H1B to Green Card
 

Ok this thread is mainly for me but I figured it may help other people if they are about to go through the process.
I just got confirmation, 2 minutes ago in fact, that my husbands employers have started the green card process for us. PERM is first stage so that is the first hurdle we need to clear. But it is started! Yay! I can't tell you all how relieved I am! After all the stress with the 1st employer not wanting to do it and husband getting his new job and us all moving from Indiana to South Carolina. I am not 100% certain what category he will go into yet but the HR woman seemed to think it would be EB-2.

Story so far for us.
04/01/09 H1B application. (3rd times a charm as quota met each of previous 2 attempts!)
08/13/09 US Embassy Interview London.
08/18/09 H1B & H4 Visas Arrive. We fly out to US (Indiana) October 2009.
11/15/11 H1B Transfer Application Started.
12/12/11 H1B Transfer Filed with USCIS.
02/09/12 H1B Transfer USCIS Receipt.
03/14/12 H1B Transfer Approved.
01/02/13 PERM Process Started.

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Best of luck with your AOS/GC application Sarah!

My company started the PERM advertising around this time last year, but due to the job not being advertised widely enough the lawyers asked for it to be repeated.

Here is our timeline so far;

07/17/12 PERM filed (BSc + 10 years experience)
09/12/12 PERM response (57 days)
10/03/12 I-140 filed (Premium processing)
10/10/12 I-140 response (7 days)
11/05/12 I-485/EAD/AP filed (EB-2)
12/26/12 Biometrics appointment (51 days)

EB-2 became current again in Nov 2012, so we filed on the 2nd via a lockbox in AZ. USCIS officially received it on 11/5.

We are using the Nebraska service center and hopefully we'll get a decision by early March 2013, i.e. around 120 days after filing the I-485.

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Cheers. I am assuming once PERM is approved we need to get medicals done pretty soon as they need to be submitted along with the I-485. Is it possible to submit I-140 and I-485 at same time? I've spent so much time looking into H1B visa stuff over the years and transferring that visa that I'm a bit confused with the whole green card process.

We got our H1B visas transferred and renewed and have paperwork to prove it but no visas in our passports. I am so not looking forward to going to DMV in March to renew my drivers licence.

SO, to make sure I've got this right.

PERM needs to be approved first.
Then I-140 for the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
Then I-485 for AOS & I-765 for EAD & I-131 for AP (Is AP necessary or is it a worthwhile thing to get as a 'just in case')

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

We booked our medicals as soon as the I-140 was approved as the EB-2 category had become current again. The medical reports were filed with the I-485 AOS.
We visited our own Dr before the medical to get all our vaccinations up to date. I had TDAP, MMR and Hep-A (not needed for AOS) plus a Chicken Pox blood test. My wife had blood tests done for MMR and Chicken Pox.

My lawyer said she generally likes to do I-140 independently of the I-485, and at the time the EB-2 category was non current, so concurrent filing of I-140 and I-485 was not possible.

She also filed for EAD and AP with the I-485 'just in case' I guess, but I also imagine it means they can bill my employer for more money!

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Nope, because there is no fee for the EAD and AP when filed concurrently with or after the I-485. Of course if she's billing her time to the employer, then yes, because she took some time to fill out the I-765 and I-131...but there's no USCIS fee for them.

Rene

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Husband completed first lot of information for the lawyers for the PERM approval. Basically a resume listing his qualifications and skills specific to his job. His bosses boss seems confident of approval as apparently they have never had a PERM denied. I know there is a first for everything but I am going to share their optimism. In the next week or so they will be advertising the job and then waiting the required amount of time before reviewing applicants and then submitting request for PERM approval. At least I think that is what is going to happen. Husband has a log in for the lawyers website to track everything and they have said there is 7 steps before submitting it. This includes some conference calls between them, my husband, his boss, his bosses boss and HR.

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Sounds like your company has lots of experience. My company hadn't done a GC in years, so I think that's why they made a mistake and we had to restart the PERM process.
Just make sure that the job advert mentions a Masters or equivalent experience (earned outside of US for your husband, if he doesn't have a Masters), so you can go forward with an EB2. EB2-ROW is current, there is a 6 year wait for EB3-ROW.

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

All the green card applications they have done have been EB2 and average about 12-18 months, according to HR woman anyway.

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Got confirmation today that category my husband's PERM application will be filed under is EB-2. :thumbsup:

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Excellent news :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Yep. It really is! :)

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Just got an email from the USCIS informing us that our EAD/AP have been issued on 17 Jan 2013 (76 days). Cards are in production.
No news on our I-485 yet.

I'm currently in the UK, so hopefully they'll let me back in on my H-1B!

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

I'm sure they will. What else would they expect you to do?

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

I was a little worried they would expect me to use the AP card for re-entry which I obviously don't have yet. But I just got through immigration without a hitch on my H1-B.

I think I read somewhere that once you get the I-485 email all your current visas and AP are cancelled and you could end up trapped abroad waiting for the physical card to be delivered?

Re: H1B to Green Card
 

Yeah, and they're apparently charging $165 now for the privilege of actually receiving your Permanent Residency card..... :sneaky: