Mentol Blog's

Hey, thanks Hojo, it took me a while to get that text to work correctly on the board. Darn CSS. I was trying to use span tags when I really needed to use div tags.

Your footer doesn't show Hojo? I right click and it says Movie Not Loaded.

Happy Scenario

1) Once my EB2 labor gets approved, Do they have to file new I 140 again (OR) can they use the approved I 140 (EB3) to port my PD to EB2 application - No need to File for 140

3) If they have to file I 140 again for EB2...is this I 140 goes through the regular time frames (12months) (OR) since my EB3 140 is already approved my EB2 140 gets approved faster. -- They approve Faster in a month

Not so Happy scenario and reality

1) Once my EB2 labor gets approved, Do they have to file new I 140 again (OR) can they use the approved I 140 (EB3) to port my PD to EB2 application - You need to File for 140 after the labor approval 6+months

3) If they have to file I 140 again for EB2...is this I 140 goes through the regular time frames (12months) (OR) since my EB3 140 is already approved my EB2 140 gets approved faster. -- Takes 1+ year to get your 140 approved + you need to wait for 6 months+ to get your 485 interfile updated

We are talking about atleast 2 to 3 years to get from EB3 to EB2 , so Please participate in IV campigns , call the representatives

Thanks for your response.

Guru's any other thoughts (particularly on question 2 and other questions)

To all,
If your EAD is not expiring soon (within 10 days) and your EAD renewal is still pending, there is chance that your expedited request may not be processed at all.

THis is what happened with my Wife's EAD renewal.

My Wife's EAD is set to expire on Sept 4th and was in a danger of loosing her job, if she didn't have her new EAD in time. There was no word/status_updates about her pending EAD renewal for the past 2 months. Complicating things further she only recently received FP notice.

We contacted our lawyer and she said that we are not eligible to file an expedited case as it is not even pending 90 days, but she did advise us to give it a try.

So, my wife called USCIS on August 26th (promtly at 8:00AM) and gave all the details to the Rep. Rep said that she will expedite the case and wait for 5 days to get a response. She said that they will send an email, if USCIS requires additional documents and also asked us not call again within 5 days.

Surprise, surprise, The very next day, her EAD case status got updated with a message "Card Production ordered......."
Usually, there would be "EAD approved" message followed by Card production ordered. However, in this case, they directly jumped to "Card production ordered..."

My Advise is to call USCIS, if your EAD is set to expire in just few days. They can do many things out of way to help out.

Hope this helps.
--sri

Hello All,

I have an Appointment in Halifax Canada but I was wondering if I am eligible for the following

1 ) My H1B visa expired on 12/09/2006 from Company A
2) I have I94 from Company B and I want H1B visa from Company B

In Halifax appointment letter it says that they "issue visas for residents of our Consular district and for state-side revalidations only".

I am from India and I going to Canada on Visitors visa.

Please let me know.

Thanks,
SG


---
As far as I believe, you should not have any problem whatsoever in getting your H1B visa from Company B stamped in your passp
ort. You need to carry all relevant documents related to H1B (including old H1B approvals, old passport (if any), employment credentials, proof of address, W2 forms, etc) so that you're not caught unawares during the H1B visa validation process. Before you board the flight back to the US with your new H1B visa, the US Immigration/Customs counter will issue you a new I-94.

God forbid, even if they deny your H1B visa from your new employer, you should still be able to return to the US on the expired H1B visa since you made an honest H1B visa trip.

On "issue visas for residents of our Consular district and for state-side revalidations only", I'd suggest you call up the US Consulate to make it doubly-sure you do not run into any issue.

I had been to Vancouver, Canada a couple of times to get my H1B visa stamped. On both occasions, the H1B visa stamping was successful.

sorry for that
i can open it...

Most likely....they are trying to play both side of the vote politics. That way they can say we tried earnestly but didn't happen because of republican opposition.
On the other hand they can avoid annoying center and independent voters.

I agree. They are playing to get Hispanic votes in the 2010 elections. "No health care for illegals" indirectly contradicts "green cards for all undocumented". Obama is cleverer than LALLU. Watch out. He is a very intelligent player with words.

I got the RFE notification in the mail yesterday and here is the RFE info:

The Service acknowledges that you filed your I-485 Employment Based Application (Receipt #) based on your approved 3rd preference I-140 (Receipt #). Service records indicate that you also have an approved 2nd preference I-140 (Receipt #) with a priority date that affords you an available visa. If you wish to transfer this I-485 to your newly approved Form I-140 a request for conversion must be made in writing. If no response is received, USCIS will continue adjudication on the instant I-485 based on your 3rd preference I-140 and will wait for visa availability based on that preference classification".


I had another approved I-140 in EB2 from the client where I worked as a contractor. That company got acquired by another and am not sure if they still support me in the process.


1) Did anyone receive such RFE?
2) Should I send USCIS a letter by requesting them to trasfer my I-485 to EB2?

3) USCIS had issued this RFE on 03/03/10 with 04/03/10 deadline but I had received it yesterday(3/27/10). I have only 1 week to respond back.
Is there a way to buy some more time if i cant respond back in 3-4 business days?


Please advice. I really appreciate your help!

Thanks in advance.

Firstly, its good that USCIS is infact tracking all approved I-140s based on applicant's profile in order to adjudicate cases which have an available visa number based on PD porting.

In your case, technically, you can only request to tag your I-485 to the EB-2 I-140 only when the EB-2 sponsoring employer is still willing to employ you when your I-485 is approved. You need to consider a situation of USCIS issuing another RFE in addition to your transfer letter, to produce an employment verification letter from your EB-2 employer. Best thing to do is to get in touch with your EB-2 employer and check to see if he is still willing to support you. In that case, you can request for transfer. Otherwise, technically, you cannot transfer your case but can continue your case in EB-3. Obviously, getting an expert opinion from a good attorney is key as time is running out.

We need more attention. Economy and all., they are going to be there, but I am sure US doesnt want to loose by delaying it. These are our years where we can contribute. They dont want to send some of us back and invite us at 55-60 years as dependents on our citizen children.
Lets please not wait till the bad thing happens.. Lets imagine to be in, and act to prevent it..
BTW, when is the next bulletin coming out :).
Yes, you're fired next week,... for some reason not in anyone's control.

True, this affects everyone really, but was just saying from what I have seen of my ROW friends. Getting green cards within 1-2 years while the bulk of us wait for 5-6+

My point was people from countries that require Special registration have higher chances of getting struck in the name check. Dont ask me for the proof .. Its just a wild guess I am making . I may be wrong too

http://www.isss.umn.edu/INSGen/INSspecreg.html#who

Going by the things I think people from certain countries will be scrutinized under microscope.

I am kindda in a similar situation. if your wife goes to F1 visa, and the dates become current (i.e you are eligible to apply for 485), you cannot add your wife to your 485 (immigrant AOS) petition on her F1 status. She either will have to come to H-1B/H-4/L-1/L-2 status. I had this conversation long time ago with my lawyer. The reason is that these categories of visas are recognized to have dual intent of migration. F-1, B-1 etc are not so you cannot apply for 485 if you are in any of those category of visas.

This is the biggest thing why you may have to consider being on H-1B only so that she can be on H-4 and you can add her whenever the dates are current for you again. Secondly, being on H-1B has other advantage for you as well. Suppose there is a problem with your 485 application and (god forbid) it gets denied. Then in that case you are not out of status if you have retained your H-1B status. You can be here in US until your H-1B petition expires and fight for a motion-to-reconsider on your 485 and resolve the issue. Had you been on EAD, you are out-of-status the day your 485 gets rejected.

I understand that not many employers are keen on doing H-1B due to the costs involved, but it might be a worthwhile option for you to explain to your employer the benefits associated with keeping an H-1B petition.

Hi,
I have been out of client project after May 15th 2009. I work for a major Consulting company and have been on Bench since then. Got laid off on June 22nd 2009 due to lack of work in these tough times. For the past 5 weeks, I have tried to find a project through various job sites and could not succeed to get even one client interview due to various reasons. One major reason being Billing Rate, which was not fine with my previous employer.

I am aware that my current stay is not legal anymore and have to wind up things here and leave US at the earliest. I would be getting my last paycheck till this week(June 26th 2009).
Not sure how much more time it will take for me to get a job. Can anyone advise how long can I stay here to find a project/job(if lucky to get one soon) and be able to transfer my H1 without any issues.

Please advise as I am in dilemma to stay in USA and try for 1 more month or go back to India at the earliest to find a job there, though the situation is bad there too.

Its a worth to try..give it a shot..take Infopass or call nation server center etc..

i took infopass last week and went to atlanta to see io he shedule my fingerprint appointment for may 28 2008 and told me i will receive apointment letter with in one week and i am waiting for letter.
i called service center 3 times open 3 sr request for finter print appointment but nothing happen so i took infopass last week so it good idea to take infopass .

this blog is written and maintained by staff of HAMMOND LAW FIRM. Go to their home page (http://www.hammondlawfirm.com), you will understand this.

This is a blog. Its not a credible source of information.

fax sent

What about the option
Refiling LC in PERM due to .... changing jobs, etc
Even PERM is Baclogged.......per my lawyer Atlanta is taking 6 months.....Amazing

I have mentioned details about Murali Bashyam in some other post. I was introduced to him in a IAFPE seminar on immigration and stayed in touch with him for last three years (and he is finally on my file too). In my AC21 processing he helped me even though he was not my official attorney and did not charge me a penny. I found him a thoroughly gentle person and he always replies very promptly.

Here are contact details: -

Murali Bashyam - Managing Partner
Bashyam Spiro & Edgerton LLP - Immigration Law Group
www.bashyamspiro.com
919 833-0840 x28
919 833-4722 fax

I guess employer need to revoke unused H1Bs as part of H1B rules. Maybe that is the reason employer revoked past H1Bs to keep their side clean.

I remember reading Murthy bullettin where she mentioned back-wages are an issue if H1B is not explicitly revoked.

My guess.

My previous attorney also mentioned the same thing. Looking at this thread it seems all soft/hard lud's were generated on Sunday, April 26th. Maybe a computer program flagged these cases.

Ask him to request I-140 premium processing; I think he is eligible. He will get the approval/denial in 15 days.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=bc6755fe4a37a110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCR D&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1 RCRD
since he can get H1 extension based on PD >356 days I dont think he is eligible (per that doc PP is only being opened up for people whose PD <365 days and approved-I-140 is the only way to get an extension)

While on AoS, are we classified as US Resident - as long as we pass the IRS resident test of presence in US.

Thank You and best wishes

While AoS is pending, the status is Temp US Resident. This is same on H1/L1/H4/L2.

This is nothing to do with status for tax filing. Example: one staying at B1 status for 183+ days will be classified as US resident just for tax filing (if he has income such as share income), for all other purposes he is still a visitor.

.

Recently we have seen lot of 140 case transfers from NSC to TSC

I m starting this thread to track all the 140 transfers from NSC to TSC and approvals , Please use the below format

Type : EB3
RD to NSC : July 5 th 2007
Concurent Filing : NO
Tranfered to TSC : April 7 th 2008
Last Update : April 14 th 2008
Current Status : This case is now pending at the office to which it was transfered
Approval Date : Pending

I would rather fight it here without sending her to India (it happened to me). If you (primary) are living here legally with all your past H1's available in hand, then you hire a gora lawyer. Don't go to Murthy or Rajiv Khanna, they charge hefty. Basically what you need to do is -
1) Your wife writes an affidavit on legal note explaining the whole story that she forgot, but has been maintaining the status legally until then. (the lawyer will help you with this). You have to build a case they you are living legally with a good intent but just forgot to renew...
2) Attach all H1/H4 copies of yourself and her with I-94.
3) Fill in H4 renewal application
3) Have the lawyer send all paperwork it to INS asap

When INS sees the legal note from attorney, they understand the case is legitimate and mostly approve her H4 renewal. This is what I did when it happened to my wife, and it got approved. However we delayed by 2 weeks. Worst case, you would fight the case in a federal court to prove your innocence, and they just approve it then.