Vicky88

Thought it might be useful to give an idea of how quick green cards are being processed at the moment.

Husband was processed under the EB2 category - Australian. We have been in the US for 13 years but never thought we were going to stay so hadn't previously applied. When DH changed employers in Jan 2009 he changed from E2 (British passport) to E3 (Australian passport). In December 2009 lawyers recommended a change to H1 to allow Green Card application.

Timeline was as follows:

Oct 21 2010 - Perm submitted (Stage 1)
Nov 30 2010 - Perm Approved.
Dec 28 2010 - I-140 and I-485 submitted concurrently. Premium Processing.
Jan 2011 - (we were away so can't recall exact date, but prior to the 15th) approval of I-140 received.
Late Jan 2011 - Received notification of Biometrics appt.
Feb 3 2011 - Biometrics appt.
Mar 3 2011 - Green Card approved.
Mar 7 2011 - Green Card received.

So from Stage 1 thru to receipt of the card was less than 7 months and that includes the 60 days required to advertise the position. We did have a few minor delays as they requested further information from us which likely delayed things by a couple of weeks.

Must say it was a quick and painless process. One thing that DH and I noted, is we had to ride the lawyers the whole way. We made sure that we stayed on top of things. If information was requested we would get it to them that day. We had our paperwork ready so when it came time to submit for Stage 2 it was all ready.

We can hardly wait to go out of country so we can come back in and not have to face the horrid immigration queues for aliens.

zerlesen

Congratulations! I had always supposed getting into the country was faster and more pleasant for residents as well; I'm afraid that so far I have not found that to be the case. (Although that might just be because I never had a particularly hard time getting in as a nonimmigrant. The questions they ask are certainly different.)

BostonBrit Expat Since 03

wow, thats fast..ive just started my GC application with employer through EB2 so ill see how long thats takes for, im British, fingers crossed

E3only

Brilliant , Congratulations.

So DH did switch to H1 and then applied GC? Very interested in that. Lot's talk about E3 to GC. Did the lawyer say anything specific that you can share re : why move from E3 to H1? Other than 'dual intent' of course.

lyonsden1193

Re: N400... can anybody tell me how picky they are about days out of the country. I have got all my passports so can track all UK visits but when we have visited Canada it seems that sometimes border control checked it one way or another or not at all so I dont know what info they have or haven't got and I never thought to keep such a close eye on it.

Also can anybody tell me how the exam works relating to naming your politicians.. hate politics ..always have .. and have a real problem remembering who they are.

thanks in anticipation.

meauxna

They are picky.

You can look in the running N-400 thread for interview and exam tips. I've also pinned a resource thread for naturalization at the top of the forum.

gglondon

Hey!

Great idea to share these stats. Below are mine (EB2, citizen of France).

9/14/2010 - Perm submitted
11/10/2010 - Perm approved
03/08/2011 - I-140 and I-485 submitted concurrently
04/19/2011 - Biometric appointment
05/24/2011 - EAD and AP approved, card received around 05/28 (not sure)
... Still waiting for the final decision and will update my stats when done.

Hope this helps
GG

E3only

I assume the first two dates are 2010?

gglondon

Yes, corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.

Btw, I just found this great resource with a lot of stats: http://www.trackitt.com/usa-immigrat...i485-eb/page/1

Cheers
Gilles

BostonBrit Expat Since 03

Thats great stats, heres me thinking it was going to take 1-2 years for my EB2, how long did your perm take on average as that time isnt really stated, im asuming 3 months...

gglondon

Yes, the PERM process was really really quick (less then 3 months). My understanding though is that the PERM processing time is highly dependent on the type of the job and the type of activity. So I wouldn't make too much assumptions here..

Good luck!

E3only

I have further heard it also depends on employer.....

BostonBrit Expat Since 03

I work for an international company so they have done GC's before...but we'll see, ill post my progress to let others know

gglondon

As promised month ago, below are my updated stats -

9/14/2010 - Perm submitted
11/10/2010 - Perm approved
03/08/2011 - I-140 and I-485 submitted concurrently
04/19/2011 - Biometric appointment
05/24/2011 - EAD and AP approved, card received around 05/28 (not sure)
07/08/2011 - I-140 approved
08/31/2011 - I-485/Green card approved

Note that trackitt (http://www.trackitt.com/usa-immigration-trackers) looks like the best resource to find out about actual green card processing time.

Best of luck to everyone!
gg

SarahG

One thing I am not sure of is how do they know if you are the only one who can do the job? (I know I could ask lawyers but thought might be quicker to ask here) Does USCIS look over all the applications received when your employer advertises? My OH bosses spoke to the (very expensive) lawyer they used for his H1B and he said it would be tough to prove no one else could do his job. I suggested to my OH that he ask his boss to 'tweak' his job description so it is more tailored to him.