wandmaker
09-18 07:07 AM
I paid the money to my company who has applied for my H1B.
Even I have not yet received receipt number for the H1 application filed on 7-April-2009 by my employer in NJ USA. I was also given fedex tracking number for the application that was sent on 7-April-2009.
I applied for H1B through a NJ based consultancy company for year 2010. I haven't got any receipt number though my employer claims to have fedexed my application on April 6th.
......had nicely and smartly enjoyed everyones money and are free without any problems. Now from last few weeks they are not even replying any emails or phone calls. This clearly indicates that it was very well planned fraud. They should really be sent to jail.
3 x $3,500 = $10,500 is easy money! As long as there are people like you ready to pay for their H1Bs; these companies will continue make money out of you. First, You should stop paying them! Second, file a complaint with USCIS about this company!!
Even I have not yet received receipt number for the H1 application filed on 7-April-2009 by my employer in NJ USA. I was also given fedex tracking number for the application that was sent on 7-April-2009.
I applied for H1B through a NJ based consultancy company for year 2010. I haven't got any receipt number though my employer claims to have fedexed my application on April 6th.
......had nicely and smartly enjoyed everyones money and are free without any problems. Now from last few weeks they are not even replying any emails or phone calls. This clearly indicates that it was very well planned fraud. They should really be sent to jail.
3 x $3,500 = $10,500 is easy money! As long as there are people like you ready to pay for their H1Bs; these companies will continue make money out of you. First, You should stop paying them! Second, file a complaint with USCIS about this company!!
tikka
05-29 09:52 PM
Oh I did not know that one person can send webfax for each state.
When I click that link it said "You have already sent it"
I'll check again now
please do
thank you
When I click that link it said "You have already sent it"
I'll check again now
please do
thank you
thomachan72
11-10 02:47 PM
Never heard of this before. Wouldn't know what to do either. Can you call them and ask? or send an email? what does your attorney say? Was an educational evaluation done on this?
gc_dream07
03-30 10:39 PM
Enjoy the freedom.
Good Luck with next endeavor (citizenship I guess!!:))
Good Luck with next endeavor (citizenship I guess!!:))
more...
swamy
01-02 02:18 PM
presuming 3500 visas for EB3 from india per year, given about 350,000 were filed recently and presuming about half of that were EB3 india, that means 175,000 are in front of you from India on EB3. so my pd of jan 2006 would become current in about 48 years and yours in about 50. now, others may speculate and extrapolate and say that it's likely to be within a decade based on past experience - i.e RoW not using up its quota and hence spilling over to India, but India EB2 itself is backed up pretty badly & it gets a first shot at it so after these geniuses go green, we get to use that. But again, thats just speculation - so nothing is certain except that it wont be no longer than 50 years based on current law, that too presuming the current law stays as is. lets hope iv succeeds in the backlog efforts in which case the wait would probably be around 3/4 years.
spgtopper
05-09 04:08 PM
Hi dudu,
If you attend the local event on May 15th, you will be able to get a ton of local contacts that will be very useful in forming a group etc.
We are hoping that at the May 15th event, several local (DC metro area) IV members will meet and get to know each other as well - that should be a good start to form a strong local group.
S.
If you attend the local event on May 15th, you will be able to get a ton of local contacts that will be very useful in forming a group etc.
We are hoping that at the May 15th event, several local (DC metro area) IV members will meet and get to know each other as well - that should be a good start to form a strong local group.
S.
more...
glus
10-19 08:18 AM
What do the people in the following circumstance do:
1) Family emergency and they have to travel to India? Is there any way to expedite the advance parole??
2) They get married say in October and return with spouse then? IF they file for I-485 now, isnt the spouse left out unless she/he can come in H1B or F-1 herself?
Hi:
According to the rules, you need to have I485 original receipt at the time of re-entry if you enter on H1, H4 or L1. Even though this rule was not very much enforced, it may be a reason for I485 abandonment if you don't have it at the time your re-enter. It is very risky to leave without I485 receipt. If you really need to leave without I485 receipt, you would need to get emergency approval of AP, which can be done under some circumstances. Not you can apply for AP based on proof of mailing and delivery I485 if you don't have one.
Reportedly, USCIS is working on a rule, that would eliminate the need of having I485 at re-entry, but as of now, an IO may request I485 receipt at re-entry.
1) Family emergency and they have to travel to India? Is there any way to expedite the advance parole??
2) They get married say in October and return with spouse then? IF they file for I-485 now, isnt the spouse left out unless she/he can come in H1B or F-1 herself?
Hi:
According to the rules, you need to have I485 original receipt at the time of re-entry if you enter on H1, H4 or L1. Even though this rule was not very much enforced, it may be a reason for I485 abandonment if you don't have it at the time your re-enter. It is very risky to leave without I485 receipt. If you really need to leave without I485 receipt, you would need to get emergency approval of AP, which can be done under some circumstances. Not you can apply for AP based on proof of mailing and delivery I485 if you don't have one.
Reportedly, USCIS is working on a rule, that would eliminate the need of having I485 at re-entry, but as of now, an IO may request I485 receipt at re-entry.
ganguteli
05-06 03:32 PM
http://www.usabal.com/seminars/#a2
Michael Aytes, is one of the speaker in this conferenceif a couple of members attend with immigration voice badge on their shirts, this could be a good platform for immigrationvoice as a group to get noticed.
Maybe people who are living around Washington DC neighborhood can attend to represent IV and their registration can be sponsored by IV.
Just a thought. As we push our agenda, IV as an organization must get noticed in more places where USCIS is putting its face on.
This conference is for lawyers and employers and organized by lawyers. The organizers are charging fees for it too.
So what will IV gain by meeting lawyers and paying money to just get in?
Or by showing our face to USCIS official, Do you think by showing your face you will get your greencard and can promote IV? If that is true why don't you go and sit in front of USCIS and show your face to everyone entering that building?
And if you want to go then go. Why do you want IV to pay your $350?
Michael Aytes, is one of the speaker in this conferenceif a couple of members attend with immigration voice badge on their shirts, this could be a good platform for immigrationvoice as a group to get noticed.
Maybe people who are living around Washington DC neighborhood can attend to represent IV and their registration can be sponsored by IV.
Just a thought. As we push our agenda, IV as an organization must get noticed in more places where USCIS is putting its face on.
This conference is for lawyers and employers and organized by lawyers. The organizers are charging fees for it too.
So what will IV gain by meeting lawyers and paying money to just get in?
Or by showing our face to USCIS official, Do you think by showing your face you will get your greencard and can promote IV? If that is true why don't you go and sit in front of USCIS and show your face to everyone entering that building?
And if you want to go then go. Why do you want IV to pay your $350?
more...
GCard_Dream
09-15 04:31 PM
I am not sure if this is entirely true. Yes we can't vote but folks who are pro-immigrant can and they will decide if legal immigration is good for this country or not. Trust me, if everyone was against legal immigration in this country then none of us would be here in the first place. Everyone knows that there is a shortage of labor and migrants are needed to fill the jobs.
Why do you think most of the minorities vote for democrats? One of the reason, amongst various others, is that people think of democrats as pro-immigration party. In fact that's one of the reason I like dems.
Because of this 9/11 case, everyone is kind of worried about the security and it makes sense. Americans want to get a handle on who is coming in and who is going out and I can't and won't argue against that. Everyone wants to live without the fear of terrorism and that's understandable.
To make long story short, there are plenty of people who will vote based on what the candidate's standing is on the immigration. In fact, that's precisely the reason house didn't bring up the immi bill this year because they didn't want to have their candidates vote one way or the other on the immigration issue and have to explain that to voters in couple of months.
Everybody knows about legals and illegals. Will it gain any grounds for them to get big vote this november is important. The SKIL bill or any legal provisions in the CIR will not fetch even a single vote for them. In fact it MAY reduce the vote from anti immigrant groups if they add anything for legals.
Why do you think most of the minorities vote for democrats? One of the reason, amongst various others, is that people think of democrats as pro-immigration party. In fact that's one of the reason I like dems.
Because of this 9/11 case, everyone is kind of worried about the security and it makes sense. Americans want to get a handle on who is coming in and who is going out and I can't and won't argue against that. Everyone wants to live without the fear of terrorism and that's understandable.
To make long story short, there are plenty of people who will vote based on what the candidate's standing is on the immigration. In fact, that's precisely the reason house didn't bring up the immi bill this year because they didn't want to have their candidates vote one way or the other on the immigration issue and have to explain that to voters in couple of months.
Everybody knows about legals and illegals. Will it gain any grounds for them to get big vote this november is important. The SKIL bill or any legal provisions in the CIR will not fetch even a single vote for them. In fact it MAY reduce the vote from anti immigrant groups if they add anything for legals.
anirudh74
03-18 12:09 PM
Don't count on it.Even if it is introduced it will hit a road block in the house.So go and do what you need to do.Its foolish to base all your plans on CIR. I am sorry to say this , but this is the reality and there is very little that anybody can do to influence this.
more...
Beta_mle
09-10 07:23 AM
AFAIK, as long as the core duties mentioned in the LC don't change considerably (by more than 50%), the company can promote you anytime.
I just watched the video on the front page promoting the rally and it seemed to say that your salary must remain within 5% of the amount stated in the I-140. Is this correct? This appears to contradict your answer. It also does not make sense. I am in this situation, I-140 approved with PD in '06, I-485 filed in July. My company gives raises of a few percent every year, and I would suppose most companies do. Surely it is not realistic for a person to stay at the same salary for however long it takes to adjudicate the AOS?
Could someone please address this?
Thanks.
I just watched the video on the front page promoting the rally and it seemed to say that your salary must remain within 5% of the amount stated in the I-140. Is this correct? This appears to contradict your answer. It also does not make sense. I am in this situation, I-140 approved with PD in '06, I-485 filed in July. My company gives raises of a few percent every year, and I would suppose most companies do. Surely it is not realistic for a person to stay at the same salary for however long it takes to adjudicate the AOS?
Could someone please address this?
Thanks.
sriramkalyan
09-15 03:44 PM
CIR does not help LEGALS .. its for people who broke US LAWs
We do not need CIR ..
We do not need CIR ..
more...
gsc999
01-18 02:58 PM
Guys,
Vote for Change. I know you are feeling left out of the presidential caucuses and primaries. Here is your chance. Vote for change, for Admin fixes, change your quality of life and help American economy at the same time by freeing up pent up Entrepreneurial energy and other decisions e.g. buy a house. Ben Bernanke/ USCIS/ President's office, if you are reading this: Empower this sizable chunk of legal immigrants to help kick-start the American economy.
I only see one vote and that too mine on the attendance poll above.
Don't let anyone take your vote and your voice for granted.
Btw, those snacks are not going to finish themselves and I am watching my weight (New Year resolution). Need your active participation. Sign n Dine!
Show me your vote (for Sunday event attendance)
I am gsc999, and I approve this message :)
Vote for Change. I know you are feeling left out of the presidential caucuses and primaries. Here is your chance. Vote for change, for Admin fixes, change your quality of life and help American economy at the same time by freeing up pent up Entrepreneurial energy and other decisions e.g. buy a house. Ben Bernanke/ USCIS/ President's office, if you are reading this: Empower this sizable chunk of legal immigrants to help kick-start the American economy.
I only see one vote and that too mine on the attendance poll above.
Don't let anyone take your vote and your voice for granted.
Btw, those snacks are not going to finish themselves and I am watching my weight (New Year resolution). Need your active participation. Sign n Dine!
Show me your vote (for Sunday event attendance)
I am gsc999, and I approve this message :)
houston2005
03-05 09:30 PM
We cannot justify the opposition to price increase as INS expects the fees to be paid by employer. So if needed employers can oppose not the employees. Only fees the candidates expect to pay is citizenship fees and all other immigration related fees should be paid by Employers as they are sponsoring gc
Totally disagree. Only a small %age of employers pay the fees, rest is all borne by the applicant. This includes universities, companies etc. There are so many components of fees that everything is not covered by employer.
Do most of the companies cover EAD (every year), Adv. parole (every year), I 485 etc.. fees. The arguemnt given by USCIS (read their website) for I 485 increase is that it will be processed in 6 months and therfore no need to apply for EAD and AP fees. The argument is fallible is that it does not counts retrogression adn name check, it is simply assumed everyone will get their I485 processed in 6 months.
They are not using technology (because they can't hire more H1b and softwarre professional) but using the excessive money to support theeri old fashioned systems.
What a mess 180% fees increase on most of the applications?
Totally disagree. Only a small %age of employers pay the fees, rest is all borne by the applicant. This includes universities, companies etc. There are so many components of fees that everything is not covered by employer.
Do most of the companies cover EAD (every year), Adv. parole (every year), I 485 etc.. fees. The arguemnt given by USCIS (read their website) for I 485 increase is that it will be processed in 6 months and therfore no need to apply for EAD and AP fees. The argument is fallible is that it does not counts retrogression adn name check, it is simply assumed everyone will get their I485 processed in 6 months.
They are not using technology (because they can't hire more H1b and softwarre professional) but using the excessive money to support theeri old fashioned systems.
What a mess 180% fees increase on most of the applications?
more...
go_guy123
09-10 03:36 PM
If person is working for same company after MS then he/she cannot use experience for GC for same company. One of my friend got GC who was working for same company since he graduated and got GC under EB2. He had 4 years of exp after MS when he applied but could not show
Its not a major issue since MS itself is viewed as 5 years of experience. The question is whether the company and DOL is willing to accept business necessity clause for Masters/5 years experience. By default most occupation fall into Job Zone 4 (EB3) unless shown business necessity and proved during an Audit.
Doctors, Lawyers etc fall into Job Zone 5 (EB2)
Its not a major issue since MS itself is viewed as 5 years of experience. The question is whether the company and DOL is willing to accept business necessity clause for Masters/5 years experience. By default most occupation fall into Job Zone 4 (EB3) unless shown business necessity and proved during an Audit.
Doctors, Lawyers etc fall into Job Zone 5 (EB2)
STAmisha
11-14 02:32 PM
Lawyer told me that I cannot contest. They screwed it up some thing
more...
sujan_vatrapu
10-27 11:17 AM
You probably know what you are getting, but there are others who believe all the lies that FOX spreads - don't always look through the prism of your problems...
At least on the other news outlets, they bring 2 sides of opinions, unlike FOX - which only shows one side of the issues 25% of the time, and the host spews his/her talking points for the rest of the 75% of the show!
Having said that, I would much prefer for the news outlets (ABC, CNN, NBC, CBS, NPR ..) to not only give 2 sides of the story, but actually do some investigative journalism and come to conclusions. Ask the tough questions and if all they get is talking points cut them off.........
Again you missed the point, main news media outlets have liberal views on issues, they don't bring conservative view but they say so, i watch CNN, CBS, listen to NPR, I am not saying FOX is the best but they are as good as the rest, agn my point is all the channels have left or right view (NONE have a centrist view), we should not discount FOX because they have conservative views,
in a recent survey more than half surveyed picked FOX as the most trusted new channel, if we think they are fools there is definitely something with us!
At least on the other news outlets, they bring 2 sides of opinions, unlike FOX - which only shows one side of the issues 25% of the time, and the host spews his/her talking points for the rest of the 75% of the show!
Having said that, I would much prefer for the news outlets (ABC, CNN, NBC, CBS, NPR ..) to not only give 2 sides of the story, but actually do some investigative journalism and come to conclusions. Ask the tough questions and if all they get is talking points cut them off.........
Again you missed the point, main news media outlets have liberal views on issues, they don't bring conservative view but they say so, i watch CNN, CBS, listen to NPR, I am not saying FOX is the best but they are as good as the rest, agn my point is all the channels have left or right view (NONE have a centrist view), we should not discount FOX because they have conservative views,
in a recent survey more than half surveyed picked FOX as the most trusted new channel, if we think they are fools there is definitely something with us!
dealsnet
06-18 03:07 PM
In AOS, you are in status, even if you are not working. But you must have a valid job offer in hand. They must employ you immediately after your GC approval for the job with same description and salary. Any time USCIS can ask for the job letter.
For unemployment benifits, I don't know.
For empoyment based GC, candidates are suppose to work till get GC. Small gap is ok, if you have job offer. If you are laid off by the GC sponsering company and they are no longer in business means, you are out of status, if no other job or offer in hand.
For unemployment benifits, I don't know.
For empoyment based GC, candidates are suppose to work till get GC. Small gap is ok, if you have job offer. If you are laid off by the GC sponsering company and they are no longer in business means, you are out of status, if no other job or offer in hand.
Blog Feeds
10-28 12:00 AM
AILA Leadership Has Just Posted the Following:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAaKs1IGguH71GyjsXUvG1IlXVmOCaxKop88WrUZacfDCDv9FcxJlAE7l9Rm5kiUXPcYvDw_8LhGz0YivM2CWGhLsJlXWIeK6KMqRZnqCuNo74UG7nJ8aXykzPXOXKktHkH-d5eF06hM/s320/Immigration+Lines.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAaKs1IGguH71GyjsXUvG1IlXVmOCaxKop88WrUZacfDCDv9FcxJlAE7l9Rm5kiUXPcYvDw_8LhGz0YivM2CWGhLsJlXWIeK6KMqRZnqCuNo74UG7nJ8aXykzPXOXKktHkH-d5eF06hM/s1600-h/Immigration+Lines.jpg) I had a very upset client contact me this last week. He was angry . . . at the Visa Bulletin. He could not understand how, after the start of the new fiscal year, there was essentially no movement in the visa numbers. I tried to calm him by telling him that he just needed to be patient. Then I realized how patronizing that sounded. How much longer did he need to wait? He has an approved immigrant visa petition (EB-3) with an early 2005 priority date in the worldwide category. So, I decided to try to figure out when he might actually get his green card. I ask that you bear with me through this process. This is a LONG post, but one I think you will appreciate reading.
I have to warn you now, this math is a shot in the dark. I do NOT have all of the numbers of pending and approved cases in each category of employment based immigration. However, some estimate, based upon some pretty good numbers, is better than mere guesswork. Let me walk you through this analysis.
However, I first ask you to forgive me in advance, math is the reason I went to law school. Also, the USCIS simply has not released clear numbers (possibly for fear of letting folks know exactly how long their wait will actually be).
My focus for this analysis will be in the EB-2 and Eb-3 categories, since it is in those categories that our clients are most interested. There are four basic numbers we are looking for, NONE of them are easy to find. Let's discover the basic numbers we will be using:
First, how many approved I-140 cases are awaiting a visa number? According to AILA's recent liaison meeting with DOS, there are 198,186 "case ready" I-140 petitions awaiting visa issuance, in the EB-2 (52,584), EB-3 (139,737) and EW (5,865) categories. Case ready means (as best as we understand), that as soon as the petition is current, the Adjustment will be approved or consular processing will begin. Obviously, the EB-2 numbers are only for India and China.
Second, how many pending I-140 cases are there at the Service Centers awaiting adjudication? According to the June 2009, USCIS Production Update Report to Congress (http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/fy09q1backlog.pdf), USCIS had 85,970 pending I-140 cases awaiting adjudication. Unfortunately, USCIS does not break out the I-140 cases in this report between EB-2 and EB-3. These are the most recent numbers I could find.
Third, how many pending I-140 cases are at the District Offices? I have no idea! I cannot locate anywhere the numbers of cases at the local USCIS offices. No one knows. Really. There is no report that I can find where this number has been released. And, frankly, I do not believe that USCIS has an accurate count on this either (I do pray they get such a count soon).
Fourth, how many pending labor certifications are there at the DOL? This number is actually pretty sure. There are 62,100 pending labor certifications as of the September 22 stakeholder meeting with DOL (http://aila.org/Content/default.aspx?docid=30235) (not counting pending appeals). Unfortunately, again, we do not know which of the categories (EB-2 or EB-3) the cases will fall under.
Now, it is time for the math. Assuming all pending Labor Certifications and pending I-140s are approved (yes, I know some will be denied and some are duplicates), there are at least a total of 346,256 individuals with approved or soon to be approved petitions awaiting green cards, not including their families. If we assume an average family size of 4 people (I believe this is a safe assumption), there are 1,385,024 people waiting on employment based green cards in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.
I know the number is huge! And next we have to try to fit that number into the two separate EB categories. Unfortunately, we have two problems in doing this. The first problem we have is that we do not know how many of these I-140 cases are in the EB-2, or EB-3 categories. So, let's use a little deductive reasoning here. Using experience and best guessing based upon the division we already know about in the numbers of cases from the DOS, lets say 26% are EB-2 (360,162), and 74% are EB-3 (1,024,917).
The second problem is that we do not have a per country breakdown. (I hope the USCIS has that breakdown). How to account for this? Again, let's estimate based upon the DOS numbers, that India accounts for 70% of the EB-2 and 39% of the EB-3 numbers and that China accounts for 30% of the EB-2 and only 3% of the EB-3 numbers and the rest of the world accounts for 58% of the EB-3 numbers.
We also know the maximum numbers available in any given year for all family and employment based categories is 25,630 (with some caveats), and that there are only a total of 80,000 employment based immigrant visas in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories combined (with some flow down from other categories).
You can see we have leaped, jumped, guessed, and assumed our way to the follow conclusions:
India EB-3 wait for permanent residence for a labor certification filed today: 15.8 years. This generous estimate comes from the fact that an estimated 399,717 Indian Nationals waiting for 25,630 visas a year. This estimate completely ignores the possible immigration of any family based immigrants which would subtract from this total and increase the wait time, and the number that would flow down from other immigrant visa categories, so the wait time is probably longer.
China EB-2 wait for permanent residence for a labor certification (or NIW) filed today: 4.1 years. This estimate comes from the estimated 108,048 Chinese Nationals waiting for 25,630 visas a year. This estimate completely ignores the possible immigration of any family based immigrants that would subtract from this total and increase the wait time, and the number that would flow down from other immigrant visa categories.
Worldwide EB-3 wait for permanent residence for a labor certification filed today: Well, there are 594,451 people waiting in this queue. The limiting factor here will be the 80,000 annual limit on employment based immigration. Excluding per country limits and flow down from other employment based immigrant visa categories, this is at least a 8.1 year wait.
And these waits are from when the person STARTS the green card, not when they come into the United States.
I can now tell my client a waiting date based upon, at least, some real numbers. But, I will still be wrong. The dates are not accurate, but at least it is not made up out of whole cloth. But we now all understand that we cannot look at the Visa Bulletin and actually determine how long the wait is.
The point of this whole exercise, besides telling my client how long he still might have to wait, is to point out the consequences of these numbers.
Line? What Line? These are employment based immigrants. Every single one has a job offer, an employer, and a certification that either there are no qualified, willing and able US workers for the job, or that the individual is so good, we do not even have to test the labor market. We need these people. We want these people. How many do you think will now just give up and go home?
This delay in legal, employment based immigration is a crisis for America. If you are an intending immigrant, and your immigration option is employment based, do you have the patience the wait 15 years for your green card? Can you do better in Australia, Canada, or even back home in your home country? What is the cost to our future competitiveness of a broken legal immigration system? What is the cost to U.S. innovation?
I believe these numbers have a purpose. The purpose is immigration reform, and not just a legalization. We all know that a broken legal immigration system causes illegal immigration. We need to fix the legal immigration system now! We need to modify the process, significantly shorten the wait and increase the numbers to meet the demand. We need to not include family members in the total calculated visa numbers. And, Yes, we need to make these change even in a struggling economy. We must maintain the great benefits that positive, focused employment based immigration has delivered to America. The reality is that Congress must act to help save the future of American innovation and economic growth. And, they must do it now.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/186823568153827945-159310338954847679?l=ailaleadership.blogspot.com
More... (http://ailaleadership.blogspot.com/2009/10/get-in-line-what-line-tragic-tale-of.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAaKs1IGguH71GyjsXUvG1IlXVmOCaxKop88WrUZacfDCDv9FcxJlAE7l9Rm5kiUXPcYvDw_8LhGz0YivM2CWGhLsJlXWIeK6KMqRZnqCuNo74UG7nJ8aXykzPXOXKktHkH-d5eF06hM/s320/Immigration+Lines.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAaKs1IGguH71GyjsXUvG1IlXVmOCaxKop88WrUZacfDCDv9FcxJlAE7l9Rm5kiUXPcYvDw_8LhGz0YivM2CWGhLsJlXWIeK6KMqRZnqCuNo74UG7nJ8aXykzPXOXKktHkH-d5eF06hM/s1600-h/Immigration+Lines.jpg) I had a very upset client contact me this last week. He was angry . . . at the Visa Bulletin. He could not understand how, after the start of the new fiscal year, there was essentially no movement in the visa numbers. I tried to calm him by telling him that he just needed to be patient. Then I realized how patronizing that sounded. How much longer did he need to wait? He has an approved immigrant visa petition (EB-3) with an early 2005 priority date in the worldwide category. So, I decided to try to figure out when he might actually get his green card. I ask that you bear with me through this process. This is a LONG post, but one I think you will appreciate reading.
I have to warn you now, this math is a shot in the dark. I do NOT have all of the numbers of pending and approved cases in each category of employment based immigration. However, some estimate, based upon some pretty good numbers, is better than mere guesswork. Let me walk you through this analysis.
However, I first ask you to forgive me in advance, math is the reason I went to law school. Also, the USCIS simply has not released clear numbers (possibly for fear of letting folks know exactly how long their wait will actually be).
My focus for this analysis will be in the EB-2 and Eb-3 categories, since it is in those categories that our clients are most interested. There are four basic numbers we are looking for, NONE of them are easy to find. Let's discover the basic numbers we will be using:
First, how many approved I-140 cases are awaiting a visa number? According to AILA's recent liaison meeting with DOS, there are 198,186 "case ready" I-140 petitions awaiting visa issuance, in the EB-2 (52,584), EB-3 (139,737) and EW (5,865) categories. Case ready means (as best as we understand), that as soon as the petition is current, the Adjustment will be approved or consular processing will begin. Obviously, the EB-2 numbers are only for India and China.
Second, how many pending I-140 cases are there at the Service Centers awaiting adjudication? According to the June 2009, USCIS Production Update Report to Congress (http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/fy09q1backlog.pdf), USCIS had 85,970 pending I-140 cases awaiting adjudication. Unfortunately, USCIS does not break out the I-140 cases in this report between EB-2 and EB-3. These are the most recent numbers I could find.
Third, how many pending I-140 cases are at the District Offices? I have no idea! I cannot locate anywhere the numbers of cases at the local USCIS offices. No one knows. Really. There is no report that I can find where this number has been released. And, frankly, I do not believe that USCIS has an accurate count on this either (I do pray they get such a count soon).
Fourth, how many pending labor certifications are there at the DOL? This number is actually pretty sure. There are 62,100 pending labor certifications as of the September 22 stakeholder meeting with DOL (http://aila.org/Content/default.aspx?docid=30235) (not counting pending appeals). Unfortunately, again, we do not know which of the categories (EB-2 or EB-3) the cases will fall under.
Now, it is time for the math. Assuming all pending Labor Certifications and pending I-140s are approved (yes, I know some will be denied and some are duplicates), there are at least a total of 346,256 individuals with approved or soon to be approved petitions awaiting green cards, not including their families. If we assume an average family size of 4 people (I believe this is a safe assumption), there are 1,385,024 people waiting on employment based green cards in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.
I know the number is huge! And next we have to try to fit that number into the two separate EB categories. Unfortunately, we have two problems in doing this. The first problem we have is that we do not know how many of these I-140 cases are in the EB-2, or EB-3 categories. So, let's use a little deductive reasoning here. Using experience and best guessing based upon the division we already know about in the numbers of cases from the DOS, lets say 26% are EB-2 (360,162), and 74% are EB-3 (1,024,917).
The second problem is that we do not have a per country breakdown. (I hope the USCIS has that breakdown). How to account for this? Again, let's estimate based upon the DOS numbers, that India accounts for 70% of the EB-2 and 39% of the EB-3 numbers and that China accounts for 30% of the EB-2 and only 3% of the EB-3 numbers and the rest of the world accounts for 58% of the EB-3 numbers.
We also know the maximum numbers available in any given year for all family and employment based categories is 25,630 (with some caveats), and that there are only a total of 80,000 employment based immigrant visas in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories combined (with some flow down from other categories).
You can see we have leaped, jumped, guessed, and assumed our way to the follow conclusions:
India EB-3 wait for permanent residence for a labor certification filed today: 15.8 years. This generous estimate comes from the fact that an estimated 399,717 Indian Nationals waiting for 25,630 visas a year. This estimate completely ignores the possible immigration of any family based immigrants which would subtract from this total and increase the wait time, and the number that would flow down from other immigrant visa categories, so the wait time is probably longer.
China EB-2 wait for permanent residence for a labor certification (or NIW) filed today: 4.1 years. This estimate comes from the estimated 108,048 Chinese Nationals waiting for 25,630 visas a year. This estimate completely ignores the possible immigration of any family based immigrants that would subtract from this total and increase the wait time, and the number that would flow down from other immigrant visa categories.
Worldwide EB-3 wait for permanent residence for a labor certification filed today: Well, there are 594,451 people waiting in this queue. The limiting factor here will be the 80,000 annual limit on employment based immigration. Excluding per country limits and flow down from other employment based immigrant visa categories, this is at least a 8.1 year wait.
And these waits are from when the person STARTS the green card, not when they come into the United States.
I can now tell my client a waiting date based upon, at least, some real numbers. But, I will still be wrong. The dates are not accurate, but at least it is not made up out of whole cloth. But we now all understand that we cannot look at the Visa Bulletin and actually determine how long the wait is.
The point of this whole exercise, besides telling my client how long he still might have to wait, is to point out the consequences of these numbers.
Line? What Line? These are employment based immigrants. Every single one has a job offer, an employer, and a certification that either there are no qualified, willing and able US workers for the job, or that the individual is so good, we do not even have to test the labor market. We need these people. We want these people. How many do you think will now just give up and go home?
This delay in legal, employment based immigration is a crisis for America. If you are an intending immigrant, and your immigration option is employment based, do you have the patience the wait 15 years for your green card? Can you do better in Australia, Canada, or even back home in your home country? What is the cost to our future competitiveness of a broken legal immigration system? What is the cost to U.S. innovation?
I believe these numbers have a purpose. The purpose is immigration reform, and not just a legalization. We all know that a broken legal immigration system causes illegal immigration. We need to fix the legal immigration system now! We need to modify the process, significantly shorten the wait and increase the numbers to meet the demand. We need to not include family members in the total calculated visa numbers. And, Yes, we need to make these change even in a struggling economy. We must maintain the great benefits that positive, focused employment based immigration has delivered to America. The reality is that Congress must act to help save the future of American innovation and economic growth. And, they must do it now.
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stemcell
02-11 11:55 AM
MOE
Please 'no more posts' and 'GOODBY' :D
Please 'no more posts' and 'GOODBY' :D
OLDMONK
04-17 02:42 PM
Filed Feb 22/06 got approved on March 7/06
I heard that people who ported their Old Priority date are taking that long a time as yours. Is your a fresh application or did it used Older Priority Date.
Else you may be a victim of IT issues they had initially with perm.
Anyway, There is a long wait now for filing concurrent 140/485..
I heard that people who ported their Old Priority date are taking that long a time as yours. Is your a fresh application or did it used Older Priority Date.
Else you may be a victim of IT issues they had initially with perm.
Anyway, There is a long wait now for filing concurrent 140/485..
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