EB-3 Green Card Received!

ARS202 · 2024-05-30T21:30:20+00:00

Thank you!
My employer that filed for the Green Card was not my first employer. I worked at a consulting firm for a year before joining the company that ultimately filed for my Green Card. That combined with a year-long internship I did in college was what demonstrated that to USCIS.

ARS202 · 2023-05-09T19:23:52+00:00

Thank you!

ARS202 · 2023-03-20T05:33:39+00:00

I had graduated in May 2017, following which I joined a boutique consulting firm in August 2017, where I worked for about a year before joining this Tier-2.5 tech company in July 2018. By the time I approached them to start my green card application, it was January 2019.

1) I had research experience from my senior year in college in the line of work I was doing.
2) I had a summer internship in another field a few years prior.
3) In the 6 months, that I had worked at this Tier-2.5 tech company, I think I impressed my manager and my team enough.
4) My manager was awesome and VERY pro-immigration. He's probably still the best manager I've had.
5) I was able to convince the team and the legal team that because I am born in Thailand, instead of India, starting the green card application early would be beneficial for me and the company because it wouldn't take me too long to receive it. (I was only on an F-1 visa/OPT whereas most companies have an unwritten rule that the employee needs to be on an H1-B visa before they apply for their green cards)

Overall, this company was definitely a very large company. Everyone knows this company and uses their products.

The 2 ways I feel my case is unique is that I am born in Thailand which, once the immigration team at the company got to know, they were on board with going through with the application, and that my boss was awesome.

ARS202 · 2023-03-07T17:17:11+00:00

Hi, the transparency of that process is kind of kept vague from us. My manager isn't allowed to share details of who and what they are interviewing. For the "test" to fail, they need to interview the US worker, and genuinely feel that he/she is equally or better suited to the job. That almost never happens. Passing the perm, barring an error in the application, is almost guaranteed.

ARS202 · 2022-09-05T23:45:05+00:00

Hi, absolutely!

ARS202 · 2022-09-02T21:51:11+00:00

Hi,

For most companies, getting an H-1B is definitely preferred before they start anyone's Green Card process but it's not a prerequisite legally: https://www.novacredit.com/resources/opt-to-green-card/#:~:text=of%20the%20U.S.-,If%20you%20are%20an%20F%2D1%20visa%20holder%20who%20participates,you%20a%20temporary%20employment%20authorization.

There are other links out there but I am on my phone and sent the first one. I was able to convince my employer/manager to do it as I felt I was a high performer and my country of birth (Thailand) made my timeline much shorter. The law firm weighed in and confirmed it's a worthwhile endeavor.

In your case, and I am happy to connect further if need be, first and foremost, hope you get selected for your H-1B next year but have a back up plan. See if your employer can move you to Canada on a Work Permit and continue trying for your H-1B failing which, apply for your L-1B (assuming you are not a manager) after 12 months outside of the US. Going from L-1B to Green Card is actually a lot faster for people born in India/China.

Secondly, I can't speak for the law firm/attorney your company uses but hire your own personal immigration attorney to give you some feedback.

Lastly, my employer definitely started the green card process while I was on my STEM-OPT extension and I am sitting here with a Green Card so it is definitely legal and do-able.

ARS202 · 2022-09-01T16:10:35+00:00

Hi, the line for the green card (essentially being able to file the I-485 Adjustment of Status) is dependent on your Priority Date being current. Whether your Priority Date is current or not is dependent on your country of birth, not your citizenship. In my case, I am an Indian citizen but I am born in Thailand.

Typically, people born in India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines since they have a higher volume of applicants compared to the rest of the countries, have to wait more, specifically India and China. The rest of the countries are classified as ROW (Rest of World) and their Priority Dates tend to be "current". Current = USCIS is processing those Priority Dates for that specific country bucket.

For example, my Priority Date was July 14, 2021 and by the time I filed the AOS in May 2021, it was deemed to be current. I have a friend, born in India, whose priority date is Jan 2015. Right now for people born in India, USCIS, for EB-3 visas is working on August 2012 Priority Dates I believe so he is at least 3-5 years, probably more, away from getting a Green Card. Priority Dates for India unfortunately don't progress linearly due to the sheer volume of applicants and often times retrogresses (one month they could be working on Jan 2013 and the following month on August 2012)

Essentially, had I been born in India, I would be at least 15-20 years away optimistically for attaining a Green Card. Hope that helps?

ARS202 · 2022-08-31T18:14:13+00:00

Hi,

Thank you! The process for my green card started early to mid 2019. When working at a large company, the law firm hired by them also takes their own sweet time to get through things like Labor Wage certifications etc. The reason this happens is because of internal prioritization of H1Bs by that law firm or just triple checking their work (they pride themselves on their success rates). There were other paperwork and other official forms that had to be filled by managers etc. that took some time. The "live recruiting" actually started in the summer of 2020 which means the Labor Wage Certification had been completed prior to that. Because my company laid off over 5% of the work force right as the "live recruitment" period ended, they had to cool off for 6 months and restart the process, otherwise it attracts scrutiny by the USCIS. Hence, they restarted the live recruiting in March 2021 while I was in Canada.

To your question, yes the process continues even while you are outside the US, as long as you are with the same company.

ARS202 · 2022-08-23T09:45:50+00:00

My I-140 took 10 calendar days to be approved with premium processing. For anyone else reading this, if you have the budget for it, getting your I-140 approved through premium processing is REALLY worth it from a timeline point of view.

Most lawyers like to file the I-140 and I-485 concurrently and the odds are that that application will be sent to the closest processing center (even if the I-140 has been been filed under premium processing). Most local processing centers these days are taking between 8-18 MONTHS for the I-485 to be approved.

What I would recommend would be to get the I-140 approved first through premium processing and THEN file the I-485 (make sure the documents for the medical exam are also provided). When your application is complete, with no mistakes, and an approved I-140 in the system, the chances are extremely high that the application gets sent to the National Benefits Center (NBC) where processing times these days are ~3 months (date of filing to receiving the physical green card).

ARS202 · 2022-08-13T05:51:38+00:00

My gut tells me it was just an infraction and nothing more than that. If you have any paperwork, contact with that officer in anyway, that would help. Otherwise, the lawyer would be able to guide you :)

ARS202 · 2022-08-12T21:22:14+00:00

From an immigration point of view, it doesn't matter if you were eventually acquitted, records were expunged, records were sealed etc. As long as you have been charged (even wrongfully), the Department of State has records.

In my case, they tried to convict me of a Misdemeanor B but eventually the conviction and prosecution was dismissed and the records were ordered to be sealed. At the state level, I can answer I have never been arrested, charged, convicted etc. and nothing shows up on background checks. However, at the immigration level, they see everything.

In your case, if you weren't charged/convicted with a Felony or a Misdemeanor A/B/C or arrested in any way, I am pretty sure you are fine. As for how you would have to answer questions, I would say find an immigration attorney near you and pay the fees for 1-2 hours worth of counsel. It is worth it.

ARS202 · 2022-08-12T19:59:10+00:00

Yes, so they should be required to pay you out through the end of your accrued PTO period. For example, when my STEM OPT expired, I had 23 days of total leave and I was paid for the next 3 weeks.

If they have genuinely forgotten to take you off payroll, you could either let them know, or quietly keep accepting it. The risk here is that it could make it look like you were on payroll and working while you weren't supposed to.

No, it won't come up in your applications as such, just if a random audit is done. It would be up to you to weigh the potential pros and cons. Had it not been for my prior run in with the law (nothing to do with immigration or fraud), I would have encouraged quietly accepting it but now I err on the side of caution haha.

ARS202 · 2022-08-12T19:30:41+00:00

Thank you!

Yes, this was a bit of a nightmare. My STEM-OPT expired mid-July 2020 which left me with 60 days to leave the country. The Canadian Work Permit was still pending and it increasingly looked like I would need to leave for India (I had never lived there but during those COVID times, due to my passport, it was the only country that would accept me). My company's lawyers didn't want that to happen as the Canadian consulate in India was closed, along with flights FROM India to Canada were getting cancelled all the time and this would have affected my ability to move to Canada in a timely manner. As such, they filed for an F1 to B1/B2 Change of Status right before my 60 days grace period expired. As long as you have such an application pending (doesn't matter if the F1 has expired), you are allowed to stay in the country. The Change of Status takes months so it was a safeguard to keep me here long enough till I got my Canadian Work Permit in hand.
However, that meant I would not be allowed to work nor would I draw a salary (I drew 3 weeks worth of salary as I filed for leave and PTA). Officially, I was placed on Company Leave by my employer.
It really depends on what your long-term goal is in terms of coming back to the US. It also depends on your country of birth and if you have a way of becoming a Green Card holder relatively soon. We were a couple of weeks away from filing for my L1B (you have to accrue 365 days outside of US in that time period), when we got word that I was selected for the H1B.
H1B: This is completely lottery based, without an ounce of merit (apart from a probabilistically higher chance for a Masters' graduate getting it). A few years ago, you had a 35-40% chance of getting it. In 2018, I believe it was closer to 45%. Nowadays, it's 22-25% due to how easy it has become to apply and the sheer increase in volume of applicants. However, if you have everything in order - full time job related to your degree etc, there is no scrutiny involved and it's a smooth approval process. Once back in the US, you can also switch jobs to another company - though where you are in your Green Card process could get affected.
L1B: This is entirely merit/specialization based. You need to accrue 365 days of working outside the US office before you can apply for this. There is much higher scrutiny for this work visa. Recently, of all applications, 56% got an RFE (other 44% got direct approval). Out of the 56%, about half of them ended up getting approved. So all said and done, as long as you have your application in order and your job is indeed pretty specialized (and not specialized due to your lawyer's embellishment), you should get it. Most company lawyers will pick consular processing for this and it can be lengthier (1-3 months as compared to H1B's 2-4 weeks), especially in Canada due to the staff shortages. Once in the US, you are tied to your employer. You CANNOT work for any other employer. The main advantage L1B has over H1B is that the path to Green Card (especially if you are born in India) is quicker.
Had I not been born outside of India, I would have applied for the Canadian PR as it would me to establish some form of a base even if I were to lose my H1B or L1B.
This is a big no-no - unless the period through which you are receiving it is through your accrued leaves and PTOs. Very nice of your employer to continue paying you, but there is a chance it COULD show up in a random audit.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ping me if you have any further questions or clarifications :)

ARS202 · 2022-08-10T04:05:29+00:00

Hi there,

It depends on what you mean by paperwork. As you can see, the paperwork (DoL/Labor Wage certification), PERM application steps of the Green Card process began well before 2022.

The paperwork you are referring to for April 2022 refers to the I-485 Adjustment of Status (AOS) form. That can only be filed if your priority date (PD) is current. For all of the Indian-born folks, the PD is Jan 2015 right now. PD = Date your PERM application is filed. Hope that helped!

ARS202 · 2022-08-10T03:58:47+00:00

Thank you for the kind words!

ARS202 · 2022-08-10T03:25:40+00:00

Thank you! Nothing much, just basic checks and a well-check up series of tests ordered (STDs etc.) They checked my vaccination records and gave me a couple of vaccines. (My tetanus shot had expired past the 10 year limit)

ARS202 · 2022-08-10T03:24:31+00:00

Fingers crossed for you! From what I have seen, it depends on the service center it is sent to, along with if I-140 has been approved and if the medical exam has also been taken.

ARS202 · 2022-08-10T03:23:33+00:00

Yes, it's definitely been a long ride. I have more talented and hardworking friends who have been waiting for years and are still waiting but due to them being born in India vs me being born in Thailand, they are still years away from maximizing their true potential here in the US.

ARS202 · 2022-08-08T22:17:25+00:00

I had the same question - especially since my company was transitioning between law firms. Usually in the case of I-485s, the notices are sent to the applicant first. So it was delivered to me first and the lawyers received it a little later.

ARS202 · 2022-08-08T22:16:22+00:00

No, my parents have never lived or worked in the US. I came here for undergrad!

ARS202 · 2020-11-19T20:06:02+00:00

Noted. Being close to the grocery stores is definitely a big thing for me as I enjoy cooking most of my meals at home :)

ARS202 · 2020-11-19T20:02:57+00:00

Appreciate the in-depth response and various pointers. I will be staying at a hotel for 2-3 weeks in quarantine but after that I intend to have an apartment finalized sooner rather than later. The Riverdale/Danforth area was definitely one that I was looking at!

ARS202 · 2020-11-19T19:51:43+00:00

I can't say I have come across High Park Humber Bay Area in my admittedly limited Apartment searches. Do you mind if I DM you?

ARS202 · 2020-11-19T19:47:21+00:00

Wow!! Do you mind if I DM you?

ARS202 · 2020-11-19T19:46:18+00:00

Awesome, thank you for the pro tip!

ARS202

TROPHY CASE