federal Tax return copies for last one or two years. OR audited financial reports.
2] Your foreign degree evaluation reports.
3] Your previous experience certificates - copies.
4] Transcripts from your degree / PG - copies.
5] Reference letters from experts in field and from peers. (I think these are important if you are going to file it in EB2). These are not required, but good to have them.
6] Current visa approvals (H1 & H4's). I have submitted the copies of I-94; front and back of the passport also, but not required.
7] Employer Support Letter.. Since I-140 is filed on behalf of the employer, my attorney suggested that we file a letter from the employer. All it had was like.. we have a job opening for which we have obtained the LC from DOL, job descr.. salary.. permanent position.. we submit our financial reports.. expecting the approval very soon.. and a brief profile of the company.
8] G-29 or notice of appearance for the attorney. If you are applying for CP, my suggestion is that you submit a G-29 for yourself as well along with another G-29 for your employer. For I-140 alone, G-29 signed by the employer is sufficient. But for CP.. this is what somebody told me: You can save sometime later on if you submit the G-29 signed by you as well. If not, NVC will need to send you a communication asking you to authorize them to send the Packe-III doc's to your attorney. But, it is just that somebody told me and my attorney agreed with it. So, it is upto you.
9] Ofcourse, the LC and the check or money order. Is it $135.00 ?

Please add / correct these if any body finds something..
 
Dbsraju,

Is the foreign degree evaluation compulsory?

Do you know any agency which does it for less fee?

Thanks in advance,
Yedati
 
Hi yedati,

The Educational Equivalency is required for any foreign degree qualifications, as far as I know.

I got this done from "Trust Forte Corpn". If I remember it right, they charged me about $ 60.00, I received the certificates in mail in two weeks. You can fax them the degree certificate and the transcripts..

http://www.trustfortecorp.com/academic.html
 
Raju

Thanks for your info on the documents needed for filing I-140. That was really helpful.

Regarding the foreign degree evaluation, I already have this evaluation report when my LCA for H1B was filed. Do you think this is sufficient/or should I try to do a new evaluation?

Also, my case is filed under EB3 - RIR category. The recruitment ad stated the following :

"Must have a Bachelors Degree in CS or Electronics or related field and 2 yrs. of exp. or 2 yrs. of exp. in a related position w/ability to use: blah, blah, blah......."

Even though the ad specified a BS degree is required I do have a Master's in Computer Applications. Do you think an evaluation is needed for both Bachelor's and Master's?

The link you provided was really beneficial. But, which category should be choosen. There are around 5 categories : Academic Equivalency Evaluations, Course-By-Course Evaluations, Work Experience Evaluations, Professional Position Evaluations and Expert Opinion Letters.

Do you think I should go for Academic Equivalency, Work Experience and xpert Opinion.

Please shed your thoughts. Any inputs will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Hi Dave

I think "Academic Equivalency" is the one that is relavent for EB2(LC based) & EB3. I think the Expert opinion letters are for the EB1 and NIW cases.

I don't know how recent it should be.. but when I applied my I-140, that was 8 month old.

You can submit all your Degree & PG Certificates etc at the same time. The evaluation agency would go through all of them and give you a certificate of equivalency that reflects your entire academic career.

Though I do not know your education details completely, I want to mention one thing that could be an issue.. I think you have mentioned MCA (I suppose you did it in India). If I remember it right, the requisite for MCA is a 3-year bachelor's degree like B.Sc or B.Com.

Suppose, if you did a 3-year bachelor's degree before your MCA, your Bachelor's degree alone may not be considered equivalent to a US Bachelor's degree as required for your job (LC requirement). But, If you did a BTech / BE, it is considered equivalent to BS in USA.

You are safe even if you did a 3-year degree and then the MCA. Focus on what the equivalency certificate said specifically. If you have any doubt, get a new one with your Degree + PG.

Look for some sentences like.. "Based on foregoing academic credentials, Mr. Dave has attained the equivalent of Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Electronic Engg from an accredited US institute of higher education".
 
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