Chicken7585

The officer did state that we appeared to be taken out of order as they were processing November cases and we filed in January.  We didnt ask about it too much, it just came up as we discussed our application and she told us she wasnt sure why we jumped the queue. Even then, the USCIS Processing times online are garbage. They may as well take it down because it doesnt help anyone at all. 

Well our green card arrived in the mail today, so from mailing the application to receiving the card in the mail was 117 days.  Looks like New Orleans has been moving faster recently. When I did my Naturalization there I was one of the last in my months "filers thread". 
 
 

Congratulations!!!!!

got my ead on Wednesday and got my ssn today.

1. https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do
 
2. https://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov/
Create an account and add your cases as paper filed cases (This one has been more accurate in my case)

Awesome, thats some great news. I plan on scheduling an Infopass on May 15th just to try something at least. Good luck preparing

We got our interview notice in the mail today for the end of May, so about a month out from today!
No updates online yet for uscis.gov or dhs.gov sites. No word on EAD or AP.
 
Gotta get started on medicals and interview prep! I know you guys are going to start seeing stuff in your mailboxes soon too!

I wrote a detailed review but probably posted it on another thread. I also put it in my timeline. You should be able to find it there.

My interview was at the DC office, which is actually located in Fairfax, VA. It was scheduled for 12.15 pm but we got there around 11.35. After going through security, we were directed to the interview waiting area, which was upstairs. I proceeded to check in but was told to wait 10 minutes since it was too early. At that time there were hardly anybody there, maybe one or two other couple. After waiting for a bit, I checked in at the counter by giving the lady the interview notice and was told to wait till my name was called. By then more and more people arrived and by 12.15 the entire waiting area were almost full of people. 
 
We didn't wait too long. The IO came out and called my name maybe 5-10 minutes after 12.15. She brought us in to her office and asked us to sit down. She asked for our IDs and my passport. She started by explaining the procedures for the interview. She would first verify the information in the applications that we submitted, then she would ask my husband a few questions, then me. It seemed that she had already gone through the application as the forms were all jotted and marked in red ink. She asked my husband his name, date of birth, address, previous address, occupation, father and mother's names and dates of birth. She asked me more or less the same things, just to be sure that the answers match what was written in the application forms.
 
Then she proceeded to ask questions about our relationship (I am a bit blurry on which questions were asked to me or my husband but these are the things that she asked):
- how we met
- when we got married 
- where we got married
- who married us
- who came with us
- what we did after the ceremony
- how, why and where we decided to get married
- how our parents reacted when we told them that we were gonna get married
- what we do on the weekends, free time, etc
- where we currently live, i.e. is it a house/apartment etc
- significant events that happened since we started dating until we got married
- where and when we have traveled
- why we moved from Baltimore to San Francisco to DC
 
The entire time she took copious notes on her computer (we couldn't see what she wrote but she was typing away diligently) and she seemed to really care about our timeline and details, even asking how to spell the names of a couple friends that I mentioned. Then she asked if there is more evidence that we'd like to add to the file. I gave her a joint bank account statement, renters insurance, statements of rent payment showing that we both pay rent for the same place and also a photo album. She went through every page of the photo album (I printed about 100 photos) and she asked us who some people in the photos were. She took a few photos to keep. Then she went through the standard yes or no questions in the i-485 form. 
 
After that she said that our case was an 'obvious approval' but because she was new (apparently it was her first day interviewing) she needed her supervisor to sign off on it first. She said we should hear from them soon. All in all I thought she was very thorough but also professional and nice. The interview lasted at least 40 minutes.

We got our interview notice in the mail today for the end of May, so about a month out from today!
No updates online yet for uscis.gov or dhs.gov sites. No word on EAD or AP.
 
Gotta get started on medicals and interview prep! I know you guys are going to start seeing stuff in your mailboxes soon too!

Update!!!
 
We got our interview notice in the mail today!! We have our interview on 5/1 in New Orleans! Can’t wait! We are really surprised because New Orleans is typically slow. 
 
We we thought that something was happening with our application because a few days ago the online case numbers started showing as invalid! We were really concerned but I guess it was just a glitch once they started processing our application. 

I’m so glad people from our month are getting interview schedule requests already! I hope some of that luck rubs off on your fellow VJ friends!
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

I guess bye-bye 90 day EAD
 
 

Hello friends,
I did my interview on March 8, now am approved.
PD Dec 4
Biometric Jan 2
Interview March 8.
Approved March 12. 
 
Now waiting for my card to come in mail. 
 
Meanwhile, my status still on interview is scheduled. But I registered an account in UScis so I was able to see more accurate status and history.

Heard of quite a few such 'offers' on various forums; usually a two-way street. Desperate Indian visa seekers jumping from company A to company B to company C in short order, and shady Indian consultancies covering their legal behinds in the somewhat fraudulent processes. The webs that are weaved..

Sounds way beyond a reasonable amount.  Unless that's equivalent to a couple of week's pay.  If it is, congrats, if not... I'd say no way to those clauses, or the whole thing.  Assuming it's months of pay, the employer seems to hold all the cards and it is extremely onerous.
 
Good luck.

That is very strange.  The only thing I've heard of is that if a company gives you money to relocate (let's say, 5,000 cash or reimbursement for moving company, etc.) and you resign in less than 12, you have to repay that sum money they gave you.
 
The wording on the contract is also odd because there are 2 ways of counting the 18 months. Usually, in contracts, they add a sentence mentioning what happens if one way of counting is 18 months and the other is less than 18 months. 
 
Also, 25,000 is too much. That is more than the costs of putting together the H1B. Plus, my understanding is that it is illegal for an employee to pay for the costs of an H1B visa so technically they would be making you reimburse them for it if you resign (if I understand correctly).

I’ve never in nearly 30 years of working heard of any financially punitive implications of resigning, and I’ve known plenty of people who work for (reputable) consultancies. 
Those numbers are big and yes unless that’s like less than a months pay, almost verges on indentured labor. That’s even apart from the fact that normally the notice period is the same for both employer and employee, not lopsided like it is here. I don’t see any exceptions for things like unacceptable working conditions or any other kind of situation that a reasonable person would resign for. Looks like a situation ripe for - even designed for - exploitation of the employee.
 
sounds like you may have got yourself involved with a visa mill? Most companies who sponsor H1B visas happily wear the full cost themselves without threatening their employees. Personally I wouldn’t touch this company with a barge pole. 

I'll preface my response by pointing out that I am not an attorney and have not personally participated in a contract with said provisions.
 
In almost every state, working is considered "at-will" or some similar form of it. The specifics do matter here. Anyway, the point is the company entered into an agreement with the worksite, and holding you personally and financially accountable to their commitments does not follow that model. A company can, in exchange for some benefit, provide services as an investment in you as an individual so that you can use those at your workplace...and then in some circumstances require compensation if you do not meet a minimum commitment. For instance, my company provides tuition assistance, but it is conditional on a certain minimum grade and competition of the course(s). If you choose to terminate the employment agreement before the end of a reimbursed semester (or are fired for due cause), then you are required to provide repayment of those benefits. But something like trying to apply this to their recruitment efforts, their efforts to find a worksite, legal costs, etc. just does not hold up. Even training that they conduct would generally not qualify either. Maybe there is an argument with the housing and relocation side of things...that I don't know how it is viewed.
 
Legal fees and expenses incurred as a result of the H-1B process generally fall under USCIS and/or DOL regulations. Certain aspects of it (the largest fee sections) are prohibited from being paid by the beneficiary. They could get in trouble (fines or a suspension) for violating that. In some circumstances, they can deduct other costs from a paycheck so long as it does not fall below the prevailing wage. Given that most H-1B cases already tend to err on the side of paying as close to the prevailing wage as possible (especially through an agency), trying to recoup any of that would be a challenge IMO. Basically, trying to charge you for any H-1B process other than your own visa related fees can be a liability for them if the DOL is informed.
Some other info on this aspect: http://www.immig-chicago.com/h-1b/h-1b-who-pays-the-fees/
 
Beyond that, I'd be hard-pressed to find an employer try to actually enforce these kinds of provisions. While the above may be their policies, until they actually try to act on it, they haven't violated anything AFAIK. It seems more like a threat. That said, I'd be very wary about employment with any organization that tried to force agreement to these terms...it rubs me the wrong way and would make me feel like just a pass-through money source.

Good points.
 
re the bit about wondering if it would be enforced - it’s not clear from the original post, but if the contract is signed in India it may be enforceable there despite the contradictions to US law and practice that you point out.

Good point...I have no clue what the labor laws in India are. But if he were to be in the US at the time of employment, good luck trying to enforce that internationally. It just might be an issue upon returning home...

I don’t know either, but I’ve seen a lot of bad press about H1 consultancies that operate out of India.
its easy to force him to return home - once his employment is terminated he has to leave the US, unless he can find another H1 sponsor.

Have you researched this employer? The language, mistakes and typos in the agreement make it sound like a scam. 
 
 

I also thought some of the wording sounded suspect, like “will lose tremendous amounts of money”. 
 
Can also google “ H1 scam India “ to come up with suspect companies/consultancies 

On further research seems like it's quite a common thing - but it's not completely clear if it's enforceable unless the company can prove their numbers: 
 
https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/breaking-an-employment-contract-while-in-h1b-visa--1559483.html