Sajha Fellows,
1. I heard that EB-2 catagory is also going to retrigression soon and there will be no Green Cards available..........has anybody heard anything?

2. Does the candidate of EB-2 should meet minimum wage requirement?

3. Previous Work experience letter (if from Nepal) should be sent to USCIS directly by Employer. Is that true?? Does not the copy of work experience certificate work??

Thanks.

yes the PERM system was established for cases taht were to be filed after March 28, 05. According to the PERM rules, DOL is supposed to give a decision withing 60-90 days.
But all the app filled before March 28,05 doesnt qualify for PERM.

There are plenty of backlog cases left in DOL, that wasnt under PERM, the elimination date for those backlog is 9/30/2007, That is 15 months from now.

I 140 generally takes upto 7 months. there are draw back and
advantages of filing 140 and 485 together.

Advantage- When your 140 is approved, your 485 will get approved within 3-4 months, so thats together in 1 yr.

Disadvantage- If your 140 is denied, then your 485 is denied automatically.

But if your employer has a strong financial statement(tax,pnl, payroll sheet)and if the visa number is still available from DOS, then it is in your best interest to file it together, coz that saves almost a yr in getting your green card.

if you file it differently, then it could take upto 7 months for 140 and another 10-12 months for 485.

but again, once you have filed for you 485, and you get a receipt, file for you AP, which will let you leave and enter US without getting re stamp in nepal.

hope that helps.

You should be my lawyer. Why do I-140 get denied? So the time line isn't that long, two- three years is not that bad compared to what lawyers say, I think they want to be in the safe side. But these issues have exceptional cases, makes you want to wonder. anyway thank u for your response. I really appreciate it.

ya, usually I 140 gets declined, coz of the financial situation of your sponsor, like their asset, cash flow, labor cost and so forth.

if I 140 is strong, and visa number is available, you should discuss to your lawyer about filing your 140 n 485 together.

and you are right, they dont give you the time frame, just to be in the safe side. but even legally, USCIS is suppose to make a decision about green card in 3 yrs.

Hi Mansion,

I am in Texas. If my lawyer files I-140, EAD, AOS and AP together, in which service center he will be sending the applications? And also what is the time period that it might take in that service center. I heard some people are getting I-140 approved in 1 month and AOS and EAD in 2 months also, is that possible?

Thanks a bunch,
Kattie

if you're in TX, your service center is Texas ( unfortunately,the most laziest and slowest one-just coz of the number of cases they get).

AOS/EAD, the time frame for that is 2-3 months,and in most cases you do get a decision in 60 days. The reason for that is, work permit is far more imp than 140 being approved right away, coz with EAD, you could atleast me working legally. And also not too many info and requirement are needed for EAD.

140 generally takes anwyere from 7-9 months. in tx service center, right now they are prosessing the 140 filled in, Feb 3,2006, so today being july,06, tahts a 6 month period gap.

so you can expect your 140 to be approved/denied in 7 months.

About your frens 140 being approved in 1 month, well may be he/she just got lucky, or may be theirs Service center was diffirent. Example, right now in vermont service center, they are working on the cases filed after April,2006. so you could say, the diff between tx and vt center is good 3 months.

But usually, its very unlikely for 140 to be approved in 1 month considering it takes 14 days just to get a receipt back from USCIS.

talk with your lawyer about filing 140 and 485 together.

good luck.

Hello guys, this thread is really interesting and informative. I also have one question.If you guys have answer for it, please let me know.

Let's say employer agreed on fining green card under EB-2 cateogry . Even the financial condition of the employer and the company is good, employer says that he agrees upon the salary requirement only if it is negotiable after the green card is approved. That means, employer is ready to help the guy mentioning in papers that he will be giving masters level salary requirement after green card is approved but he is not willing to pay that salary after the green card is approved. Can we re-negotiate salary after the green card is approved ? What are your thoughts guys ?

I am confused with different type of forms being mentioned....Can anybody explain in simple sentence what all these I 140 , I185 ..........................etc. related with?

Sabkobhalo Hos.

You Can Always re-negotiate the salary.
The Salary stated when you file for your green card, is not a legal contract between you and employer. He can pay you more or less. He also doesnt have to hire you, neither do you have towork for him, after your green card is approved.
All that stated Salary means is, that your employer has enough assest, cash flow, to pay that salary to you, if you were to hired, or assuming that you get the green card and work for him.

Abbha in US

I 140- This is the Petition, requesting Alien Worker to be a permanent resident. This is not filed by you, but rather by your employer/sponsoron your behalf. Meaning, your sponsor requesting Immigration to let you be the permanent Resident.

Also, just because 140 is approved doesnt mean you will get a green card ( In most cases if your 140 is approved then your 485 will be too )

I 485 - This, after your 140 is approved, is filled by the applicant (you) requesting that your status now be changed to a permanent resident, and you be registerd as a perm. resident.


Please Note- All 485(based on employment ) filed after JULY 24/2006 WILL NOW GO TO NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER.

Thanks mansion, That was real lucid. How about PERM in labor certifiaction? You also mentioned that wages can be changed. Isnt it required to meet 'Prevailing wage' Criteria ? Do you mean the wage could be lesser than mentioned in 'Prevailing Wage'??

Like i said above, PERM is only for cases filled in DOL after March 28,05, which according to the PERM would be decided between 6-9 months. but at the same time, there are pending cases filed before March 28,05. Now unless those case are decided , then only DOL is upspeed the PERM .

'Prevailing wage' when you file for labor certification, is only the wage, that according to DOL says you need to get paid. you do not have to be making that wage before you file, what that means is, should you get a green card, and choose to stay with your employer, in the same position you were sponsored for, the employer has enough money to pay you.

however, after you get the green card, nothing is contractual, meaning he could either pay you that about, or more, or less, he is not bound by law to pay the wage shown in PERM, at the same time neither are you bound by any contract to work for the same employer that sponsored you.

Thanks mansion

You really have good knowledge in these stuffs. I also have one another case. Let's say the person filing for EB-2 category has wife in F-1 status and guy is in H1B. Should her status needs to be changed to H-4 in order to get approved for green card for both husband and wife ? How long does it take for both of them to get green card ? is it same time or it differs ?

NOT REALLY, BUT IF THE GUY HAS A H1, HIS WIFE SHOULD BE UNDER H-4, FOR TRAVEL BENEFITS WITHOUT HAVING TO APPLY FOR ADVANCE PAROLE.

BUT THE DEPENDENT OF H1-B, H4 CANT WORK IN STATES.

THE TIME FRAME IS SAME, WHEN YOU FILE FOR GREEN CARD, THE GUY HAS TO PUT HIS WIFE NAME, OR HIS KIDS, SO THEY ALLGET THE GREEN CARD AT THE SAME TIME, OR IN FEW CASES , FEW MONTHS AFTER.

Mansion,

Can I apply for Green card on my own if my employer is ready to sponser? OR I need to go through lawyer??

Thanks in advance for response!!

Yes, you dont need a lawyer, you can do it on your own.

BUT, I STRONGY SUGGEST YOU HIRE A LAWYER.

Is it a good idea to apply for Civil Engineer in EB-2 when the candidate has Masters Degree and posses EIT (Engineer in Training) Liscense. The next step of engineering liscense is PE (Professional Engineering). Help if you have done or know.

depends on the job you'd be using to sponsor your permanent residency.

Hi mansion, you seem to be very knowledgle about the immigration matter and i thank you for giving us so much information. i also have a question for you. My friend was sponsered and he got his green card in less than a year. But the problem is he signed a contract with the company saying that he would work for them for three years. but now due to some problems, he wants to move out of the state, but the company is threatning to report to the USCIS if he do not complete his full term at that company. He has left 8 moremonths to complete the contract.But he really has to move, the Q is , Can the company do anything if so will his green card in jeopardy?
i would really appreciate for your reply.
Jai Nepal and Nepalese

as far as the contract issue, no they cant do antying to jeopardise his green card. green card is filed on a basic of a job offer not a job contract.

beside that, it depends on what the contract says, as to waht is gonna happen, if he quits his job before the contract is over.

i am not sure, but from my understand, if the contract was made before he got his greencard, then its should be nullified, coz before the contract he wasnt a legal us resident allowed to work, so the contract shouldnt hold good in court.

like i said, i am not sure though, i dont know the contents of the contracts, but his green card is safe.

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I have read the contract, it doesnot say anything about penalty, or anything but it says that upon termination of employment, the company is not responsible for benefits for which he don't care for benefits any way. The company paid for all the lawyer expenses and other immigration expenses so they are asking that money back even though there is nothing mentioned about that anywhere. What would be your suggestion on this matter, whether he should give them the money or just disregard them because he already has worked there for more than two years.
thank you once again

well if its not mentioned in the contrac then he doenst have to give the money back , legally.

but that is one of a moral and ethical question too, its up to him to decide that.