Kama Of Kingstone

Folks,

In our legal immigrant community, we have the following Groups (G) of people:

G1) Handful of leaders - folks who clearly understand that only legislative fixes and administrative fixes can provide realistic help
G2) Dozens of volunteers - who are willing to take that extra step and contribute time and effort for the sake of others
G3) Hundreds of donors, both regular or one-time - who trust IV leadership and commit to the cause without any qualms whatsoever
G4) Thousands of members - who try to understand the issues we are facing but do not have a realistic assessment of how bad things are
G5) Many more - who either are not bothered by this wait or who simply gave up on this process and became dormant of some sorts of their career


While the predictions thread provided some clarity and entertainment for EB2 folks, this September 2010 bulletin is a blessing in disguise for all of us.

Current state of our Members (M):
M1) We have recently greened EB2 folks (2005-2006 EB2 folks), who have a fresh memory of the painful wait
M2) We have folks who relied on predictions (May 2006 - Jul 2007 EB2 folks), who must be frustrated and disappointed with today's bulletin
M3) We have folks who were looking forward to Jul-Sep 2011 (Aug 2007 - Dec 2008 EB2 folks), who now realize that their wait is even longer than assumed
M4) We have EB-3 folks waiting forever and feeling that they are being neglected in IV advocacy efforts


Folks who are in M2/M3/M4 state above should take some time and contemplate the options they have between now and Sep 2011.

I can see three Options (O):

O1) "Wait and Watch" option:
This applies to folks who are either close to the PD being current or folks who are on EADs or folks who are happy with their current career state

O2) "You are on your own" option:
EB-3 folks - can try find a job where the employer is ready to start their EB-2 GC process within the next 6 months (make sure your current GC application has an approved 140)
EB-2 folks - can try find a job where the employer is ready to start their EB-1 GC process

O3) "We are in this together" option
All EB-2 and EB-3 folks sign up for a concerted effort where IV leadership is in the driver's seat.

Each one of us should be able to relate to one combination of Group/Member/Option (GMOs) from the above list. Personally I'm G3M3O3 and look forward to IV direction.


People who understand America realize that money talks and lobbying works in Washington. We are ready for lobbying in our own ways (emails, phone calls, advocacy days, etc.). Besides this personal lobbying, we need to crack through official channels of lobbyists using money.

This would require each of us to sign up for a 25 USD per month recurring donation for 1 year (read this as 1 dinner per month for couples and 2 dinners per month for singles). BTW, don't wait for others to eat their dinners before you eat yours. It is your money and it is your dinner, eat it for your own good!

You are entitled to the sense of ownership in formulating and executing IV Advocacy - lot's of good ideas out there - some of them can be achieved administratively!

You can cancel your recurring donations, if you succeed in Option 1 or if Congress passes CIR between now and Sep 2011 and that benefits you. Make sure you recruit another IV member before you leave or cancel IV membership. Trust me, this is not going to end any time soon!

Good luck to all of us!

Hi,

My employer applied for my H1b Extension and the case was received on Aug 5th by USCIS. The online status still shows the case to be in "Initial Review". Out of curiosity, I called USCIS and they told me that they can only reveal information abuot the case to my employer. So I called my employer and they gave me a shocking news - They had received an RFE about a month ago and they "forgot" to inform me. They are not revealing me the details of the RFE.

We have to respond to the RFE by Nov 3rd, and since I had a change of project(I did provide the previous client letter when we had originally applied for H1b extension) they are asking me to get a client letter and other proofs within a day!!!! My client is taking its on time and I do not think I will get the client letter to send it in time.

1) What are my options here? Not knowing what the RFE is, being told about the RFE with just 2 days remaining, can I threaten to take any legal action against my employer?
2) Is it my right to get a copy of the RFE?
3) How come the case status did not change on USCIS website?

My current visa expires on Nov 20th. Please advice ASAP.

If you do not want to wait for your employer to give you details about the report, you can order one for yourself using a service like Personal record search (includes criminal reports) from www.choicetrust.com.

If I were you, I would not wait around for details from the employer but spend the $25 and get all the info I can and dispute whatever is incorrect.

Advance Parole. You are not alone. :)

Thanks, I got it. I even looked up on USCIS e-file page. E-file is the way to go...:)

Hey Tiger,

Dont take my words or advise for granted if one year you had less than your prevailing wage on W2 it may be ok as you have 2 more years of W2 with equal or more than prevailing wage.

Honestly I cannot say for sure your extension will be denied. But it helps for you to pay a couple of hundred dollars and talk over the phone to experienced attorneys like Sheela Murthy and get advise on your situation and options and whether there are chances of denial. I would assume you are OK but again I am no LAWYER :) I really wish you luck in your extension

Thanks for replying to my message. Even if she leaves the country, she has no H1 or H4 visa stamping to come back. Her COS(H4 to H1B) is applied in Aug 2006 and it was expired in Oct 2006 and we didn't knew that we have to apply for H4 side-by-side. Bcoz of this situation, she has neither of the status. Even if we want to apply H4, her H4 is already expired in Aug 2006 and I am not sure if we can apply for H4 now. Can we apply for H4 now...??

Regards,
-- Venkat

Recently there has been and update on the H1 , L1 Law stating that they have de-coupled the max limit stay on H4-H1 Visa time limits. Meaning, a period spent on H4 is not counted for 6 year limit on H1 Visa and also does not depend on ones spouses 6 years limit. So, it may be possible that you can get her H1 extended beyond the Expiry Date.

I'm not very clear about your problem((H4 to H1B) is applied in Aug 2006 and it was expired in Oct 2006 ) How can the Visa expire in 3 months? But i would suggest you to contact a Good Lawyer in this matter. We did it and it worked for us...
Also see this link on H1-L1 decoupling issue here.

http://www.murthy.com/news/n_depfam.html

Look at the EB3 dates for Mexico for the last 4-6 months, they were all beyond april 2001 and still stuck for 4 months with little movement. Most people think that April 2001 sounds like a beacon of hope or a major hurdle after which things will be normal and we will start getting the GCs, i dont know how you can say EB3 moved fast, and for desis its a long long wait.


Now the biggest hurdle of Apr 30, 2001 is crossed. I am sure that not many people has filed between Sep 2001 and February 2002. Also if you look into PD for China and Phillipines, the dates moved very fast after June 2001. Lot of people applied in late 2002 and early 2003. My guess would be that it will take about 3 to 4 years to clear all the backlogs of 2003. For 2004 it may be over 5 years.

Thanks for the replies !! I have everything ready as I was planning for concurrent filing. But since the decision was changed on July 2nd, my attorney just filed I 140.

sure, I would sign up for the contribution.

I thought you applied under the "Labor Certification" system not PERM. If you did PERM (only then can you file concurrently), nothing stops you from filing for AOS rightaway, so go for it!

Hi,

I had applied for H1 for 2008 from two different employers.Both got approved.Now my concern is ,
1)would there be any problem during the Visa stamping?
2)What should i do to other visa ,which i will be not using?
3)How should i approach the employer whose employment i will be not accepting?
4)I have signed one offer letter from the employer but other employer had not provided me with the offer leter.so whom should i join?


Just pick the one that you to want join with. It doesn't matter if you got more than one application approved. The effective H1B will be the one that you would use for stamping at embassy.

Hence relax and have fun!!

Hello All
Similar experience at Mumbai Consulate. Being a full time employee, and after showing all paystubs, employment letter , VO was not satisfied. 1/2 of the time , he was under impression that I was still working for a company, whose visa was stamped in 2008. :)

Another reason of frustration is they did not check all the documents I sent , which were mentioned in the green slip. Inspite of sending Research Document, I had got the reply saying that I did not send the Past, Current and Future Research Statement. So I resubmitted all the documents again on Dec 23rd,2010 . also added I am not working on any research topic presently or in near future . After that I did not hear back from consulate. So that means my case has been under processing?

Did anyone get the receipt of documents submission in response to Green Slip?

Please let me know

Thanks and Good LUCK

DResearch statement? Have never heard about that one! Are you a postdoctoral research fellow?

Yes. I guess, I read it wrong. I'm surprised that USCIS has outsourced this work to companies like these trusting them blindly. I was of the impression that the attorney used some USCIS website to file for PERM labors. And what kinda stupid co. was this...TESTING against prod database? Scary :eek:

USCIS didn't outsource; at least not to LawLogix. They are independent SW makers, much like TurboTax from Intuit :)

I hope this helps.

California used to finish the labor cert in 7-8 months even in 2004, 2005, just before BECs started.

I got my state labor approved and then it went to the San Francisco office in Dec 2004 and got it approved in June 2005. I am glad it didnt go to backlog center coz they were just starting up at the time.

Backlog centers have worsened the problem by slowing things down even further and now you even lost transparency. They are like "Trust us, we are the elite backlog centers...how could WE do anything wrong".

Guys-

If someone is asking advice , give it to him professionally. I know, including myself, everyone is frustrated. Quite honestly, most people forget that GC is for the benefit of the company not your benefit. Your benefit just comes along. They have this whole fuckin system because they need people from outside. Not because they love you. It is company that controls GC until you get it. So it is HIS company that is using the tricks of the trade. They can claim that they had lost profit since they did not have a permanent employee for long. All these jumping the queues and rules were framed for the benefit of the company. Not aliens, as they call us.

"If too many indians are ready to work hard by waiting for 10 yrs for their benefit, yeah why not, screw , I am not giving it to you." -- A mind of a Republican congressman

Come on fellow IVans

Just CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE

What happens once someone has entered on AP and 1 year passes..is it an overstay after a year????

They might return urs , simple.
:confused:
Could you answer this? We applied in march for 140/485. I have EAD, AP and FP done.The problem is that I don't remember seing the I-140 application among the papers we had to sign, and nothing just for my husband to sign, which would be normal, since he's the primary applicant. I thought at the time that I-140, being thru the employer doesn't have to be filed personally? Do you think it's possible the I-140 was accepted by mistake without the signature or should I enquire more and maybe my husband signed it at work and doesn't remember?
Thank you

I like all the faces!!! :p

Ha Ha ;):D:o:):(:confused:

Stop this spreading without proof.

Hi All,

We are planning to goto canada for our H1 visa extension (actually i changed my job to new employer also). My H1 visa expires on Sept 31st 2007.
We are planning to go in August 2007 itself.

Lets say if our h1 extension is rejected or some issue what will be our status?
Can we come back to US and plan for our india travel or we have to leave to india from there itself?

I heard that mexico has different rules?

Thanks for your help.


AVR is valid for reentry only if you donot apply for visa in canada or mexico
and if you come back to US within 30 days.
Donot give you I-94 when you leave US.

If your visa is rejected in canada, you cant re-enter US.

I did read some other posts re: this, but I'm not too sure how to go about it, what to say to them, etc? Should it be in writing, by phone? Plus the state of CA is so overwhelmed with budget issues, do you think they'd want to devote time to it? :confused:

A friend of mine (GC) sent his and his family passports to DC embassy and they sent his wife's and one kids passports back to him and sent the remaining 2 passports to some one else in california. Fortunatly the person who received the passport was a nice guy and he called my friend and sent back the passports.
Bottom line is if you are in the tri city area (within a 100 miles of DC) its is better to go in person to the embassy to submit and pick up passport. Atleast you have peace of mind. For those who live far off there is no option but to post