Persica

H1B and VAWA are two separate tracks. If you choose to go through consular processing for h1b , your vawa processing will remain unaffected regardless of the approval or denial of the h1b. So no worries there. My best wishes. 

Just passed through TSA on my new AP! I was very nervous but I made it. They took me to the secondary inspection room and looked through the documents and then asked standard questions and then let me go. I encourage everyone who is able to travel and doesn’t have anything barring them from coming back to definitely take the opportunity of their APs!

I was in the same boat in 2021. I filed VAWA in Nov 2019, my lawful status through h1b expired in may 2020. So you are not accruing unlawful status until you have a pending I485, but you are "out of status" since you are not on a valid visa since the h1b / OPT expired. I know this is confusing but US immigration law was intentionally designed to be confusing. You cannot extend your h1b from within the country if you file for h1b AFTER you become out of status. You can go through H1B consular processing which means leaving the US and applying through a consulate in another country, preferably your country of citizenship. Obviously its a hassle, its expensive and time consuming. And there is a risk of getting stuck outside the US. You can live and work in the US with your C9 EAD and travel with advance parole. Going the h1b route doesn't make much sense at this time. Just my two and a half cents.

I finally got my green card in hand. They had sent it to my lawyer's office.
I just wanted to encourage everyone who is waiting for their day to come. Even though you are going through this scary roller coaster now, just know it will eventually come to a stop. So just hang on tight, don't give up, don't loose hope keep fighting and  keep going.
I have been through it all, Bad marriage, Stokes, Removal Proceedings and even Arrest record. All this to say if my roller coaster came to a stop, so will yours. Have faith and stay strong. Even if you loose hope, because I know I did many times,  pick yourself up and keep pushing. 
Many of us, as we are waiting we miss out on alot of things like weddings, baby showers, graduations, separation from children we left behind, missing our families and even sad events like funerals. You have to believe the Supreme Being who brought you here will take good care of you. Your prayers and your tears will not be in vain. You will win!
 
 

I am so sorry to hear about your grandma and your mother. I wish your mother speedy recovery. 
 
Since your mom is very sick then what you can do is to expedite your AP. Get a doctor's letter from your home country and let your congresswoman know that you have an emergency and if she can contact USCIS on your behalf to expedite. Send that letter to your congress person as well. 

no really. after the biomatrices it just sit there in the que. 
However, if you are facing any hardship you can always expedite by writing to Vermont or reach out to your congress/senator person. 

It is taking 9 to 10 months on average. 
I know someone recently got approved and it took her 280 days. 

Send a letter to the local office asking no to issue the NTA and submit a copy of your I-485  and I-360 receipts.

You fail to realize that holding your I-485 is a courtesy, they do not have to do it.  Furthermore, if you file an appeal on the I-485 they denied, it will be denied.  Your application was adjudicated and denied based upon the I-130, it has nothing to do with you writing a letter.  You are wasting your money filing an appeal.  

Yeah what @Rhema1 said. There's no reason to file I-290B in this case. I'm not even sure if you can reopen just to transfer an I-485.

It's normal for you to be confused at this point.  Your attorneys should have known that by asking you to apply a new I-485 when the first one was not yet denied at the time, led USCIS to be in the presence of two I-485s. So they choose not to accept your request to put the first one on HOLD. But instead,  they accepted your second I-485 and issued you a receipt of notice along with your I-360 and new I-765/I-131.
In this case, filing a reopening is trying to keep two I-485s alive. 
By doing so, you will be confusing yourself and even the uscis. 
Many of us,  before coming to this forum, had been misled by some lawyers. 
I think @Demise @Pinkrlion @HustlingStill are right in their advices.
But you're free to follow as from the beginning of your vawa process the advices of your lawyers for they are the ones dealing with your case. 
But again, USCIS will never issue an NTA without looking whether you have another qualifying benefits pending with them or not. 
They are the ones who have issued you a second receipt notice for the new I-485 knowingfully well that the first one was denied because the I-130 has been withdrawn. 
So, do not panic, all will be well. 

You already refile I-485 so you are fine.

If you filled new i485 the old will no longer be valid. You cannot have two i485 it confuses uscis . You are fine, because you have new i485 and i765 you do not need to do anything. 
 

if you have i360 pending, Immigration already knows about all the file. You dont need to worry about NTA

Hi 
I don't think it will be wise for you to file any motion to reopen that case. 
Just rely on your new I-485 for all the other cases are henceforth linked to that. 
USCIS will not put you in a removal procedure or NTA because you have also a pending I-360. 
Before it comes to this, they always find out to see whether there is no other pending qualifying cases with them linked to your Alien number. 
Or,  in my own point of view, if you are still afraid, you can still send to them, along with the denial letter a copy of your new I-485 and I-360 receipt of notice.
In all cases, you are good. 
 

Should've transferred the old I-485 to the I-360 and saved yourself another filing fee but oh well. They will see in the system that you have another I-485 pending, shrug, and do nothing. They won't serve you with an NTA if you have some other benefit application pending before USCIS.
 
Just leave the old I-485 alone. It's dead.

Hi Rhema,
 
Thank you for your insights. I hope things work out well. As far as I understand it doesn't matter that there were two 485s. We filed the concurrent to vermont because we had to file before getting the denial. If we had waited for them to respond to the hold in abeyance letters then we could've gotten a denial and we would not have yet filed the vawa concurrently. This would definitely put someone in removal proceedings because they haven't filed for any other benefit. This is what my attorney told me. They do it for other clients as well since the vawa goes to vermont and the letters go to NBC and local FO. So it's always better to file a vawa concurrently then waiting to hear back if they will hold in abeyance especially in cases like mine where spouse already withdrew I130 and denial comes sooner. I'm still worried if I might be put into removal because I don't yet have my receipt notices and the different USCIS offices don't coordinate with each other so well. It's like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
 
The point of letters was to save the time in getting EAD, which now would take another 8-10 months. I don't know if we can save that now. And I hope I won't be put into removal proceeding before I get vawa receipt notices. 

Sorry for asking you this question. 
Did you send the I-485 form before the denial of the family's one or after its denial?
Because, I'm just guessing. 
If the family I-485 was not yet denied,  and it happens that you filled a new form I-485 along with new I-765 and I-131 and be asking the USCIS trough a letter to keep the other pending I-485 on HOLD. They May not do it because they are aware that you have filled a new I-485 form. It is like you were asking them to keep two I-485s.
My advice is just to wait until you receive all your notices of action receipts. Then, you will go from there because everything will become new. 
I don't think they will immediately put you in a removal procedure, because before doing so, they will check to see whether you are have not filed another qualifying benefits through your Alien number. 
Don't be afraid, 
Trust in God through Jesus-Christ his son and YOU WILL BE FINE .
 

That’s the issue with 485, but try to communicate with your local congressperson so they can see what’s going on. You can also inquire on the USCIs website for not receiving the notice. 
 
You can also find a free consultation online and ask an immigration lawyer about this situation with the 485 since your attorney isn’t responding. 
 
what is the time period between the spouse withdrawing the petition and you filing the vawa? Maybe they haven’t received your letter 

Yoi can just refile, dont stress out.
 

Don’t stress out you can refile again. We are on the same boat some of us even had to leave the States and won’t be able to come back before the decision. You can apply to some types of aid with the prima facie till you get your EAD approved. 
 
just work on your vawa and let things go, stress will damage your health, meanwhile do meditation, yoga, short or long walks in fresh air and drink lots of water. it helps a lot with managing stress. You can also find hobbies that you enjoy to take your mind off the stressful things.
 
Good luck to you and take it easy, hope we all get approved sooner.

Hi everyone,

I was able to send the vawa package on January 3rd which got delivered on 4th. We also sent hold in abeyance letters to both NBC and Local Field Office that got delivered on 4th. Today my I-485 case got updated to "Denied" and it say notice will include information on what I need to do next. I assume my previous AP/EAD which was still pending is gone now? I don't know when I will get the receipt notice for my VAWA. Is there anything I can do to save my previous AP/EAD application? Does anyone know what is going to happen now in terms of my presence in the country? thanks and appreciate it. 
 
Even the pills don't help me anymore and I've been trying to keep it together somehow.

Can someone also please tell me why the hold in abeyance letters did not work? We had sent one to NBC and one to the FO with the VW docs. I feel devastated right now. Everything takes so long with the USCIS but the did not even take a 3 weeks between holidays to deny 485 even after hold in abeyance letters were sent.

Up to two months  - based on other forum members' recent experiences. 

it used to take that long. However, lately it is taking longer than usual.