Mentol Blog's

You are saying u have applied F1 after filing I-485 or before filing? What was the gap between them ? All I know is that the less the duration between them the more the trouble.

please do reply .I am waiting.

I don't agree with more fees for 485 etc ...

They are already taking too much money out of us ...

Am I hysteric or what?
Any ways here is the flash.
My case has been approved and got the so called Magic e-mails stating that the cards have been order
for me and the spouse.

Here is the "series of unfortunate events" :
1.
EB3/TSC
PD: Sometime in 1998
Stuck at labor for three years. Finally cleared in 2000 a month after I was let go.

2. Joined different company in 2001. Encore!!!. Filed GC again in 2001. This time I chose EB2
thought I would save some time.
3. Thanks to the political gimmics, stuck at labor again for three years finally cleared in 2004
4. Elated with the good news, applied i-140 & I-485 in 2004.
5. I-140 cleared without any hitches got EAD too. Expected i-485 to clear with in reasonable
amount of time.
6. Wait!!!, there it goes... the dreaded namecheck stopped it for another two years.

Following is the chronological order:
EB2/TSC
PD : October 17, 2001
LCl : January 7, 2004
RD I140/485 : May 28, 2004
EAD : July 26, 2004
FP Notice Date : February 1, 2005
FP Done : March 22, 2005
I140l : February 11, 2005
Namecheck initiated: June 2004
Namecheck cleared: June 2006.
I-485 cleared and cards ordered: July 2006.

Here is what I did to get out of namecheck:

1. e-mail to FBI on monthly basis
2. Snail mail to FBI, OMBUDSMAN on monthly basis
3. FAX to FBI on monthly basis
3. Involved congressman. Congressman's office contacted USCIS, but did not want to get involved with
FBI directly
4. Involved Senators. Senator's office contacted USCIS, but did not want to get involved with
FBI directly. One senator never even responded
5 got FOPIA.
6. Made the attorney to contact USCIS officially
7. Started the group "namechektracker" on yahoo groups http://groups.yahoo.com/group/namechecktracker/ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/namechecktracker/)
and almost filed WOM. Only thing left is to send the papers.
8. Tried some contacts with USCIS despite the "NO" from the attorney and the employer.
Just tried some personal mails to USCIS director FBI et all.

Not sure what really worked. Some one from DOJ took time to call me and informed that my
name check got cleared.

moral: Keep your eyes/ears open. DO NOT JUST BELIEVE the words of your attorney.
try the above steps and hope for the best.

Thanks to the forum members!!! I learnt lot from your experience.

I will still be around on this forum and will try to help as much as I can

I do not think that you have any issues to work on W2 with an end client or with any other consulting company. Since you have completed six months period with your present employer, who supported to file GC , from the date filing I 485, there should not be any issues at all. Also filing AC21 is optional. If you are on bench your first option should be to find a project ASAP.
Why do you do not want to file AC21, do you have any apprhencion or any specific reason ?

Regarding your first question : QUOTE [Could any one please answer my questions about my RFE on I 485?]
Many applicants got same RFE. I believe no body knows accurately reason for this type of RFE. There may be valid reason for this type of RFE , that 485 applicant is on bench for a long period , left USA surrendering I94 , Employer might have cancelled H1 visa and even some applicant got RFE without of any of these reasons.

:)They might Pal.

Wow that would be nice.

^^^^^^

Was wondering how is the experience of getting PIO card from Indian Embassy @ DC. Checked the site and it seems it takes 45 business days for them to issue a PIO card which for any other consulate (SFO/NYC/Chicago/Houston) is around 2 weeks ...

Can anyone share their experience ... appreciate a lot ....

I know a person who came to US on H4 in feb 2004 applied for H1 in the firt week of April 2005,
her Employer who filed for H1 suggested that she would get her H1 from Jan 1st 2006 , so she can travel to India
on that assurance she left for India on September 15 and came back on Dec 28th and
on Jan 1st when she called employer they mailed her H1 copy and the date of Approval is Oct 1st.


Does this mean H1 is Invalidated as per Last Actions Count Rule.

She has been working on H1 since then (not regularly though)
and did not file for H4 extension assuming her H1 is valid. H4 expired on Aril 2006

Has any one gone through the same situation.

Whats her Status as of now, If her husband is applying for 485 what do you guys suggest put on I94 what should her action from now on.


One lawyer suggests she should apply for 485 and and if they raise query come with some answer at that time.

another one says she should file for H4 and quit working.

She is totally clueless please help.

If there is a valid I-94 that you can mention on 485 form and if that I-94 is not expired and it is also the latest I-94, then you may be ok.

Do not apply 485 without I-94. In absence of I-94, they wont send any RFE, they will reject the 485 case right away. The new USCIS memo states that if initial evidence is missing, then they are not obligated to send RFE anymore. They have authority to reject it right away.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/RFEFinalRule060107.pdf

--Read the "Initial Evidence requirements" on page 2. The initial evidence list is mentioned on every form (485, 131 etc). It MUST BE there in the packet.

Keep this fact in mind as many lawyers are not aware of this USCIS memo and its pretty important.

Also, trying to go back on H4 is not a bad idea, particularly, if the priority date is an early one. The filing of 485 would be delayed by a year or 2 but atleast her status would be good when applying.

Neil, Hoffman, Greg, IIya, ,
we will all love you.... and thank you for showing us the light..... to make this world a better place.....

THANK YOU

Why did we all come to USA?

Did any of you knew the Green card problems when you came?

Did you know the problems when you applied for greencard many years ago?

When was the first time you found out there was a ling wait period and so many problems?

Where do you want to go with this discussion?:confused:

Has anybody recently applied for a Schengen Visa, if yes, can you please let me know what you did for the travel insurance. The insurance from my employer (Humana) says they cover international but do not have a letter that states the same and Swedish consulate website says the letter should specifically say "International Coverage".

What are my options. Can you guys suggest where I can buy the insurance from.

I used TravelGuard. It was perfectly suited for the Schengen visa application. It cost ~$30 for the coverage amount the visa requires. There might be others, but this worked really well for me.

Dear friends

Finally my EB-2 Sch-A Cat.II I-140 got approved on Oct-30. I got five emails today.

I submitted my I-140 as regular and then upgraded to Premium a week before on Oct-25.

thanks to all of you on this important forums who helped me lot in the process.

Now I will be enjoying ride of Retrogession Starting from Nov-1 in Sch-A cases.

Will Keep posted about I-485 as it develops.

Good luck to all.

Friends,

Looks like Obama and his administration is serious about fixing things.
There are several polls on various immigration related issues at change.gov.
Some are "pro" and many are "anti".

Lets cast our vote, write messages, make yourself heard.
Lets convey what we're going through, and we want relief.

We are in it to win it.

Here are some immigration/Green card/Visa related polls. Lets vote!
____________________

Green Card related polls : Here (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/search/SearchResults?searchType=2&str=Green+Card&search=Search)

Immigration related polls : Here (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/search/SearchResults?str=immigration&search.x=0&search.y=0&search=Submit)

Visa related polls : Here (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/search/SearchResults?searchType=2&str=visa&search=Search)


____________________
Some pro-immigration polls
- Please help the Immigration System (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004lrV&srPos=0&srKp=087)


Some Anti-H1B polls
- Reduce the H1-B cap for 2009 (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004nli&srPos=0&srKp=087)
- Replace India's Talent with US Talent (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004spJ&srPos=1&srKp=087)
- Reduce H1 Visas: Jobs for Americans (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004p5a&srPos=3&srKp=087)
- H1B Fraud & Legal Immigration Issues (http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004wtD&srPos=12&srKp=087)

Hi,

I just got approved for H-1B this year and I have some questions. I'm from a small country where they do not easily let their citizens to become citizens of other counties. So unless it's for educational purpose (undergraduate/graduate), they will not renew my passport for me.

My passport expires at the end of this year, and I was wondering if it's possible to obtain the following with an expired passport:

a) H-1B extension
b) PERM
c) green card

If it's not possible to obtain any of them with an expired passport, I must enroll in a graduate school to renew my passport. (Before my passport expires) I really prefer not to do this.

I would really appreciate if you could reply with cases you've seen or experienced in the past.

Thanks in advance.

I don't think you would be able to get through any of the list with the expired passport. If you are applying for it before your passport expires, I think you should be good.

By the way which country you are from?

My wife completed her BS while on H4.
In Florida person on H4 is regarded as US resident for tuition purposes so, if you attend state university, you will pay (much) lower tuition. I don't know if this applies to other states.

all the best with your wife's SSN application. My wife got her EAD 2 months ago and next day only we applied for SSN. Still waiting to get one. We called them after 4 weeks of application and they say they are waiting from USCIS to respond with the legal status (confirming EAD) to issue this number. So after 2 months still status is same.
I asked them if there is anything we could do, answer is none.
Can i speak with your supervisor to get more info, answer is same.

According to the EAD, she can work. She has TIN number, but I am not sure if she can use that...

Could you please advise how do I get the lawyer for this ? Do you know any in specific?

There are lot of attorney Ad's on this web site, you can check with any one of them!

According to Murthy: http://www.mURTHY.COM
The package should reach today. Not on monday even if the post mark is 16th.

Even the Matthew OH mentioned that packet should reach today and if you are sending it to PO, it should be picked up today.

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Hi ,

I got deported from Chicago when I was travelling back from India because I worked at a gas station with out authorization . I had to admit that I worked and I was deported back by flight same evening . They gave me the ticket .

My visa is cancelled and I was told to go back to consulate and get a new visa .

I want to come back and complete my studies as I have only 1 semester left . Please help what what should I do now .

thanks in advance.

RD
If you were registered for the full credit required (I believe 9) then you are permitted to work for atleast 20 hours. I dont specifically know about gas station but students work on campus at the library, cafateria, other departments etc. Maybe gas station is considered off campus? Not sure about legality of that.

Thank you !This whole thing has cost me a lot.I had to cancel the airtickets,the travel agent charged 300.00/ticket. $1500.00.I am sitting at home for 3 weeks as the vacation is not cancelled,as I can't carry it over to next year,per employer's policy.I wished I could finally go home first time,after 6 years in the US,now that is not happening anytime soon.
I suffered lot of anguish on september 30,2005 when I filed with a PERM certified labor that morning, my attorney took his sweet time to give it to FedEx, it indeed reach VSC at 7PM, so they rejected my application, as the next working day oct 3,2005, my country's PD jumped 6 years back to 11/1999 from current!I see a few cases of 485 approvals for persons who sent their forms on the same day 30/2005!
So even though I feel a lot weight off my chest as you do, it still rankles, as I was always on top of these things and even offered the attorney to be there on September 30,2005, and was willing to fly to Vermont even at the last moment, but he could not keep those packages ready to hand it to FedeEx. He did not faul to collect the fee for his NON-service anyway.
This forum is like a balm to a lot of people:)