Mentol Blog's

Thanks man. I see that there is a different thread going on RFEs on I-485.

Great! Thanks. I hope your case gets cleared as soon as possible.

I have my I-20 from University X, but I don't have the I-20 form from University Y.
Contact the International Students Office in University Y. Most colleges keep a copy of your I20. You can use that copy.

Also, SEVIS has a record of all the I20s issued to you and the colleges and degrees you completed.

when u file for the new 140..u are supposed to send in theold approved 140 and request for porting.. thats how my attorney did..

finally i got the 140 from my employer..and my date was ported successfully..so its all good.

Happy to know that you got your I-140 approved with old priority date. Is there any link or formal document which suggest that we can file new I-140 along with a copy of old I-140 to retain older priority date. My attorney doesn't agree to this, he says that we need to get the new I-140 approved first and than file for porting the date seperately. If there is any link or document which can suggest that we can file new I-140 with copy of older approved I-140 it will be of great help. I appreciate your reply to my post.

Thank you.

Permfiling,

Your response to this post is harsh/mean.

Can you give a single reason why not these guys shouldn't port or stick with their EB-2 priority date?

We should wish EB-3 dates also move and the guys get their GC before porting EB-3 to EB-2, otherwise EB-2 will retrogress (that�s the truth) and those are eligible to port will do it.

Frostrated,
It seems you missed the step of porting while filing I-140 (EB-2). Now, ask your attorney about the options.

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 would like to open this thread for those who are worried about the implications of using AC21 after 180 days. Lots of folks on several thread have either attempted to scare(any desi consultant ;) ) or are just scared!

I would like to have ppl share there reviews and experiences but I assure you
that AC21 is the law and your I-140 revocation has no effect to your on going process if you've done as required by the law as follows:

1. Joined the new job in the same or similar category
&
2. Minimum salary as specified per approved labour

So pls dont worry..be happy..love AC21! :D

Well this is the non-immigrant section, and I also said I was not sure where to post it. Care to give me a clue?

Please check you PM.

Please consult a lawyer, so my advise is just a suggestion .....

iPhone App selling is just like buying and selling stocks, which does not require a h1b or EAD. The only thing would be to report the income in tax return....I maybe wrong.....so please do check with a lawyer..

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...

I am reasonably knowledgable about benefit plans like 401(k) but just wanted a second opinion in the situation I decide to move perm to India.

1) Assume I have $ 100,000 in a 401K plan.

2) I terminate and roll over the funds to an IRA.

3) If I were to withdraw the funds ASAP I would face tax at a high rate as well as the 10% withdrawl penalty as I would be under 59 yrs 6 months.

4) To minimize my taxation I withdrawl a little bit every yr under the tax bracket. Say I withdraw 10K a yr for 10 yrs. Since I have no other US income I am under the tax bracket for US and dont have to pay any taxes. I do still have to pay the 10% penalty since im under 59 1/2.

5) By doing this I eventually mange to get 90K out of the 100k I start (assuming i dont take into account market earnings)

So is this doable and good logic ? Am I right or off somewhere. Would I face any taxation in India if I bring in this money on the principal ?

Also does anyone know what kind of interest rate a risk free treasury bond or instrument would pay in India ? If I bring to India an investment of aprox Rs 50 lakhs what kind of monthly income can I earn on the money assuming a secure conservative investment.

Thanks

Nozerd,
There is a provision to withdraw the 401K without the 10% penalty. To avoid the 10% penalty, there is a rule called "72(t) - Early IRA distribution". But there are certain rules that need to be followed for this - and I am not aware of how it actually works. The only reason I know this is because I asked this question specifically to the accountant doing my taxes and he said that if I were to retire early, I could avoid the 10% penalty by claiming the 72(t) clause. However, he said that certain "rules" must be followed and you must withdraw certain amount every year - else you will be subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

Hope this helps. You can ask any account specialized in federal taxes and ask him/ her/ them about the 72(t) clause.

I agree-If USCIS wanted to reject atleast we would have heard some cases by now.
Even if they have done so after July 2 we will hear soon within a week from now on atleast.
If it have happened we still will have time to refile till Aug 17.
So hopefull there shouldnt be any problem.cross the fingers so we can be safe.
we dont have the medical paper or the original I140 to refile.We will wait and see.

i see the estimate tool is showing
max weekly is $415
max benifits is $10k

I thought it was like 1/2 of your salary.
It will be much less considering taxes and deductions like child support etc.. :D

I have similar situation and not sure whether I will be able to apply for H1B revalidation..

I filed my i 140 and i 485 on Dec 23rd 2003 under EB3 category. I think my labor was filed under EB3 category. My Priority date is Mid August 2003. After 180 days of filing (around Nov 2004) I left my sponsoring company and joined another company with similar Job responsibility (to avail AC21), But didn't get my H1b transferred to new company. I got married recently and Ofcourse I can't file for my wife's i 485 since I am from India and visa numbers are not available. Can I get my H1Bvisa transferred to new employer if he is willing to sponsor? I got 3 years on H1B left

There is nothing illegal about working part-time using EAD while working full-time on H1B. It has nothing to do with last entry into US. In fact, EAD has nothing to do with entering US. To enter US, you need either a valid visa or valid AP. IO won't even ask you about your EAD.

EAD and H1B are mutually exclusive. If you are maintaining proper H1 status (ie, have a valid H1 status and working full-time for the job for which you have H1), it is completely legal to do flip burgers or drive cabs using EAD to supplement your income. It does not affect H1 status. I have confirmed this with multiple attorneys on multiple occasions.

I travelled thru Frankfurt last december. No need of Transit visa, no hassels; though Air-hostess that hands out I-94 card did not know what AP meant. I boarded at Bangalore airport and Lufthansa staff at check-in were aware of AP. At immigration in chicago, the guy gave me a short lecture- AP should be used only for emergency purpose etc; I jsut nodded and he stamped the I-94 and AP doc

If some one is on EB3 and waiting for their GC and only god knows when the wait will be over.Does immigration officers at port of entry expect us to wait for emergencies to travel on AP ? if not wait years or decades to get GC and travel.
This is quite ridiculous and insane.:(

I have been thinking lately about the CIR and SKIL bills.

Though I did read some of the benifits of SKIL bill, I am not sure what's the reality is going to be IF Skil bill is passed.

Will the advanced degree holders (even in EB3) will get to apply for I-485 immediately. IF not, is it just that its going to raise the number of visas per country. If so, anybody know how much of raise in visa numbers its going to happen.

Also how far are we from this CIR or SKIL bill being passed ?

any thoughts

Dear Follow member,
Our inability to apply for I-485 due to unethical behavior of USCIS is not covered by any major news channel. I searched in google and looked up all major news web site, non has this news. When all these news channels can cover illegal immigrations, why cant they have some space for legal immigration. We are legal immigrants, shouldnt be afraid of anything. We pay a lot of taxes and we dont diserve this 3rd rated treatment. So go call every major news channel in your local area and request them to cover this news. I called Fox10, ABS15 & AZ Republic in Phoenix area. Spread this news and create awareness and we should be able to get justice.

Hi All,
I am currently working for a University in cap-exempt H1B (company A). I got a job offer from a cap-subjected company (company B). I am aware that the H1B which i have is non-transferable and i have to apply for new H1B petition to work for company.
Since the cap numbers are still available, applying for new petition is not a problem. I was in an idea of asking my new employer (company B) to apply for new H1B petition (premium processing) while working with Company A but i came to know the following from USCIS official document that i have to stop working for the current employer before submitting the company B H1B petition. I thought I can work for the cap-exempt company A until the company B H1B is approved. Have anyone experienced it? if so when should i stop working for my current cap-exempt employer?...can i work till the LCA is approved..?

Below is the paragraph from USCIS Memo
"If the H-1B alien beneficiary has not �ceased� to be employed in a cap-Exempt position, then he or she will not be counted towards the cap.
If the H-1B alien beneficiary has �ceased� to be employed in a cap-exempt position, then the alien will be subject to the H-1B numerical limitation, and the concurrent employment petition may not be approved unless a cap number is available to the alien beneficiary.

When you apply for H1 transfer..they transfer the current H1.

If you have more than 6 months on ur H1 you cannot apply for extension..
when you file for transfer.

So better option would be:
a.) Transfer H1...and then file for extension.
b.) Or file for extension and then change jobs...

if you havent filed for 485.. then you have to restart the GC..and recapture your PD.... i used the option B.

hope this helps


Gaz

I am in a similar situation. What did your friend end up doing? I would appreciate any feedback on this.
My 140 is approved, 6th year expires in March 09, 485 has not been filed due to retrogression and there is a potential for a layoff. Can I transfer 140 to a new employer and file 3 yr extension at the same time?

There is ATA (American Telugu Association) too and they have a convention in New Jersey this weekend.

ATA and TANA are big orgs but most of them are ABCD and USA citizens and I aam not sure to what extent we can get help from them.

The key to our solutions lies in us. Ours is a big community, but a very few people spend time and money and energy on working towards our goals and always want others to fix our issues

Most of the members even don't care about us. All are well settled citizens. One more thing, there is lot of group politics in those organizations. This also needs to be taken into account...