EB-3 Professional Immigrant Receives Green Cards Whole Family in One Year

Year: 2018
Company industry: Manufacturing and sales of electronic technology products
Expatriate employee: Mr. Xiang
Place of birth: Hong Kong, China
Position: IT Manager
timeline:
2017/09 Filing of PERM labor certification application
2018/01 PERM labor certification application approved
2018/04 Simultaneous filing of I-140 and I-485 applications
2018/05 Early 2018 Received USCIS Notice of Retroactive Filing (RFE) for I-140
End of 2018/05 Submission of additional documents
2018/06 Received I-140 Approval Notice
2018/09 Received I-485 Interview Notice
2018/10 Successful I-485 Interview for Professional Immigration, Family of Three Receives Green Cards

Case process:
Mr. Xiang first entered the H-1B work visa lottery in 2015 and was lucky enough to win the lottery for three years, and in 2017, the company expressed its willingness to file an EB-3 immigrant petition for him. After much comparison, the company approached Tsang & Associates and engaged us to handle both the EB-3 petition and the H-1B extension for Mr. Xiang.

Tsang & Associates first filed a PERM Permanent Labor Certification application for Mr. Xiang in September 2017, which was successfully approved in January 2018. Since Mr. Xiang was born in Hong Kong EB-3 Current (space available), we followed up by filing his I-140 and I-485 applications in April 2018. Because the USCIS is getting stricter and stricter in reviewing professional immigration cases, a supplemental notice was received in May 2018, requesting additional proof of the company’s ability to pay (ability to pay). Mr. Zang’s team responded quickly to the RFE, prepared and submitted the supplemental documents in only two weeks, and received the I-140 approval letter one week later.

The daughter’s I-485 adjustment of status was filed later than her parents’ because her I-94 had expired, and the parents had not yet scheduled the daughter’s interview when they received the interview notice.

From the preparation of the job position, job duties, application for prevailing wage, the recruitment process before the PERM application, the recruitment summary, the submission of the PERM labor certification application, to the approval of the labor certification, the I-140 application, the I-485 adjustment of status, and finally the successful interview for the green card, it took just over a year. Mr. Xiang is very grateful to Tsang & Associates for their professional services along the way, which enabled the family to obtain their green cards and settle down in the United States in a short period of time.

Lawyer Comments:
EB-3 career immigrants are divided into three categories: EB-3A, Professionals with Bachelor’s Degree, and EB-3B, Skilled Workers with more than two years of work experience. These two categories of immigrants are on the same schedule; EB-3 unskilled workers are in the “other worker” category and need to wait longer for the schedule.

Beginning October 1, 2017, all EB class occupational immigration adjustment of status applications require an interview, which was previously not required. The I-485 interview is of great concern to applicants for professional immigration after the new policy is implemented.

An attorney is allowed to accompany you during the I-485 interview within the U.S. The accompanying attorney will play a very critical role. Before the interview, the attorney will go over all the documents with you and rehearse the interview questions, such as the U.S. employer, the job title and content of the job, the company, previous work and study in the U.S., maintaining legal status, entering the U.S., whether there is a criminal record, working illegally, etc., and explain clearly how the interview process should go so that the applicant has a clear understanding. During the interview, the attorney can call off some untimely questions on the spot and seek communication with the Supervisor to ensure that the applicant is not in a passive and vulnerable position in the process. If there are any questions during the interview, the attorney can also communicate directly with the interviewer after the interview.

*To protect customer privacy, customer names are pseudonyms.