Could be a risky move......need advices

[whatittakes 0]

So long story short, I am adjusting my status from F1 to Permanent Resident. Application filed in late July 2014, local office Seattle. A month after, I changed my address to Portland which resulted in case status moving back to Initial Review from Testing and Interview. My case has been sitting in Portland field office since September 1 waiting for interview scheduling.

Due to some family issues, I and my wife are hoping (more like desperate) that my case to be done sometime before February 2015. We contacted Congressional Rep office asking for help. We asked for way to expedite but all Congressman office did was to inquiry about case status. USCIS Portland Field Office responded that they ARE BEHIND national processing time, and based on current timeline, I should not expect an interview until APRIL 2015.

The proposed time frame really destroys our hope to resolve the current family issues so we looked into other ways to potentially expedite the process. As I look through VJ members timeline and compare the data with USCIS field office processing time, I found that there is basically 3-4 months lagging in reporting. Meaning that when the field office states that they are processing May files, your August or September files will be touched VERY SOON. Having said that, I guess Portland filed office, with a February processing status, will not be working on my case for at least another 2 months. Based on this logic (could be silly logic) I think CHANGING MY ADDRESS TO ANOTHER FIELD OFFICE, whose processing time is more current, would help.

I am thinking about changing my address to Minnesota, where my wife is residing (we live separately due to grad school) and the Saint Paul, MN field office does have a April processing status. I am not trying to lie about my address or anything like that because I will be going back there for 2 months during winter break. In addition, I have long-term rent contract for Portland address still.

I realize that there is a RISK of my case being put BACK IN Initial Review stage, like what happened back in my first time changing address. However, I feel like the reward outweighs the risk so it's really tempting!!!

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

[Boiler 43,433]

My first thought is why is it so important? Sometimes that is easier to work around. You can travel and work. What else is there?

[whatittakes 0]

I cannot tell you our exact reason why we want it to happen fast. But I can think of two similar situations that people out there may face and these could be the reason having the GC asap is so important to them.

1. people need to have GC in order to show employer that they can work in long term without potential hiccups. Yes, with EAD you can work for a year or so but what happens if your GC interview went sour and you did not get it? Employers know the risk too and some of them may not want to extend you an offer because of that!! . Especially those jobs which employers have to invest a big amount of money in you up front (travel, hotel for trainings and sign-up bonus etc...)

2. in some cases, you as a student and without a GC you cannot enjoy the resident-status when it comes to paying tuition. The difference sometime comes up to tens of thousand dollars!!

[seth2013 39]

For #2: You can't get in state tuition at a state school in Oregon anyway, even with a green card (my husband was attending Portland State University when he got his green card, and he still didn't qualify).

The Portland USCIS office is full of nice, reasonable officers (all the ones we met, anyway). I'd wait it out.

[rockstar 0]

I would not change addresses AGAIN - sit tight. Find work-arounds for whatever situation you are in right now - you have an EAD and you have advanced parole I assume, so you can work and travel as needed. Employers do not want to sponsor visas, H1-B's, etc....but I have never seen a world class company reject an EAD because they are afraid the green card won't be approved. HR departments know that it would be illegal to dictate what type of documents an employee presents to show work auth. You can honestly answer any questions by stating that you have work authorization to work for any employer in the US and you are very excited to showcase your skills. In the case of tuition - it is what it is. Good luck to you.

[KDMG12 9]

I would not change addresses AGAIN - sit tight. Find work-arounds for whatever situation you are in right now - you have an EAD and you have advanced parole I assume, so you can work and travel as needed. Employers do not want to sponsor visas, H1-B's, etc....but I have never seen a world class company reject an EAD because they are afraid the green card won't be approved. HR departments know that it would be illegal to dictate what type of documents an employee presents to show work auth. You can honestly answer any questions by stating that you have work authorization to work for any employer in the US and you are very excited to showcase your skills. In the case of tuition - it is what it is. Good luck to you.

I agree that the best case is to sit tight. However, I truly understand how an EAD is not sufficient. My hubby was offered his dream job, just to have the offer revoked because he lacked permanent residency (and yes, he had his EAD). We are assuming it was an issue of security clearance. For example, most defense contractors require that you are a U.S. citizen. And this was a major player in the computer chip industry. I don't want to say names... we hope to reapply once he has the green card. We've been waiting since June 6th and still haven't moved to testing and interview. So trust me, I feel your pain! Hang in there!

[Boiler 43,433]

If it is security GC will not help.

[KDMG12 9]

If it is security GC will not help.

We aren't sure of the reason. He reiterated that he had an EAD, but the HR representative said to contact the company once he has his green card. Who knows.

[Boiler 43,433]

He gave that as an example.

[KDMG12 9]

He gave that as an example.

I know the OP gave that as an example. I was initially replying to a poster that commented that any world class company here in the States should accept your EAD as valid work authorization. I'm simply sharing my experience on how that isn't always true.

[CdnRN 40]

Sit tight and wait. If you don't feel comfortable posting your exact reasoning we can't give you clear explanations for how it may affect you - or won't (except what you gave as examples), but I definitely understand wanting privacy.