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I-485 application- Help Need help
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Stratagenics
8/30/2013 1:27:01 AM
Total Posts: 3
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Hi Amazon or anyone with sound knowledge , I need opinion on what to do. My wife and I filed an AOS on June 6th, based on the trends i observed then, people were getting and are still getting greened in 2 months, so for some boneheaded inexplicable reason I chose not to apply for EAD- I reason before i get a job offer the Gc would probably be out. Now its almost 3 months, most of the people I know have their GC but I am yet to get mine and last of all, I got a job offer to start October 1( Full disclosure: I told the company i had authorization to work- which I do, I'm currently on H1B- its just that i can't transfer the H1B and I will have to wait till April next yr to file another one). I got the offer mid august, realizing my profound error, I quickly filed for an EAD on August 14th. I am still hopeful that I will get the GC before October 1st but is there anything i can do to maybe help. i am thinking of scheduling an infopass to explain the situation to an IO, or maybe call TSC and explain my worry to them- At this point, while it would be good to have the GC, even the EAD will suffice so I can start the job. Please advise, I am hearing all sort of conflicting advise from friends- its getting confusing. Thanks again for your help
Amazon
8/30/2013 10:56:39 PM
Total Posts: 591
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[quote=Stratagenics;3847]Hi Amazon or anyone with sound knowledge , I need opinion on what to do. My wife and I filed an AOS on June 6th, based on the trends i observed then, people were getting and are still getting greened in 2 months, so for some boneheaded inexplicable reason I chose not to apply for EAD- I reason before i get a job offer the Gc would probably be out.[/quote] Actually it is normal to assume that. Majority of the people do not know how USCIS processes each application. Maybe I should write a blog post about it. [quote]Now its almost 3 months, most of the people I know have their GC but I am yet to get mine and last of all, I got a job offer to start October 1( Full disclosure: I told the company i had authorization to work- which I do, I'm currently on H1B- its just that i can't transfer the H1B and I will have to wait till April next yr to file another one). [/quote] Why are you not able to transfer H1B? You are legally allowed to do it anytime. I am guessing your new company assumed you are legally authorized to work for any employer. are they aware of H1 status? [quote]I got the offer mid august, realizing my profound error, I quickly filed for an EAD on August 14th. [/quote] EAD processing typically takes around 2-3 months. However based on latest data from GC tracker, many have got it 4-6 weeks. [quote]I am still hopeful that I will get the GC before October 1st but is there anything i can do to maybe help. i am thinking of scheduling an infopass to explain the situation to an IO, or maybe call TSC and explain my worry to them- At this point, while it would be good to have the GC, even the EAD will suffice so I can start the job. Please advise, I am hearing all sort of conflicting advise from friends- its getting confusing. Thanks again for your help[/quote] Yes, there is a high probability that USCIS can process it before October 1. However there are few risks: 1. GC is for future job offer (not current job offer). Hence if you leave employer immediately after getting GC, it can be considered as fraud (since your intention was not to work for the sponsoring employer after getting GC). 2. If your I485 is pending for 180 days or more, according to AC21 rule, you can legally change employer. 3. Some people have changed employer once they receive EAD (but less than 180 days after I-485 filing). This can be risky, in case USCIS issue RFE for employment letter, pay stubs, etc. Few thousand applicants in EB2 India category got this RFE in June 2013 (due to new memo released by USCIS). You can read about it here: http://blog.mygcvisa.com/2013/06/eb2-india-prediction-2013-2014.html Hope these three points give you a much better idea on what to do. Other options: You can either postpone joining the new employer or you can join new employer and start process again (quick tip: you can retain the old PD).
Stratagenics
8/31/2013 3:33:50 PM
Total Posts: 3
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Hi Amazon, Thank you for the exhaustive reply. Quote: "Actually it is normal to assume that. Majority of the people do not know how USCIS processes each application. Maybe I should write a blog post about it" I think that would be very helpful. Just wanted to give you some more background: My wife is the principal applicant and I filed as a dependent. I am currently working as a researcher at a University on my H1B, the new job is at a for profit University.My understanding is you cannot transfer H1B between the two types of University. Would that be right? At the new place i just filled a form where they asked if i have work authorization in the US and I ticked yes. I guess i could contact them if USCIS is not forthcoming. Do you think infopass would help at all is it worth trying to you think its a net negative? Thanks again
Amazon
9/2/2013 8:29:58 PM
Total Posts: 591
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Yes you cannot transfer H1 visa from cap exempt employer to a non-cap exempt employer. You will have to file for a new H1 visa. Even if you file in Apr 2014, the start date would be October 2014. And the H1 quota is expected to be filled up on the first day (Apr 1, though they will continue to accept application till around Apr 6 and then run a random draw). You can certainly try infopass (since it is free). The answer you get would depend on the officer whom you talk to. Some of them will just read what they see on the screen. Some can go and try to get little more detail. Some would quote the standard processing time, etc. Tip: You can use the quote button located on top right of each forum post to quote that post.


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