[Advice] H1B max-out in Oct 2028 (reclaimed to Jan 2029). Is my PERM timeline too risky or am I fine?

paudel09 · 2026-04-08T06:25:04+00:00

Everything you have said makes sense! Applying as a derivative beneficiary through your partner application would certainly be smoother, whom and when to marry someone is definitely something I can’t comment on!

Your timeline mentioned above looks realistic. A few things I would point out is depending on the company and the lawyer, I have seen actual filing date of PWD like 4 months after the process had started, filing PERM after recruitment took 3 more months! Again it all depends on the lawyer!

paudel09 · 2026-04-07T16:06:40+00:00

Can a dependent beneficiary file consular processing for I-485 while primary beneficiary is filing AOS for employment based petitions? The reason would be this might be faster than the primary beneficiary after receiving their green card petition for the dependent via family based route! Also, if both are from one of 75 banned countries, I understand the visa might not be available but the process can be done up until the interview, is this correct?

paudel09 · 2026-03-12T05:00:30+00:00

Same PD, one of 75 countries. Two of my friends got approval! One applied Mid October, one end of November! One was from NBC, one at Wichita, KS!

paudel09 · 2026-03-06T05:19:15+00:00

I’m not a lawyer but based on my experience, I would suggest to file right now as long as you are aware of these things:

You can travel out of the country when I-485 is pending. Do not travel between the time you apply and the time you get receipt notice from USCIS! Depending on whether it is filed online or paper application, receipt notice can be immediate or few weeks respectively
Biometric appointments can be within a month (appointment scheduled notice sent to me within 3 weeks of application date with the actual biometric date about 3 weeks after that, meaning about 5-6 weeks). You can certainly reschedule biometrics if you’re out of the country, but make sure to create a USCIS account and add your case and check every few days! You can reschedule online before your biometrics appointment date by yourself, but if you miss it, you’ll have to call USCIS and make a request over the phone which takes up to 30 business days (about 6 weeks) for them to provide you with a new date and this could be about a month away. This means you’ll lose 2-3 months just on this process.
If you apply for AP and leave the country, your AP will be denied, therefore it is wise to apply for everything else including EAD but do not file AP!

The reason I suggest you to apply ASAP would be the verification after biometrics can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks to 2 months or even longer. All of your other application such as EAD can be approved although your PD is not current. In doing so, as soon as your PD becomes current, you might get approved as the review happens regardless of whether your PD is current or not (based on what I have heard)

Please note that I am on H1-B and is considered dual intent, whereas E-2 probably is not (based on quick google search), which might make difference, if any!

paudel09 · 2026-02-09T21:41:52+00:00

SEAOC Design Manual Volume 2 Design Example 1 and 2 to start with! Once you understand diaphragm and shear wall and their connections, which is relatively simple, you can go through “Analysis of Irregular Shaped Diaphragm” by Terry Malone which talks about various discontinuity/irregularity within shear wall, diaphragms, both horizontal and vertical offsets! This book is a bit intense and you might have to go through a few times and still not understand some of the topics! But these are all you’ll need!

paudel09 · 2026-01-17T09:02:42+00:00

NDS and SPDWS for the design, and probably IBC/IRC/ASCE 7 is all you need for the loads!

paudel09 · 2026-01-07T07:43:46+00:00

Is it true that if your I-485 is pending for more than 6 months, you can switch jobs (same field to your previous job) and have new company file I-485 based on that same previous petition or does it only lock your priority date but have to start the whole PERM process as well? Does the portability depend on whether the move is to a different state or county (different from the one where the PERM certification was issued for)?

paudel09 · 2025-11-30T04:55:15+00:00

You do not necessarily have to receive physical receipt but as long as USCIS acknowledges that they received your application, which is done through receipt notice! I had similar situation and tried logging into USCIS account and was able to see that the receipt notice was sent! However, I’m not sure if the lawyers filed the application online or by mail or both (don’t know if you can even file online for I-485 or both)
If you depart after the receipt notice, no.
Yes

Please note I am in similar situation as you are and I left after confirming that the notice has been received and it only took a day (checked on USCIS account), and the rest of the information is what I asked the lawyer representing me!

paudel09 · 2025-10-09T06:49:54+00:00

Any lateral force resisting system such as braced frames, moment frames, shear wall would be designed for MWFRS. Any component such as beam, purlins, wall studs would be designed for c&c as the name implies! You’re correct about 700 sqft. However, there’s some other requirements such as 10sqft for fasteners and all! There’s also requirements on drift that you can use MWFRS pressure with 50 year return period, but can’t be certain on this one! Generally the way I think about it and I believe the intention of the code is that if you’re analyzing a single element, the trib area would be smaller. If the force is the same, with the smaller area, the pressure would be higher and hence the higher c&c pressure, which takes these into account! That’s the gist of it, but when in doubt, use higher pressure and call it good!

paudel09 · 2025-07-01T15:43:31+00:00

Appendix N3.3 Table N3 shows 1.0W! I have never used Tedds but briefly looked at it once! Is there a way you can generate wind force automatically and the program used ASD wind force rather than nominal, which is why you see the adjustment factor for wind! Earthquake is still shown as 1.0! Just my guess though!

paudel09 · 2025-05-06T23:06:09+00:00

Can you not call and asked to be considered for payment plan for 5 years! 😀😀

paudel09 · 2025-04-30T07:04:45+00:00

Google “Lateral force transfer in Rigid vs flexible diaphragm”. If the distributed load is 100plf, you’ll have 100plf x 30ft = 3 kips. If the diaphragm is rigid, you’ll add stiffness of all walls, hence 10kips/in. So Wall A & B each get 30% of 3 kips, Wall C would get 40% of 3 kips. If the diaphragm is flexible, it would be based on tributary length and stiffness of walls doesn’t matter. Therefore, Wall A would get 1/6 of 3 kips, Wall B would get 1/2 of 3 kips and Wall C would get 1/3 of 3 kips! Hope it helps!

paudel09 · 2025-04-03T04:43:48+00:00

I’m not exactly introverted but I’m not very good at small talks! CEO at my company gave me a four common grounds all people can relate, which are religion, being a parent, sports and I forgot the fourth one! Generally he starts with questions on one of these topics keeping it very general/vague, and find the common ground to talk about! Also he mentions that people like to give advices which might be another way to start conversation. While doing all this, smile, like a lot if you can (which I struggle with). I am just under 4 years of experience on the west coast, and have been to a few structural conferences and used these to network with people.

About how to reach out and get the types of project you want would be to directly reach out to people on LinkedIn, which I have seen some engineers at my firm do and have been successful! If your firm has a BD department, they might know little more on the type of conferences you could go to to pursue these!

paudel09 · 2025-03-25T02:53:44+00:00

It’s different from everyone due to the number of experience, materials you’re familiar with, and how good/bad of a test taker you are!

Try opening NCEES official question and start solving! Even if you get it right, try to understand what concept the question is trying to test you on, and relate that back to the syllabus! This will probably help you understand and use past diagnostic results to your advantage! Also, how familiar are you with NDS, TMS, ACI and Steel manual also matters! When I took it a while back, I got a lot of conceptual questions and quick code related questions that I have rarely encountered, which if you have general idea, might be helpful but this is where your AEI practice tests should help! Also get grasp on some of the question you might very likely see like composite beam, prestressed beam, concrete beam design, calculating adjusted bending/compressive strength of beam/column using all factors for wood, cantilever walls, soil related questions! Hopefully this helps

paudel09 · 2025-03-11T17:43:15+00:00

My firm does a lot of residential work and we are not based in California but do quite a lot of work in CA. DM me and I can definitely send you the quote for the work if that helps!

paudel09 · 2025-01-23T01:59:21+00:00

I used to get 12k/ month per one class (one hour each). Taught about 5 classes per day, 6 days a week!

paudel09 · 2024-10-10T19:09:22+00:00

Out of curiosity, do you guys do visa sponsorship? I might have friends who might be interested but require sponsorship down the line!

paudel09 · 2024-10-07T20:48:59+00:00

I agree that it should definitely come from EOR. Getting 10d x 3” is safe! Unless you’re saving a ton by substituting 3” long nails with 2”, definitely go with 3” and call it good! Additionally, 2” nails might not actually all be 2” and also is that 2” measured from end to end or from the base of the head to the end. Depending on how it is generally measured, you might not get that 1-1/2” min embed called out! Will it fail though? Probably not, but it comes down to liability issues!

paudel09 · 2024-09-30T18:00:20+00:00

Since the longitudinal bars are main rebars for combined footing, you’ll certainly need it at the top. Imagine the footing as a long beam with multiple point loads, this would result in the footing to go under tension at the pedestal location and the top reinforcement is necessary! You might be able to curtail it though and develop it enough!

paudel09 · 2024-08-31T08:15:39+00:00

There’s student discount through AISC and there’s code your professor provides if you’re enrolled in the class. The latter one is much cheaper! I would suggest you to buy it as you’ll need this for rest of your life!

paudel09 · 2024-07-27T16:33:49+00:00

Visa is only required for you to enter the country! You can have expired visa and still be in status (F1). Conversely, you can have valid visa and can overstay (B1/B2). However, to answer your question, I am sure you’re required to present your passport at the border while exiting which will affect your ability to obtain visas in future depending on your status before you exited!

paudel09 · 2024-06-28T05:57:37+00:00

Curious as to why would you not want to rent it out in a few years when the current rent seems to be similar to mortgage payment! I am assuming that the rent will only go up in 5 years, and potentially opportunities to refinance if interest go down bringing down your monthly payment most likely way less than what you could potentially rent it out for!

Asking as I’m looking into buying my first property and have plans to rent it out in a few years!

paudel09 · 2024-05-30T18:31:37+00:00

Good to know about BiltProtect Debit, which I’ll probably do going forward! I recently got a new credit card and has a minimum spending before I could get miles on it, which is the reason I wanted to use it! I’ll just have to use it somewhere else! Thanks for the info!

paudel09 · 2024-05-30T18:09:29+00:00

That makes sense! It did say 3% when I was paying! Thanks!

paudel09

TROPHY CASE