bullettoothtony

Thanks.

I am, nor have ever been, married. Why would that be of interest given that this would be employment based?

Further after any paperwork has been approved is there an interview? I am electing to adjust status in the USA.

zerlesen

It's not. But if you were immigrating based on marriage, I would probably be agreeing more vociferously with Pulaski. Personally, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure the I-485 went smoothly. As it turned out, maybe I could've gotten away without hiring a lawyer... but had anything gone sideways, I expect I would've been glad that I did. Your call, ultimately.

There (usually?) isn't an interview. You'll need to get biometrics taken at some point.

bullettoothtony

This surprises me- I always assume an interview would be a requirement to adjust status from H1-b to green card holder.

I notice that there are different types of green card - EB 1 eb2 etc. I assume I would be an EB-3 base on my tenure track appointment. Do you know if theinterview requirement is dependent upon which type of sponsorship you have?

zerlesen

They're not really different types of green card - they're different "preference categories". The preference category system controls how the limited supply of visa numbers is made available. If you're TT faculty you should be in EB2 or EB1 - EB2 is likely easier to substantiate, as your job requires an advanced degree; EB1 is supposed to require significant research accomplishments as well. If you were in EB3 you would have to expect to wait a little while for a visa number to become available. (Still assuming you're not chargeable to India or China, which would change the calculation significantly.) This is all part of the I-140, which you don't even file, so don't worry about it too much.

I think interviews are standard for adjustments based on marriage to a USC. On the EB side, not so much. If they do decide they want a chat, they'll let you know.

retzie

I was in a similar position. The university's lawyers took care of PERM and I-140, then it was up to me if I wanted to keep them on (and pay!) for the I-485. I chose not to and experienced no difficulties at all.

Looking at the form the lawyers wanted me to complete side-by-side with the I-485 itself and discovering they were pretty much identical, I decided I might as well just fill in the forms myself. If you need help deciding, I'd look at the forms to get an idea of what's involved - it's neither lengthy nor difficult IMO.

Although I was going it alone, my university's faculty immigration person was happy to discuss any questions I had - after all, they wanted it to be successful!

Michael

The Visa Bulletin under the Employment Based Visas (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) gives the priority dates (the date USCIS is currently processing applications for). EB-2 for all countries except China and India are "Current" which means that USCIS is processing applications immediately but EB-3 is 01April15 which means USCIS is processing applications that were submitted on April 1, 2015 for most countries. The priority date for EB-3 can vary immensely and over the years, there has up to a 5 year wait to start processing applications.

Visa Bulletin For July 2015

bullettoothtony

Thank you for all your replies.

So I am in the process of looking at the I-485. I think I am going to file myself. Frankly I can't afford a few thousand dollars for an immigration attorney to file this for me.

In looking at the I-485 I was curious to see a section which asks you to list the names of all organisations, societies and clubs etc that you have been a member of. I'm pretty clear that professional organisations such as the American heart association should be listed here but would this include football (soccer) teams that I played for at the weekend?!

Michael

The question is likely vague on purpose. I suspect USCIS is primarily interested in groups that are potentially a threat to the security of the US but don't want to clarify the question since some groups may appear to be non-political/non threating but may actually be a shell organization with ulterior motives.