In Canada on PR, Now Priority Dates have become current in USA, anyone in a similar situation?

[CANPR12]

Hi All,
My priority date of Mar 12 has become current under the Final Action Chart as per Dec 2021 Visa Bulletin. I however am in Canada yet to complete my 3 year stay to be eligible for citizenship here. I am posting this thread to see if anyone else is in the same situation or has been in this kind of situation in the past?

Wondering if we could still use the H1B route to get back to USA with priority date being current to file for I485 and get H1B approved? As I understand I cannot file for a (AOS-I485) being outside of USA and (I824 - Consular process is not an option).

Has anyone been in a similar situation. What have you done?

 

[Rawhide]

Do you still have active employement and H1B in USA ?

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi All,
My priority date of Mar 12 has become current under the Final Action Chart as per Dec 2021 Visa Bulletin. I however am in Canada yet to complete my 3 year stay to be eligible for citizenship here. I am posting this thread to see if anyone else is in the same situation or has been in this kind of situation in the past?

Wondering if we could still use the H1B route to get back to USA with priority date being current to file for I485 and get H1B approved? As I understand I cannot file for a (AOS-I485) being outside of USA and (I824 - Consular process is not an option).

Has anyone been in a similar situation. What have you done?

Consular processing is for people who are not inside US(or dont want to adjust status inside US). So i dont know why you say consular processing is not an option. Lot many get it stamped with immigrant visa and enter US as a permanent immigrant.

Either case, there is no use of asking anything in forums as you cant do anything whatever is being told since company lawyers/immigration team would decide what you need to do. So why to waste time and effort here which will be confusing you more and increase your anxiety/stress.

Simply go with your employer's plan as they are the sponsors of your gc.

 

[CANPR12]

Do you still have active employement and H1B in USA ?

No I am not activly employed in H1b anymore.

 

[CANPR12]

Consular processing is for people who are not inside US(or dont want to adjust status inside US). So i dont know why you say consular processing is not an option. Lot many get it stamped with immigrant visa and enter US as a permanent immigrant.

Either case, there is no use of asking anything in forums as you cant do anything whatever is being told since company lawyers/immigration team would decide what you need to do. So why to waste time and effort here which will be confusing you more and increase your anxiety/stress.

Simply go with your employer's plan as they are the sponsors of your gc.

That is correct, As US employer is the one who can make it or break it when it comes to GC approval. I agree with you opinion. Just wanted to reach out to people in a similar situation and understand what steps have they taken (if any) to reclaim their GC and if they moved back to US.

 

[harirajmohan]

No I am not activly employed in H1b anymore.

if you are not with that company then you can try with some consulting company to start the process for labor and you have one year to use your current priority date. You might make it as labor gets cleared within months nowadays hence whole process wont take 1 year to reach 140(during which you can file concurrent 485).

That is correct, As US employer is the one who can make it or break it when it comes to GC approval. I agree with you opinion. Just wanted to reach out to people in a similar situation and understand what steps have they taken (if any) to reclaim their GC and if they moved back to US.

I thought that you are still with the company.
I dont know relclaim after 1 year is possible or not. May be you can book some 1 hour call with law firms like murthy and get it clarified to plan accordingly with proper information on important issues.

Let us also know what you find on reclaim after a year.

 

[srinikrish]

Hi All,
My priority date of Mar 12 has become current under the Final Action Chart as per Dec 2021 Visa Bulletin. I however am in Canada yet to complete my 3 year stay to be eligible for citizenship here. I am posting this thread to see if anyone else is in the same situation or has been in this kind of situation in the past?

Wondering if we could still use the H1B route to get back to USA with priority date being current to file for I485 and get H1B approved? As I understand I cannot file for a (AOS-I485) being outside of USA and (I824 - Consular process is not an option).

Has anyone been in a similar situation. What have you done?

Hello,

I'm in the exact similar situation..My PD is current as per the June 2021 visa bulletin. I'm in canada on PR.
I'm looking to Convert AOS to Consular processing with I-824. But seems the processing times are too long.
Seems, I-140 will expire after 1 year of PD being current but not sure exactly.
Please let me know if you found any solution.

 

[maverick1982]

Hi All,
My priority date of Mar 12 has become current under the Final Action Chart as per Dec 2021 Visa Bulletin. I however am in Canada yet to complete my 3 year stay to be eligible for citizenship here. I am posting this thread to see if anyone else is in the same situation or has been in this kind of situation in the past?

Wondering if we could still use the H1B route to get back to USA with priority date being current to file for I485 and get H1B approved? As I understand I cannot file for a (AOS-I485) being outside of USA and (I824 - Consular process is not an option).

Has anyone been in a similar situation. What have you done?

Dates are likely to retrogress but your date is early 2012 so even after retrogression your date might be current. There is a probability of dates being U briefly end of this year . If that happens one year clock resets. Also as far as I know employment i140 never expires if it is with USCIS. The one year clock is applicable if your file is at NVC (mostly family cases) and you don't respond for a year. I think based on your old 140 you can request a H1B with new company . Although your date is current, the old labor was appropriate more than one year before today's date. Based on that clause you can keep getting one year extensions. You may get one year or 3 year approval since you are changing company. One of my friends was current for more than a year and in Canada. He got H1 B with new company and got 3 year extension based on old 140. He has restarted PERM with new company. A lot of people have simply downgraded en mass and switched Lanes to EB3 till 2014. They keep moving dates to generate demand for EB2 while EB3 is oversubscribed. Once EB3s start interfiling or filing duplicate 485, EB2 will stall and filing dates will not reach final action dates. People in early 2012 are likely safe but many after that will be in EAD. My priority date is Nov 2012 and I'm not to hopeful it will stick. I have already accumulated about 14 months in Canada , so if my date is current this April , I will have until April next year to file. So by that time I'll have accumulated about 2.5 years. If I apply for GC it will take 8 months at least by which time I can apply for Canadian citizenship and leave. I'm with same employer and maintain H1 , so another option is to file for consular next year and it will at least take 1.5 years to reach NVC, get interview, enough time to actually get citizenship here. To be honest, after spending time in Canada , I enjoy the peace and lack of polarization. I actually am thinking of being here long term and just working in US. If you apply for H1 in lottery you will get another 6 years and we can keep doing it and retire in Canada. I will be consulting an attorney when time comes and you should too. Will post the real commendations here after I consult. You also have to think about exit taxes, healthcare costs in old age

 

[boatyyo]

My PD is early 2012. I moved to Canada last year after the pandemic started and I just couldn't handle the uncertainty of being on the H1b leash anymore. Thought I was making a smart move. I love being in Canada but the thought of moving just 100 miles south of the border on GC is still quite appealing. Plus its what I've been waiting for, so many years!
I haven't maintained my H1b but i'm still with my old company. Will talk to the attorney and see what they say.

 

[maverick1982]

Let us know what the attorney says and what you decide. Thank You

 

[Samoinp]

Dates are likely to retrogress but your date is early 2012 so even after retrogression your date might be current. There is a probability of dates being U briefly end of this year . If that happens one year clock resets. Also as far as I know employment i140 never expires if it is with USCIS. The one year clock is applicable if your file is at NVC (mostly family cases) and you don't respond for a year. I think based on your old 140 you can request a H1B with new company . Although your date is current, the old labor was appropriate more than one year before today's date. Based on that clause you can keep getting one year extensions. You may get one year or 3 year approval since you are changing company. One of my friends was current for more than a year and in Canada. He got H1 B with new company and got 3 year extension based on old 140. He has restarted PERM with new company. A lot of people have simply downgraded en mass and switched Lanes to EB3 till 2014. They keep moving dates to generate demand for EB2 while EB3 is oversubscribed. Once EB3s start interfiling or filing duplicate 485, EB2 will stall and filing dates will not reach final action dates. People in early 2012 are likely safe but many after that will be in EAD. My priority date is Nov 2012 and I'm not to hopeful it will stick. I have already accumulated about 14 months in Canada , so if my date is current this April , I will have until April next year to file. So by that time I'll have accumulated about 2.5 years. If I apply for GC it will take 8 months at least by which time I can apply for Canadian citizenship and leave. I'm with same employer and maintain H1 , so another option is to file for consular next year and it will at least take 1.5 years to reach NVC, get interview, enough time to actually get citizenship here. To be honest, after spending time in Canada , I enjoy the peace and lack of polarization. I actually am thinking of being here long term and just working in US. If you apply for H1 in lottery you will get another 6 years and we can keep doing it and retire in Canada. I will be consulting an attorney when time comes and you should too. Will post the real commendations here after I consult. You also have to think about exit taxes, healthcare costs in old age

On a side note, what happens to folks who are/get stuck in EAD and want to pursue Canadian PR (while waiting for their final action dates). Would moving to Canada, invalidate their US GC petition as they don't have the intent anymore?

 

[maverick1982]

On a side note, what happens to folks who are/get stuck in EAD and want to pursue Canadian PR (while waiting for their final action dates). Would moving to Canada, invalidate their US GC petition as they don't have the intent anymore?

If you maintain the job and keep going and renewing before EAD expires you can make it work. Be sure to maintain non immigrant status/h1b and not use EAD so it doesn't get complicated. If you don't renew EAD , you may need to file 485 again. Move back when you get citizenship. EAD will definitely make it harder but there are no residency requirements on EAD as such. You can simply file 485 without EAD and leave and maintain H1. Once 3 years are up , go back and file ead on basis of previous 485. The intent is after you get GC. During naturalization they will look into where you stayed for those 5 years of GC. Only because of covid have people from 2012 been able to get GC. If not who knows how much longer. Each year there are like 40k total applicants in EB2 , almost 15 years of wait added each year. In 2016 alone 100k people are waiting. I am multiplying by 2 for dependent i.e wife only. Once spillover is over this year, the date movement will be like two weeks each year. It will be interesting to see where dates end up. It will depend a lot on wastage. If they waste 60k visas again , it will go back 1.5 years from current date or 7.5 months in each category-30k. Don't equate 1.5 year retrogression to mean , it will take 1.5 years for GC. It will actually be 30k divided by yearly quota ie 10 years like it happened for 2012 folks. But a lot of EB2 movement is an illusion because many changed Lanes to EB3 and that demand will come back soon. They are simply moving eb2 like they did EB3 last year . so I don't think 2013 July filing date makes sense. It has to go back.

 

[Samoinp]

If you maintain the job and keep going and renewing before EAD expires you can make it work. Be sure to maintain non immigrant status/h1b and not use EAD so it doesn't get complicated. If you don't renew EAD , you may need to file 485 again. Move back when you get citizenship. EAD will definitely make it harder but there are no residency requirements on EAD as such. You can simply file 485 without EAD and leave and maintain H1. Once 3 years are up , go back and file ead on basis of previous 485. The intent is after you get GC. During naturalization they will look into where you stayed for those 5 years of GC. Only because of covid have people from 2012 been able to get GC. If not who knows how much longer. Each year there are like 40k total applicants in EB2 , almost 15 years of wait added each year. In 2016 alone 100k people are waiting. I am multiplying by 2 for dependent i.e wife only. Once spillover is over this year, the date movement will be like two weeks each year. It will be interesting to see where dates end up. It will depend a lot on wastage. If they waste 60k visas again , it will go back 1.5 years from current date or 7.5 months in each category-30k. Don't equate 1.5 year retrogression to mean , it will take 1.5 years for GC. It will actually be 30k divided by yearly quota ie 10 years like it happened for 2012 folks. But a lot of EB2 movement is an illusion because many changed Lanes to EB3 and that demand will come back soon. They are simply moving eb2 like they did EB3 last year . so I don't think 2013 July filing date makes sense. It has to go back.

Totally, all these upgrade/downgrade shenanigans only makes things worse. If they had genuine interest for backlogged folks, they would have predicated all these EB3 downgrades last year and just advanced EB2 to average it out, rather than wasting time processing EB3 downgrades, they could have actually issued GCs. This is most likely is what is gonna happen with all these EB2 upgrades/inter files etc this year. Just wasting processing time/resources in I140s.

Anyways, thanks for the tip, had no idea of filing 485 without EAD.

 

[maverick1982]

Totally, all these upgrade/downgrade shenanigans only makes things worse. If they had genuine interest for backlogged folks, they would have predicated all these EB3 downgrades last year and just advanced EB2 to average it out, rather than wasting time processing EB3 downgrades, they could have actually issued GCs. This is most likely is what is gonna happen with all these EB2 upgrades/inter files etc this year. Just wasting processing time/resources in I140s.

Anyways, thanks for the tip, had no idea of filing 485 without EAD.

You are welcome. You are right. It could have been made so much simpler. They should have adjusted policy for a year and used eb2,3 interchably. But so many people simply changed Lanes in desperation . After a long wait they at least wanted EAD and not be worried about visas. So it is understandable why they did it. This year too, they should change the underlying basis and auto adjudicate EB3 in EB2 if the person has both 140s and issue a statement. Instead I now people have already started filing duplicate 485 in EB2 because their EB3 is stuck at SRC..

 

[CANPR12]

My PD is early 2012. I moved to Canada last year after the pandemic started and I just couldn't handle the uncertainty of being on the H1b leash anymore. Thought I was making a smart move. I love being in Canada but the thought of moving just 100 miles south of the border on GC is still quite appealing. Plus its what I've been waiting for, so many years!
I haven't maintained my H1b but i'm still with my old company. Will talk to the attorney and see what they say.

Hi, did you have a chance to speak with your company attorney? What did they suggest? How are you approaching the situation. Do share your inputs as it would be helpful for other folks like us who are in the same situation. Thanks in advance.