Mentol Blog's

Just wanted to share our 7th year H-1B extension stamping in Chennai on July 15th. Since my I-140 was approved, the I-797 petition was approved for 3 years. My family (wife and daughter) attended the interview along with me. The procedure for H-1B extension/renewal is much easier in Chennai compared to first time stampers. There is a separate counter for renewals and the interview procedure is quite simple. After the initial screening of documents, we went to a separate renewal counter which did not have any queue.

The VO just asked some questions about my nature of the job and how long I have been with my company. FYI, my company is a major reputed IT Foreign MNC. My family was not asked any questions. We did not have any PIMS delays and I got the passport couriered the very next day itself. The petition was approved a month before the stamping. Overall it is a much streamlined process for H-1B visa extensions/renewals.

Thanks MP70

Thanks for sharing, Nice to know there is a separate counter for H1B revalidation. Enjoy your rest of the vacation.

We filed for 485 in 2007 july fiasco... and so far, we never received FPs for me or my wife..
my lawyer called the TSC a couple of times, and I called at least 3 times, and all the time, they say it is fine, and they will contact me if they need anything. We got our EADs and APs renewed as well, but never received FPs...

Every time I contacted them and explained the problem, they would open up a case to investigate and they send us letters a couple of months later saying my application is within the current processing times...

I am hoping this is only normal, and there are others out there in the same boat as mine...
Am I wrong in assuming so? Let me know if there is anything I should do?

pal :)


Hi pal,

Two things -

a.) If your priority date is current and you are EB2-India, then your priority date in your profile is incorrect. Could you please fix it, along with other data in your profile.

b.) Based on what you said, if I were you, I would take an infopass appointment at the nearest USCIS center for the entire family and speak with the IO face-2-face and ask this -
i.) My dates are current, how much time will it take to approve your application, and at what stage it is stuck?
ii.) You have not recd FP notice, is that ok?

I think IO officer will most likely print an FP notice right there, and that will bring up your file, if it is lying in some rubble. It would have someone look into your application.

Hope this is helpful!

.

please read

I believe USCIS has a confidentiality agreement with their employees and you donot want him to lose his job.

-C.

He will not lose his job. He will be criminally prosecuted.

Hopefully you can address the CIS concerns about where you were working by showing that the I-140 is for a future position, and it is irrelevant (for permanent residence) where you worked in the past. However, your past locations are relevant in showing whether or not you maintained H-1B status, and can also suggest that the employer's labor cert for one specific location is incomplete, if it traditionally moves employees around and if it disn't say multiple locations on the labor cert and I-140.. Good luck.

I called the general customer service number - National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not go through with the options of sending the info. to the US consulate. But I will give it a try tomorrow. I don't know what you can do with that option (PIMS etc), but it is worthwhile to explore.


At what number did you call? Was it Kentucky Consular Center? Do you mean that we can have our information sent to PIMS system or consulate in India? In other words, does that say anything particularly about PIMS?

I would also suggest that those who have had their I-485 denied due to changing employers should submit DHS Form 7001 to the Ombudsman's office.

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cisomb_dhsform7001.pdf

Guys, any good news to share??? I am still waiting for reply to my letters or email. Nothing received till today...

up

If you have attached all the documents correctly and appropriately, then you won't get a RFE at all. Scan the forums to see why people have gotten RFEs and see if you have done the same mistakes. My lawyer confirmed that it's perfectly okay to send two recent paystubs instead of an employment letter. So your paystubs can't trigger a RFE.

As for getting your I-485 processed in 6 months? Well, if you are lucky, anything can happen. :-) The truth is I have several friends with PDs of 2002 and 2003, who haven't gotten their approvals yet.

You can see the processing times here: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp

Good luck.

Thanks,
Jayant

Hello!
I was trying to use the Free Conference Call service to ask a question to the lawyer but was informed that the access code 388991 is incorrect. Has it been changed? If so, can someone provide the new code.

Thank you very much for providing this invaluable service to the entire community.
-Raji

Please refer to the thread running on the home page for the current conference access code. For this week, check http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/forum14-members-forum/2098838-free-attrny-call-apr-14th-ari-and-greg-frm-visalaw.html

I too fall in the same boat. I see one of them responding for this post that we can apply for premium processing. If we apply for premium processing before 6 months , does it raise any questions at USCIS ... why this guy is applying for premium processing ?? Are we eligible to apply H1 B Extension with premium processing before 6 months of H1 B Expiry ??

Thanks in advance

have you considered asking your client to hire you effective jan 20, but take unpaid leave until jan 25 or whenever they are ready to hire you?

That would have worked if the Client had already finished the hiring process and filed for my extension b4 my I-94 expires on Jan 20... I am yet to appear for the interview, it is just that i have some strong references (and they have multiple openings) so I have extremely good chances of getting hired ... so, no, this idea won't work :(... Jan 25th was just a imaginary date that i gave... the hiring process may take couple weeks more than that (yup, unfortunately, it's that slow) ... I was just trying to find out what are my options after Jan 20... would I be just stuck with this staffing company or could I have the Client file for my extension... if it is legally not possible then I might as well just forget about this opportunity :(

My wife received the FP notice 3 weeks ago and her FP is tomorrow. I never received it even though I am the primary applicant. I do see updates on my I-485 application but no FP notice. The USCIS center is quite far away from my home. Can I try to go there with my wife and see if they can do my FP also tomorrow or is that a lost cause?

Hello,

My first H1-B visa expires in September 2009. I was going to have my company file for extension exactly 6 months before the expiry date until I found out I cannot travel out of the U.S. while my extension application is pending. I have a trip planned in July.

My company attorney recommended that I put off submitting the extension, go on my trip and apply as soon as I get back.

Is there any risk associated with doing this? Or is it better to apply as soon as I can at the 6 month mark?

Thank you,


Team

I never heard of this...Last year I applied for extension and had to travel for family emergency. But I got the approval without any issues. Might be just lucky?

Yes your crook attorney is partially right. Because once your I-140 gets approved, then you are eligible for 3 yr extension and not 1 yr extension. No attorney like his/her clients get 3 yrs extension because they will lose their attorney fee for the next two years.

Just ask your lier to apply for I-140. If he refuses to do that, ask him why?

Change your attorney if you are paying for your GC. If company is paying then talk to the companies HR or who ever, lawyers will work on what the company says.

Forget about the lawyer, It is the company issue here if they are paying for your GC.

....

Here is my situation: I was on my 6th year of the h1b visa (I had about 3 months left of valid visa) when I left the country in January 2010 to live abroad...In August 2010 I came back to the US on a tourist visa and I applied to get the 3 months I had left on my H1b in November.

After waiting for over 4 months, I received the approval notice from immigration for the h1b valid only for 1 day!! (4/20/11-4/21/11)...I received the approval notice on the mail on 4/23, 2 days after the visa was valid...so basically, by the time I received the notice in the mail, I was already out of status.

If I apply for an extension this week, do you think that they will approve my 7th year extension or they might deny it based on the fact that I applied after my H1b visa expired? If they deny it, what are my options to stay in the country?

What would the employer gain by applying H1B if only 3 months left?

Hi everyone,

Today i got an alert form USCIS that the pending 485s (for my wife and myself) have been transferred from NSC to TSC. Wanted to see if others with 485s pending at NSC have seen similar action.

My priority date is Oct 2005 and my 485 has been pending at NSC since July 2007.

Hi Anand,

I am in the same boat as your spouse. I am on H4. Just today I got a very harsh reply from an attorney saying that I cannot volunteer in any way that is related to my field ( I am an IT pro) even in a non-profit organization. I am little bit upset after this episode because I wanted to volunteer for a non-profit Org.

In the land of opportunities I don't have opportunity even to volunteer in a non-profit organization to keep in touch with my subject. First time I realized that I am living in a prison.

Don't take my word. Consult an attorney because H4 holder volunteering in one's own field is illegal it seems. Wish you all the best.


Amul

Do not trust what the consulate website says

In 2001 i had my passport renewed in NY
they insisted...and were adamant...that it had to be 11 mnths to expiry not 12 mnths...it makes no sense but they don't care.
they also don't care what the web site says.
i was told that if i wanted to travel i could get a temporary passport, since mine was full...and btw it was damaged (old, overused and beginning to come off at the sea...which is why i wanted a new one) so i would pay a large penalty, and a mnth later when i returned a could again apply for a new passport since it would be 11 mnths to expiring.

make sense if you can!

Chicago has similar idiosyncrancies. They don't provide all the services they list on the web site. They also do not care what the web site says. Call and you will be in an endless spiral of people saying different things and not really wanting to talk to you.

Your earlier post regarding same story about your friend. Now you are telling it is your case. Which one is true.???
Are you making story and make sensation??
Guys see her earlier post.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?p=329024#post329024

Urgent:h1 visa holder leaving country without informing employer!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please help!

One of my friends holding h1 visa had to travel outsdie the country for a family emergency. She informed her employer at the earliest opportunity she had, after reaching India. Now her employer had filed a law suit against her, stating that it is against law to leave the country without informing the employer! Is this true? Will she be in trouble? The employer had not paid her salary for past 2 months. She is ok with not continuing her employment with this employer if they are not willing to give the pay slips, and is ok with staying in India for a while. But she is worried that, will this case cause her any issue in future, when she return back to USA?

Any valuable suggestion will be highly appreciated.

My employer needs to pay me back wages for 3 months from Dec-2008 to Feb-2009. I travelled to India in March and informed the employer about the same after reaching India. Now the employer have filed a civil case against me for contract dispute. Can I file a complaint against my employer in Department of Labor, to get back the pending wages till March from outside the country?

Please help, as we are in a difficult financial situation and I cannot pay the employer the amount he demands for contract dispute, if the court rules against me, unless he pays me my pendng wages.

I'm looking for EAD,AP paper filing instructions from scratch.While I'm digging these threads
can some one please direct me to the links for EAD,AP paper filing instruction (Nebraska)on this forum if you can.

Thank you.

I called Fox news too. They said they will investigate and see how they can fit the news. PLEASE CALL NEWS CHANNELS> PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. THEY NEED TO KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO US