Employment Based Greencard

Hi All. Sorry if this is not the right forum, but I’ll be having my interview this Thursday for EB3.

Reading all comments here, I wanted to verify if the EVL that you guys gave to IO is the experience letter filed with I140? Thanks!

Here is my timeline- EB3 ROW

Nov 2018 - PERM file
3/2019 - PERM approved
5/20 - I140, I485 concurrently
5/23 - I485, I131, I765 receipt
5/25 - I140 approved (premium process)
6/20 - Transfer to NBC
7/3 - Biometric
9/27- EAD combo received
9/30 - I485 case ready for an interview
10/3 - Interview was scheduled
11/7 - Interview
11/12 - New card is being produced
11/18- Card received

The interview was taken place in downtown LA
My interview was quite smooth. The young lady IO was very professional. After the oath, she went through the I485 application page to page, was asking me my passport, ID, Birth Certificate, EVL, Paystubs, then Basic questions about my work, my position, then 10-15 Y/N questions in I485.
I did mention if she needed the I485 J, she said no since I submitted I140 and I485 together.

Good luck everyone.
 
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-for-december-2019.html

Employment based filer under EB3. Single applicant, no family.

Oct 08 2018 - PERM was received, making my PD 08 OCT 2018.
April 25 - PERM approved, and thus it begins!
May 24 - Documents sent (I140, I485, I485J, I131, I765, concurrently filing 140 and 485 and EAD)
May 28 - Documents received (USPS)
June 6 - Documents received (Email)
June 25 - Notice of Action (765)
June 26 - 765 EAD - Requested expedite
June 28 - EAD Expedite evidence requested
June 30 - EAD Expedite evidence sent
July 01 - EAD/AP Expedite evidence received
July 02 - EAD/AP Expedite approved
July 22 - I-140 Approved (sent to employer)
July 23 - EAD/AP New card ordered
July 26 - EAD/AP Card was mailed
July 31 - EAD/AP in hand
Aug 03 - Biometrics appointment letter received (For EAD/AP)
Aug 15 - Biometrics appointment attended
Aug 19 - Online update on 485: "Transferred to National Benefit Centre in MO"
Aug 25 - Letter explaining case transfer arrived
Sept 01 - Biometrics appoint letter received (For 485)
Sept 10 - Biometrics appointment attended
Sept 30 - Online update on 485 "Case ready to be scheduled for an interview"
Oct 04 - Online update on 485 "Interview was scheduled"
Oct 11 - Interview letter received
Nov 08 - Interview attended, details to follow below
Nov 11 - Online update on 485 "Case was approved"
Nov 13 - Received letter in mail saying that my case was approved
Nov 13 - Online update on 485 "Card was mailed to me"
Nov 14 - Online update on 485 "Card was picked up by USPS" - Included tracking number
Nov 15 - Green Card in hand!

INTERVIEW:
Interview was at 8:30AM.
I got there at 7:40AM. I was inside the waiting room by 7:45PM.
Somewhat empty, around 3 other people there.
Was called for interview at 8:31AM.
IO was a very very nice young woman. Interview was relaxed and very casual.
She verified my ID and took my fingerprints.
After swearing the Oath, she began going over the forms.
Questions asked are as follows:

In a very general term, what is your job?

Who do you work for?

Does your employer treat you fairly?

Are they going to pay you more once you are approved? (Answer was yes, as they are in the process of finding me a better paying role in the company).

Went over all questions on the 485.
I had a speeding ticket so I included that information for those questions.

She asked for my paystubs or W2s if I had them, I provided both. (Gave copies).

She asked for my SS Card. Provided that as well. (She had to make copies).

She asked for my Passport. She made copies of specific pages (ID and Visa
pages), although she already had a scan of the entire PP in the file.
She asked for a job letter, which I provided.

At the end she informed me that she is going to approve my GC (!!!) and that I should expect an online update by the end of the day. She said that I would have the card in hand - at latest - by the end of the month.

Everything took a total of 5 months and 10 days from the day they had the application till the day I had the card.

Honestly I am shocked how quickly everything moved. I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have everything move as quickly and as smoothly as it did.

Best of luck to everyone.
God bless.

Feel free to ask any questions, I will try to answer them.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have been very anxious the past couple of months to receive the card. These are my processing dates

1. Priority Date: Nov 1, 2018
2. I-140 approval: June 2, 2019
3. Interview Date: Aug 13, 2019, hit by retrogression
4. I-485 approval: Nov 7, 2019

The card was delivered a week later. Surprisingly my spouse got approval a week later.
Hope this help someone

All the best everyone! The system works. However, it is slow and not transparent to the applicants.

 

EB1A ROW NBC self-petition

1. PD (I-140 filed) April 26, 2018
2. I-140 approved June 25, 2018 (premium processing)
3. RD I-485 and I-131 July 24, 2018
4. SR for I-131 January, 2019
5. I-131 approved February, 2019
6. I-131 received after contacting house representative May, 2019
7. Interview March 22, 2019 very smooth, questions about my work, yes/no questions from the form I-485, he asked only for my current working visa and current I-94
8. RD I-765 (EAD) December 3, 2018
9. SR for EAD July 31, 2019
10. EAD card being produced, August 6, 2019 (received the card in 4 days)
11. My PD become current November 1, 2019 (I was affected by the retrogression)
12. Finally, GC being produced November 14, 2019

Thank to everyone from this forum, you guys were very helpful!
Good luck and God bless you!

Hi all! I've been a silent reader for a few months now and want to share my experience this time. Thankful for this forum as it helped ease my anxieties and made us extra prepared for the final step of this journey.

1/18/2018 - PERM Processing
5/10/2018 - Labor cert approved
7/20/2018 - I-140 filed
10/23/2018 - I-140 approved (priority date given was 12/11/2017)
04/30/2019 - I-485, I-765, I-131filed for me and my husband
05/28/2019 - Fingerprinting
09/04/2019 - EAD/AP approved
09/11/2019 - EAD/AP cards in hand
10/10/2019 - Interview notice
11/14/2019 - Interview
11/14/2019 - Card in production

The interview was pretty much smooth sailing. Me and my husband actually arrived 1 hr early and was asked to come back after 30 mins as the office wanted to accommodate the oathtaking for naturalization candidates first. When we came back 30 mins after, we barely even had the time to sit down and wait as the IO called us 15 mins before the actual interview time. He made us take the oath before we sat down and initially acted all serious but as the interview went by he was getting more relaxed and cracking jokes. We were supposed to have an employment-based interview but it turned out to be more of a marriage-based one lol! He asked us about when we first met, how long we were dating, when we got married and if we had a joint bank account. He also asked to look at our wedding photo album. The only specific thing he asked me was my employer's name and my position - that's it! He never even asked for my EVL and pay stubs. He then asked us 15 Yes/No questions from the form and even wanted us to answer at the same time. Finally, we just updated our address and informed him of our travel plans in 2 weeks. He then checked on our visa availability and confirmed that PD was current, and mentioned about our approval right away. The entire interview lasted about 20 mins and 45 mins after our status was changed to 'New card in production.'

Can't wait to have the cards in our hands! Good luck everyone!

Hello All,

I received RFE asking for affidavit of support form (I 864) because one of my relative in company has more than 5% of share. My attorney has decided not to submit the form I-864. She wanted to provide other documents to show that I am regular employee and getting my salary.

 I-864 requirements clearly state that if you have any relative in company with more than 5% share then you have to submit affidavit of support.

I understand LAW firm is more experience, But I am asking this question just peace of mind.

Anyone else has faced same situation?

Case Status

Case Filed: July 31, 2019 (140 Approved after 5 days)
Finger Prints Done: September 10
Case transferred to another office: Sept 20
RFE Received : October 08
NO EAD or AP card

Hello All,

This forum has been quite helpful during the whole process. Green card through employment, EB2.

I wanted to give you an update on my case. Priority date was Aug 2018
April 2019 -> I-140, I-131. I-765 were filed
May 2019 -> fingerprints/biometrics in San Francisco
Sept 2019 -> got EAD card
October 8. 2019 -> interview scheduled
Nov 12, 2019 -> interview in Santa Clara.CA office
Nov 12, 2019 -> few hours after the interview got an email saying there is an update in mu case and it says: New card was ordered. Hopefully the card will arrive soon so the whole process can be over. It's been a veeery long road.

The interview itself: the officer was very professional throughout the whole interview and not really into small talk.He went through the I-485 application and made changes when applicable (new I-94 etc). I was asked for the dates of graduation from different schools, date of starting working for my current employer, what I do at work etc., nothing that wasn't on the application.

Good luck everyone!

Just giving back.

Been here for ~15 years. Did the whole works - F1 to OPT to H1b x7 years.
Filed NIW EB-2 self petition based on HPSA starting 2018. Took about a year or so to get all documents ready for submission. Utilized lawyer but did 90% of the heavy lifting imo. Very expensive.

Concurrently filed 485 and 140 with AP and EAD mid-late 2018. Submitted documents and received RFE for documents we submitted. Weird I know. Resubmitted things officially late 2018.

Letter re: fingerprint request sent couple months later.

140 approved shortly afterwards.

Radio silence for ~10 months. Then letter stating that interview has been scheduled obtained in mail. Interview scheduled for ~4 weeks after letter arrived.

Had done medical exam at original time of filing but received courtesy letter a few months back stating that will need to redo exam. Redid exam after interview was scheduled.

Wasn't sure I needed 485J because technically new employer, although filed concurrently. Law clear, but folks experiences with IO differed. Still obtained 485J from my employer.

interview was pretty basic. Swore, IO asked a couple questions from 485, asked for my EVL (employment verification letter) and W2 and said that's all she needed.
I opted not to ask her about 485J and other forms I had in hand. No need to rock the boat. Risk I was taking was they might request RFE which may delay my timeline. But opted not to rock the boat.

She said that needed to review my file one more time but will let me know soon. Said to expect to hear back "soon." If everything fine, to expect GC in ~4 weeks.

~1 week later, GC in hand.

The journey has been crazy expensive worrisome stressful but thank God for His grace.
Patience really is the key. Obsessing over timelines and this and that just provides unnecessary stress. its a difficult process for everyone but eventually things work out.

Lessons for me:
- Immigration system is broken and need reform. Radical reform is not the answer imo
- The system still works - for the most part. Albeit slow and overburdened.
- Document and keep every single document. If you think you may need it for the interview, bring it. If you think you may not need it - bring it anyways.
- Better to be over prepared than under prepared.
- Immigration is a privilege not a right.

Best of luck to all.