Employment Based Greencard

This is my Greencard journey in EB2 Category. with a current priority date.

12/31/2015 : filed I-140 (premium), I-485, I-131 & I-765 concurrently
01/10/2016 : I-140 approved
01/20/2016 : Biometrics completed
02/10/2016 : I-765 (EAD) & I-131(Advance Parole) approved
02/19/2016 : EAD & AP combo card received in mail
05/09/2016 : I-485 approved
05/12/2016 : GREEN CARD / Permanent Resident Card received in mail.

It has been a long journey and I have received a lot of help, encouragement and advice from groups at Immihelp. I would like to thank everyone here. I wish you all the very best in in your Green Card journey.

May God Bless America!!

EB1A is a roller coaster experience. I had reservations before applying to this category as it is the topmost and the toughest immigration category (of course the fastest). I consulted a few attorneys who turned out to be discouraging at best. They all were hung up on low citations of my papers and told me to wait before I could get around 100 of those (wait for a year!?). I am glad I didn’t think much of their opinion and took my own advice.

I share this story because my background in combination with my work experience is different than most in my field, and therefore my petition was rather unconventional than most scientists. In sharing this I hope to help those who seek guidance in writing petitions which are not standard run-of-the-mill type EB1s. My case was unique and I had absolutely no guidance from any such forums or otherwise. It took me a solid 2 months to draft a cover letter – which turned out to be a whooping 75 pages. My PP I-140 (TSC) was approved in a month, after one RFE. The RFE was mild (thankfully!). It asked for evidence to show "intent to work in the field of claimed expertise". In response, I submitted a letter from the employer.

I have a PhD in Chemistry (2013) where I worked on drug discovery of antibacterial agents. I also worked as an adjunct faculty/post doc/technology transfer consultant (all together) for one year. Then I joined a law firm as a Scientific Advisor of patents in life sciences (pharmaceuticals focus). Below is a summary of the credentials I highlighted in my petition:

• Novel research contributions in a critical field - discovery of new antibacterial drugs (~100 new compounds, potential drug candidates), highlighted the issue of superbugs, drug resistance, mortality rate, international focus and statements from WHO, NIH, CDC, etc. Some of my compounds are capable of killing drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA - I emphasized on that.

• 9 research publications (2 first, 3 second and so on) published in reputed journals, 30 citations, Patent applications of my research in US, Europe, China, and Australia.

• 8 reference letters from top scientists (dean, vice president etc.), attorneys (consistently rated as top US lawyers), business consultants, CEOs. 6 national, 2 international, and 3 objective referees.

• Editorial board member of two mid-level international journals.

• Peer-reviewer, ~25 articles for top, mid-level, and average journals. Mostly mid-level.

• Research discussed in media (one of my papers (not primary author) was widely discussed in at least 20 media resources worldwide, including in foreign languages-Korean, Russian etc.)

• Specifically addressed invitations to speak at international conferences (~15), invitations to submit expert opinions, (~15). Included details of all conferences I have spoken at (all other presentations)

• Advisory board chairman of an established non-profit board for STEM.
• Advisor for technology investment in life sciences for a start-up which happens to be doing well.

• Advisory role in the field of patents in pharmaceuticals. Generally highlighted my role in patenting drugs, formulations, chemicals etc., resulting financial/market impact, big name clients etc. Linked patents and IP to economy, and job creation. Provided quotes from USPTO, US gov about the significance/shortage of experts with IP and research experience.

• Highlighted university tech transfer consultant role in licensing of pharmaceutical technologies to companies, and potential for start-up formation etc. Included University recommendations as their representative at international conferences. ex. I was nominated as a VIP representative at Hilary Clinton’s keynote address at a major conference, I included those letters….

All the above were supported by reference letters and objective evidence (where available). All referees emphasized the profile as "extraordinary", " top few", and vouched for my abilities while providing details of my accomplishments in specific projects. The diversity of referees’ expertise, and their emphatic job titles played a big role. I strongly highlighted the titles and leadership of the referees. The cover letter was 75 pages, and discussed all of the above at length.

We claimed the following four criteria (although Eb1A requires three) and thankfully all were accepted in the first-go:
1. Original scientific, scholarly contributions of major significance
2. Leading and critical role in an organization with a distinguished reputation
3. Authored scholarly articles in professional journals and other major media
4. Judge of the work of others in the field of expertise—Editorial board member

From my humble experience, I have a few words of advice. My overall message to folks working in non-traditional scientific careers such as IP, tech transfer, business consultation, and looking to apply for EB1A is to rely on yourself for all the writing, and draft a super convincing cover letter. Realize you are different than other scientists and therefore you need to put in extra effort—and a lot of it. Be concise, clear and credible. Do not overstate. No one can write better than you about yourself. Start afresh, no need to follow other drafts—celebrate your uniqueness. Highlight all necessary points (bold, underline). Have your referees tell your worth. Build the cover letter after you have obtained all reco letters. You can never overstate your capabilities to benefit society at large—do a lot of it. It is important to sound honest while trying to engage the immigration officer with facts and robust evidences. In sum, do not go by an attorney’s evaluation of your case as many of them like to take up standard cases, and show reluctance towards new challenging out-of-the-box ones. If you are one such case, you need to help yourself substantially. Of course, you will need a good attorney for legalese and as an overseer. Captain your boat, you can do it!
I wish everyone good luck. If someone similar to my profile needs help you can write to me here. I will make myself available.
--Ms. A
P.S. –Spread your knowledge. Help others.

Hi, does anyone have a recent employment-based GC petition in the Texas Service Center? I am in the EB2 Category - Rest of the World. Currently on H1B.

My current timeline:

- Filed my AOS petition in late February 2015
- Received Biometrics appointment for 3/18/16
- I was supposed to be traveling that day, so I did a "walk-in" to the biometrics appointment and got it done on 3/9/16
- Got my AP/EAD approved on 4/4/16

I am now waiting for my AP/EAD card to come in the mail, but it seems USPS may have lost the envelope (shows it was delievered but I never got it). Im not concerned about not having the cards since I still have a valid H1B visa for 1 more year, so dont really need them.

I am very anxious to know when I should be expecting my GC though. Any recent examples in Texas?

Thanks!

Hi Guys,

Here is my experience of receiving a GC in EB2 category. I'm Russian and came to US on L1 visa.

01/05 - Case was mailed to Nebraska for Premium Processing
01/07 - Case was received and receipt was sent
01/21 - Request For Premium Processing Services Was Received
01/23 - Appointment notice received for appointment 02/05/16 8:00am
01/27 - Form I-140 was approved
02/05 - Fingerprint was done at Tukwila
02/09 - I-765 New Card Is Being Produced
02/12 - I-765 Card Was Mailed To Me
02/16 - I-765 Card Was Picked Up By The United States Postal Service
02/17 - Received Combo Card in Mail
04/21 - I-485 Case was approved
04/26 - I-485 Card was mailed to me
04/28 - I-485 Card Was Delivered To Me By The Post Office

Good luck to all of you!

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to share my I485 processing timeline at the Texas service center. I was expecting a longer processing time since I heard they are slower than the national average but it wasn't the case at all. I wanted to share this to give you hope that things actually move much faster than you might expect.

with PERM and I-140 approved and priority date current. EB3 category.

Applied for I-485 AOS on 01/22/2016.
Received receipt notice 02/05/2016
Received biometrics appointment notice 2/10/2016
Biometrics scheduled and done on 02/22/2016
I785 and I131 approved on 03/14/2016
Green card approved and 03/15/2015 (status New Card Ordered for case number)
Received GC in the mail one week later 03/22/2016
So 2 months since we applied for AOS we had the GC in hand. Very happy with the processing times. Thanks to Texas service center for such a fast processing timeframe.

God bless and good luck to you all.

Hello Friends,

Finally we got our Green Card under CROSS-CHARGEABILITY.

Category: EB2, Rest of the World (ROW). Primary Applicant India, Dependent Canada. I thought to post my timeline here from PERM APPLICATION. I hope this is helpful to you folks.

My Time Lines:

PERM:

May 22, 2015: Filed.
November 20, 2015: Approved.

I-140:

December 7, 2015: Filed
December 8, 2015: USCIS Receipt sent by email.
December 14, 2015: I-140 approved under premium processing.

I-485:

LINCOLN Service Center, Nebraska I-485, I-765 & I-131 EB2 ROW Experience.

Day 1 Jan/11/2016: Sent Package to USCIS (I485,I131& 1765)
Day 2 Jan/12/2016: Package received by USCIS
Day 8 Jan/19/2016: Checks cashed by USCIS
Day 22 Feb/01/2016: Received receipt notice from LIN center for I485,I131& I765
Day 41 Feb/20/2016: Biometrics appointment notice received, scheduled for March 4, 2016 at 8am
Day 45 Feb/24/2016: Received email/SMS update from USCIS, I765case status update. Your new card has been ordered. Attorney confirmed that my EAD is approved. Now waiting for Biometrics and GC!!My file was sent to Texas but it was moved to LIN service center by USCIS. I guess that is why I got very late schedule for biometrics. It took almost 3 weeks for me to receive the receipt notices which is very unusual. I was little worried, but surprisingly things moved fast and EAD approved in less than 50 days.
Day 50 Feb/29/2016: Received email/SMS notification from USCIS “We mailed your card” now waiting for the card to arrive, hopefully by this weekend. Fingers crossed.
Day 54 Mar/04/2016: Biometrics done at 8am.
Day 85 Apr/04/2016: We moved and updated change of address with USCIS.
Day 92 Apr/11/2016: Email confirmation that spouse address has been updated. Though we both updated same time, USCIS only updated my wife's address on time.
Day 92 Apr/11/2016: Primary APllicant AOS approved. Received email alert from USCIS "We approved your application for I-485 AOS", unfortunately your address was not updated on time and approval notice I-797 sent to old address. Thankfully had mail forwarding with USCIS. Went to post office and put hold mail for old address.
Day 95 Apr/14/2016: At 4 pm EST received USCIS email alert stating card has been mailed.
Day 96 Apr/15/2016: Called USCIS support 6 times to get tracking number, finally got updated tracking number at 5.30 PM EST.
Day 97 Apr/16/2016: Card delivered at USPS for pickup (hold mail), went to post office and picked the card. Green Card in HAND.
Day 99 Apr/18/2016: Lawyer called and discussed future and she emailed me Legal Permanent Resident rights and obligations memo.

So glad the whole process was over in less than a year from labor. I hope this helps you guys. If you have any questions you can respond.

Also Cross-Chargeability guys...good luck it is pretty straight forward and all you need is a good attorney. I highly recommend my attorney, if you need her reference, please reach out to me.

Thank you and GOD BLESS all. Good luck.

Service Center: Nebraska

My priority date is on 06/16/2015.

Biometrics done on 04/06/2016.

I received my combo EAD card on 04/15/2016.

How long is going to take to approve my I-485 and receive my green card?

Long time lurker here, since we got our green cards approved, I thought I'll share my experience. I had originally submitted through my employer for an EB3 petition and got a priority date sometime in late of 2010 and I unfortunately belonged to one of those countries that was affected by the EB GC backlog, so I had kinda given up hope on getting a green card in the current or maybe next decade even. I had no desire to port to an EB2 because I felt it would be the same.

A few years passed and I met my wife and I moved out of the US and we lived in Europe and got married and had a child. We decided to come back to the US last year and that was when I found out about cross changeability where you can switch to your spouse's country of birth if it has a more favorable date. Since ROW (Rest of World) was current when we came back, I consulted an immigration firm and they said yes, it is possible to apply for AOS based on background. So we were really excited and proceeded to apply for the AOS. Here's the timeline for our processing:

Service Center: Nebraska
12/18/2015 - AOS application received by USCIS.
12/24/2015 - Fingerprint fee accepted
02/03/2016 - Biometrics appointment completed
03/14/2016 - I-485 approved and cards ordered.
03/18/2016 - Green cards arrived.

So we're really elated that the process went smoothly and thanksful to the agencies to process our application on time. Don't give up hope people, all the best to you all and the very best of luck! Peace!!

This is for Texas processing center. I just want to add my experience but unfortunately I probably wouldn't be able to answer any specific questions. My immigration history is very complicated as it spans 18 years, and I was married and divorced and had previous family based aos applications submitted, abandoned and withdrawn before. I wasn't sure how long it would take for TSC to process my application, given how complicated mine is, but I am assuming given the full disclosure on my application, my case was "probably" processed just like others. I really encourage you to be as open with your immigration attorney as possible and not to ignore any details or issues that have taken place in your immigration history. Your attorney is the best person to offer advice on the information you need to provide and how to provide it. Obviously having a good attorney is just as important. Good luck to all of you! You are in the final stretch so have a little patience!

Category - EB2 (assistant professor at a research university)
Service center - Texas
6/30/2015 - Receipt notice for I-485 and other applications
7/30/2015 - Biometrics appointment
9/22/2015 - EAD and travel documents approved
3/18/2016 - i-485 approved and greencard being made

 

Category - EB1
Service Center: Nebraska
10/13 - Fingerprint fee received
11/23 - Finger print taken
12/07 - EAD Approvede
12/12 - EAD Card received
03/02 - i-485 Approved
03/10 - Green card arrived

hope this time line helps