Anyone seen the news about Priority Date until Jan 2015 becoming current for initial filing

[harirajmohan]

Just a doubt.. when do you get EAD vs an actual green card?

my understanding is the uscis estimates 2015 Jan eb3 to be current by october2021. Thus they are advised to start filing. Wouldn’t this mean a green card by the end of next year for those folks?

EAD you get after 3-6-9 months of filing 485(and EAD application), depending on how soon uscis processes EAD application.

GC you get based on visa number availability for that country and after clearing the previous priority dated applicants. Usually date they mention in the bulletin is just an estimate and most of the time for India, its always above the available numbers hence green card doesnt come usually within 1 year(like we see for ROW).

 

[fr72]

even though you stress and say you aren't interested in US, i still feel your heart somewhere longs for US and most of the points your listed reflect that without your knowledge.

Ok Mr Mind reader. Can you tell me what I want to have for lunch? I am having trouble deciding.

 

[fr72]

8. You dont lose your priority date for 1 year from when it became current as far as i know. Even if you lose but you can just file labor freshly to get same PD, right, isnt it?

You lose it if your date remains current for more than a year and you haven't filed fresh labor.

 

[harirajmohan]

You lose it if your date remains current for more than a year and you haven't filed fresh labor.

Oh i see. Got it. Thanks. I didnt know that we need to file within a year.

 

[fr72]

Oh i see. Got it. Thanks. I didnt know that we need to file within a year.

Lol. I wonder how many people would think twice about moving to Canada after knowing this.

BTW, all this is only if you changed employer.

 

[fr72]

Nobody might be discussing about it because everyone who moved to Canada giving up US might be at loss of words on what to say about this.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't eh? My long response was because of this remark. When are you moving back to US?

 

[harirajmohan]

1. Lol. I wonder how many people would think twice about moving to Canada after knowing this.

2. BTW, all this is only if you changed employer.

2. Correct, i understand. Same employer can anyway file 485 without any problem.
1. Its like an addiction. I too rejected PR for H1 in 2006. So most people are like me who dont plan for long term and being mesmerized with H1 thinking like i would return to India in 5 years and later at 5th year we still dont have enough savings hence again trying at 5th year and then waiting for another decade thinking PD would become current next year next year and keeps on going until 40(or until the kid grows up till 15-18-20 without any sight in PD). So they all would be in one of these categories to realize on settling. So we all play the game with time and with gc, its mostly waste of time if not logged PD soon after entering US.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Damned if we do, damned if we don't eh? My long response was because of this remark. When are you moving back to US?

would you not agree that goal of majority of Indians living in Canada is to come back to US with Canadian passport? why wouldn't they be shocked by this?

 

[fr72]

2. Correct, i understand. Same employer can anyway file 485 without any problem.
1. Its like an addiction. I too rejected PR for H1 in 2006. So most people are like me who dont plan for long term and being mesmerized with H1 thinking like i would return to India in 5 years and later at 5th year we still dont have enough savings hence again trying at 5th year and then waiting for another decade thinking PD would become current next year next year and keeps on going until 40(or until the kid grows up till 15-18-20 without any sight in PD). So they all would be in one of these categories to realize on settling. So we all play the game with time and with gc, its mostly waste of time if not logged PD soon after entering US.

You have to pick a lane in career vs GC. Trying to time things perfectly is risky business. I decided from day 1 that I care more about money and career than GC.

I changed job multiple times on H1 and each time employer was left stunned that I didn't behave like loyal H1B employee. I maximized earnings this way and invested most of it in market, which has done very well. I filed for Canada even when I had a super cushy job with excellent benefits and they relocated people to Europe etc in case of visa problems, I had no immediate compulsion to move.

But I planned long term and saw the benefits of a Canadian passport and left that cushy job to invest in Canada. Luckily, I didn't have to sacrifice pay. At this point, my savings grow more from my investments than they do from my salary. I bought a home (something not advisable in US under visa) and once I have Canadian passport, I have effectively locked in my housing and medical costs for life.

I don't have much motivation to go back to US. I think a lot of people value things only because they are hard to get and not because their life would improve because of it.

 

[fr72]

would you not agree that goal of majority of Indians living in Canada is to come back to US with Canadian passport? why wouldn't they be shocked by this?

No, I don't agree. I know a lot of Indians who have Canadian citizenship for years and show no inclination to move. I personally know Canadians who are settled here and don't want to move. They are all in IT and could easily move. Most work for US headquartered company and could get an EB1C green card tomorrow.

I also know fresh immigrants coming in every year (whatsapp group of 256) and no one mentions the US (except to laugh at their politics). I think you are projecting your wishes on everyone else.

 

[sg0501]

Wow, have the same situation here guys. Eb2 2013. Employer is ok with both downgrading or moving me to Canada (of course not both).

Wanted to settle down in india over the long run. So was thinking gc is not a big deal 5 years down the line and don't want to get stuck with EAD. After all, it is a work permit /not a green card with its own restrictions. I might end up spending the next decade waiting for my plastic card and then citizenship ( which then comes with its own perils). Son a us citizen, so he can always come and study/work here in the us if need be.

Having spent 17 years in the us, a hard decision to make - but after a while looking back, at what cost though. It all boils down to an individual's priority.

 

[Nick1233]

Just a doubt.. when do you get EAD vs an actual green card?

my understanding is the uscis estimates 2015 Jan eb3 to be current by october2021. Thus they are advised to start filing. Wouldn’t this mean a green card by the end of next year for those folks?

It is never that simple, thanks to upgrades and downgrades shenanigans. Even the current euphoria about AOS based on Filing dates by EB2 downgrading could be rejected if there is an overwhelming EB3 demand. Not sure if fees are refunded in these case.

Sadly, these folks have been so frustrated being in backlog that they don't see the downside of running around musical chairs and hoping for luck and timing instead of trusting in their own skills, ability and focusing on moving their job with them to any other country with sensical immigration policies.

 

[Nick1233]

Even if USCIS goes back to FA dates in next bulletin, the current bulletin should be sufficient to give EADs to plenty of people. Lot of companies are allowing downgrading too. FAANG do allow it. Regardless of why this was done, it is going to help a lot of people and regardless of what someone says EAD gives sense of security for someone to permanently live in US.

Also there is very little chance of demand being in high from Rest Of the World countries due variety of factors such as schengen ban, consulate closures, and Pandemic itself. Particularly people from developed countries would show no interest to move this year or next year definitely. US as a country has generated lot of negative perception in Europe for covid cases and deaths, and many might postpone their move at least by one or two years until Pandemic settles down. That should make a strong difference in EB2 and EB3 ROW traditionally gets lot of visas through consular process (philippines, south Korea etc) and T proclamation, consulate closures should stop happening that too..

USCIS already has published the report for number of approved i140s by country, and if they are willing to process the spillover faithfully, current spillover should clear the backlog till 2014 very easily.. there are about 120k i140s till 2014 in both EB2 and EB3 combined for India, if you factor duplicates and dependents, the total backlog comes to 200k. There are 262k GCs flowing in and if you leave aside 60k for EB1, EB4, EB5 and ROW , India should get enough GCs to wipe out the backlog till 2014.

they've signalled their intent to do that by agreeing to honor filing dates. We need to wait and see to what extent they do. Even DOS clearly mentioned that they've moved dates after consulting with USCIS on their processing capacity as they want to avoid any retrogression type situations. They've also said that there's going to be rapid movement in upcoming bulletins.

The behavior folks are willing to tolerate often determines what they get in return. EAD without GC is just one of those. The very same FAANG and many more are letting people work remotely from Canada. So why would one pick a EAD over this? If claim is low pay, folks aren't negotiating well. Easy to get done with a competing job offer.

Negative perception? How come this applies only for RoW folks and not for Indians in Canada who might consider moving back after this recent update?

Published data is all good except that it is not accurate. It really needs to be accurate with a lag of a week for folks to get a good idea given all upgrades and downgrades shenanigans. Backlogged folks should first stop with all reform bills and work on this.

 

[Nick1233]

would you not agree that goal of majority of Indians living in Canada is to come back to US with Canadian passport? why wouldn't they be shocked by this?

Nope, priorities and plans change with time and living in Canada. For some healthcare in Canada is more lucrative, some might own business, some might have figured out being in US is not the only way to make it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[justinline]

would you not agree that goal of majority of Indians living in Canada is to come back to US with Canadian passport? why wouldn't they be shocked by this?

Thats not true man......plans change. Yeah there will be lot of remorse from people who see this as missed opportunity. There are others who will perfectly comfortable with the decision to move to Canada. Lot of people will just move to US leaving Canada in the middle if they have option.

The remorse I feel comes more from attachment and amount of time they invested in US, and not having that elusive GC is seen some kind failure.

I could have filed for EAD under EB3 last year........dint file because dint want to get stuck in US without end in sight. But now I might file I believe GC will be few months. I need flexibility now, based on what I am trying to do, I want to be able to move freely.

@DEEPCUR I believe your dates are current, so no more moving north. Man think of the countless hours spent on this forums.