Brat1

First off, forgive me if I should have carried on from my thread at the beginning of the year, but I thought that would be confusing. If I should have done that, then I apologize.

I thought I would just give you guys who have been so helpful and informative through my journey, an update of where we are today, and most of the regulars know what my issues have been, so I'll pick up from where I left off.....

We are nearly a year on from our I-485 denials, and the last 11 months have probably been the most stressful since we moved here. The fiasco with the revocation notice for the I-140, has now been clarified. When the I-140 was submitted the second time in 2008, since they had not acted timely enough on a RFE on the first filing, it was submitted without any labor certification. Only a cover letter was submitted asking for the re-file to be accepted and that the labor certification had been submitted before There were other errors on the application that have come to light that I won't go into. Suffice to say, all these months on, we are re-filing the I-140 with a legal brief, to see if the USCIS will accept it keeping our old priority date. I don't know what our chances are of them doing that, but that is the road the new Attorney is going down. We have our own Attorney and he has agreed that what they are doing is the right way to deal with things.

So..... we now have another waiting game. If the USCIS accept this filing, then at least we can then file our I-148's again and allow me to work again. If they don't, then we need to re-file again and I'll have another 3,4,5 year wait in order to work.

My oldest daughter has been married in the last month. They have been together four years and decided to bring the wedding forward. My son-in-law has been very lucky and just started a new job with the prison service, so I am happy that they are happy. They are now starting their own journey and submitting her I-130 in the coming weeks.

If I had known any of this was in our future, when we took the plunge to move over here, then I don't think I would have risked it. The stress it has taken on not only my health and my marriage, but my mental wellbeing is something that I cannot describe. I knew that the Immigration process would be complicated and at times stressful, but at no point did I think that I would be sitting here nearly 5 years on, with no savings left, still unable to work, and still sitting here with so much uncertainty hanging over my head.

I don't know what, or if, there is any moral to our journey, but I just want to say that if you guys hadn't been here throughout, I don't know that I would have had the staying power to see it through. I've been called a drama queen on here in the past, but before you judge people, take a walk in their shoes and see how you go.... and anyone setting out on the Immigration journey, make sure you get your own legal assistance.

Anyway, thanks everyone. Just thought I'd give a wee update for anyone interested, or who may be going through similar

ian-mstm

I know that many of the long-time members have been following your journey with interest and, sadly, with despair. We so often get involved with our own lives that we tend to forget those whose journey does not smoothly follow a process which we all seem to take for granted. Thank you for the update. I hope that things get resolved quickly, and that you find peace at the end of the journey.

Ian

BunnyGirl

I know I don't 'know' you but I've been following your story. Really hope this finally gets sorted for you, can't believe what a nightmare it's all been.

Brat1

Ian, thank you for those kind words. Much appreciated.

Brat1

Thank you, I wish I saw a light at the end of the tunnel......

hoffage123

Sending best wishes and positive vibes to you for things to get resolved ...

Nutmegger

Very nicely put, Ian.

Brat1, my heart breaks for you. You've played by all the rules, done everything humanly possible to make your immigration process smooth sailing, and at every turn you get more and more ensnared in the red tape. I sincerely hope that the brief and the filing are accepted so that you can get back to work and start to build your lives here with no more doubt hovering over you.

On the brighter side -- the very best to your daughter and her new husband. Perhaps you can smile a little thinking of how worried you were when you arrived, because she was pining for the boy back home!

S Folinsky

Interesting but sad saga.

Out of idle curiosity, were you given any particular reason why the priority date from the original labor certificate might not be kept? Although your post is long, you don't give any reason why it can't be used.

Brat1

Thanks Nutmegger, and yes I did giggle when you reminded me of that LOL!

Brat1

Sorry, maybe I'm confusing people. The priority date I'm talking about is for the I-140 application. They are asking if the USCIS will accept a re-filing but keeping our original date of January 2009. If they don't then we have to file again as a new application, which means we will end up with a priority date of 2014 or 15. The Labor Cert is still good to go from what I understand. Unfortunately it wasn't submitted with the 2008 application, which is why it was revoked, or at least, that's what we've been told by USCIS. Does that make sense, I'm not the best at explaining?

N1cky

Good luck with this filing Brat, hope it works out for you. As you know we've had our own immigration battles, but thankfully, we got there in the end. I know the stresses you are going through, and really hope you get a similar positive outcome soon.

It's funny when I read people who have filed say "waiting and not knowing is the worst," no it's not, knowing you've been denied and fighting through that is far worse. At least the worry about your daughter aging out has gone, so that's a positive.

Keep fighting girl, you'll get there in the end.

SarahG

So sorry you are still having to deal with this all. I truly hope it all gets resolved soon. Being a fellow H4 visa holder I know all too well home stressful it can be. Fingers crossed you get good news from USCIS and that your lawyer helps you get your GC sorted.

Congratulations to your daughter and her new husband.

Mouser66

Hi Brat
Ive not been on here since the beginning of the year but I wanted to follow up and see how you guys are doing....Im sorry that it is still an ongoing situation, I can only hope that it gets resolved sooner rather than later for your family. With our H1B's it took just over 8 years to go to the green card....I dont think we realised either how long or how stressful the journey would be....