Questions about filing for Green Card via marriage while EB-2 GC in progress

[pastorom 3]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking here for a while, but decided i should finally create an account to ask some questions, the answers to which i've been trying to figure out, and am not sure about. I've searched across a lot of forums, but this information isn't easy to come by, because there don't seem to be all that many cases like this (or maybe i'm just not typing in the right search terms).

Some background.

I'm on a H1B visa, and my firm started my EB2 GC application in 2010. I have an approved I-140 with a Priority Date of Oct 2010 (And an A - Number). Since i'm an Indian citizen, this application has languished until the Priority Date becomes current.

I got married a little while ago, and my wife is a US citizen. I had hopes the the executive order would allow me to apply for a employment based I-485, and we wouldn't need to start a new GC application, but that doesn't seem to be happening. So I'm thinking of applying for a GC via my Wife, since there isn't a wait time there.

So i had a few questions. I'm trying to do this on my own, without a laywer, so some questions may be basic. Apologies if so. :-)

1) In the I-130 and I-485, where it asks me for my A-number, should i be entering the A-number i have from my employment application? Or should i leave this blank, since i don't have an A-number for *this* application?

2) Do i need a 325-A for the I-130 portion, and another identical one for the I-485 portion?

3) Both my wife and I make decent money, and her income alone is sufficient for the I-864 form. In this situation, does me filing a I-864A as a supplemental income help my case in any way? Does not filing it hurt my case?

4) My current H1B is valid until 2016. Even the most pessimistic scenarios suggest that a marriage green card takes about 6 months. In this case, does applying for a I-765 (EAD) even make sense? I guess it's free, so why not, but trying to see if it's a bad idea to skip.

5) And finally, what are my requirements in terms of notifying my employer about this application? This is not an ethical question, but more of a legal one - do they only need to be notified once i have a green card in hand and am no longer on a H1B, or do i need to inform them beforehand so that they need to file something in advance. Relationships with my employer are perfectly fine, but i don't want to have to tell them about this application if i don't need to.

I'm hoping someone on this forum has been through this situation and can offer some insight. Thanks a lot!!

[Hypnos 6,578]

1) Yes.

2) Yes.

3) No.

4) It's free so you may as well, even if you don't use it. It also has the advantage that you can work for any employer, not just the one you are authorised for on your H-1B.

5) I don't think you are obligated to tell them anything.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Hypnos

[pastorom 3]

Awesome, thanks a lot! that helps a fair bit. i'm going to fill out all the forms and see if anything else sticks out.

[pastorom 3]

A few follow up questions to this.

1) I've repeatedly read that i shouldn't be leaving fields blank. Use 'None' or 'N/A', but for date fields (for e.g. pertaining to previous marriages, which i haven't had any of), i can't type 'None' there, because the PDF won't let me. Is it ok to just leave that blank, or hand fill in N/A?

2) I-130 Part C Line 14. I originally entered the US as a student, and have since left and reentered the country multiple times on vacation etc. Does the I-94 # and expiration date here refer to my *first* I-94 or my latest? I've turned the first i-94 in when i left the country the first time i went for a vacation, so i'm not even sure how i'd look the number up.

3) I-130 Part C Line 19. I obviously live in the US now, but do i still need to put down a foreign address? My passport lists a foreign address i haven't lived at in over 10 years, but do i need to put this down here for the sake of consistency?

thanks in advance!!