Did anyone of you apply for/do H1B while you had a greencard pending?

[exp 17]

Hi,

When looking for H1B + greencard the only information I find is getting a greencard after H1B. However, there is the rare situation of an H1B application in parallel with a family based greencard application.

Background: Usually non-immigrant visas require non-immigration intent. However, filing a family based greencard application (I-130) declares immigration intent. The only notable exception is the H1B visa which is dual-immigration intent. Hence it is the only visa which can be applied for during a pending greencard process. I am in this situation where we applied for family based greencard and my employer sponsored H1B via premium processing. I am not subject to quotas and schedules, so right now I expect H1B to be faster than the greencard although greencard process is fairly advanced. Most likely, the embassy will have two applications and schedule two interviews for me.

 

Did anyone of you do your H1B in parallel with your greencard or know someone who did?

I'd like to know your experiences and if there are any things along the way which I should take care of?

Thanks a lot!

 

 

 

 

[Boiler 45,411]

There are other visa's that allow dual intent, I would imagine you may have an upset Employer.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

What specific family based visa are you waiting for? You can certainly get a non immigrant visa with a family visa pending (I did, it depends on the circumstances) and there is nothing to preclude you getting an H1 (L1 is also dual intent) while waiting for your green card date to get current. I do know someone who got an H1 in the middle of his diversity visa process, entered on it and adjusted status when his DV number was current.  
 

( Not sure why an employer would be upset unless you dumped them as soon as you got the green card?)

[Boiler 45,411]

H1b is usually a lottery and not cheap.

[exp 17]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

There are other visa's that allow dual intent, I would imagine you may have an upset Employer.

Not at all. My "employer" tried everything they could. I should have written "one notable exception". It is the only one that applies to me. But it is irrelevant for this discussion.

 

17 minutes ago, Boiler said:

H1b is usually a lottery and not cheap.

Usually but not generally. I wrote "I am not subject to quotas and schedules" (Hint: my employer is academic).

 

35 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

What specific family based visa are you waiting for? You can certainly get a non immigrant visa with a family visa pending (I did, it depends on the circumstances) and there is nothing to preclude you getting an H1 (L1 is also dual intent) while waiting for your green card date to get current. I do know someone who got an H1 in the middle of his diversity visa process, entered on it and adjusted status when his DV number was current. 

"Spouse of a US citizen". My greencard process is pretty advanced. However, it will take 9-12 more months for my greencard interview at Embassy A (see https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LvnDvX95_tfWtTvsJJM49PDPPvPKal0WG2rgdZHhsz0/edit) . The crucial part is: I set my greencard interview at an embassy (Embassy A) where I currently reside but it is not my home country (I am moving to my home country ASAP). I would set my H1B interview at Embassy B in my home country. I am wondering if there is any issue changing my greencard process (via the National Visa Center) to Embassy B .... then both would run in my home country (and I expect Embassy B in my home country to be much faster in both regards).

 

What stage where you in your greencard process when you did H1B?

 

In general I am curious if there are any things I should take care of when handling both processes in parallel.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by exp

[Boiler 45,411]

What is Embassy A? Acre?

[exp 17]

35 minutes ago, Boiler said:

What is Embassy A? Acre?

Embassy A = Embassy Montreal (Canada), see linked Google Spreadsheet. It seems to have one of the longest waiting times of all countries.

 

Since I will be moving out of Canada soon, I will definitely put Embassy B (= my home country) onto the H1B application.

 

I am unsure whether I should try to ask National Visa Center (NVC) to transfer my greencard case to Embassy B as well ... or if there is any reason to better keep these two at different consulates.

 

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

58 minutes ago, exp said:

Embassy A = Embassy Montreal (Canada), see linked Google Spreadsheet. It seems to have one of the longest waiting times of all countries.

 

Since I will be moving out of Canada soon, I will definitely put Embassy B (= my home country) onto the H1B application.

 

I am unsure whether I should try to ask National Visa Center (NVC) to transfer my greencard case to Embassy B as well ... or if there is any reason to better keep these two at different consulates.

 

 

Are you a citizen of Canada? If not, you cannot keep a petition active in Montreal if you move somewhere else.

 

Transferring usually leads to a delay but as you point out, Montreal is so backlogged anyway it probably wouldn’t make a difference.

[exp 17]

32 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Are you a citizen of Canada? If not, you cannot keep a petition active in Montreal if you move somewhere else.

I am not. Hence I feel a bit stuck (re-entering may be hard once I leave due to Covid).

 

Why can't I keep the petition active in Montreal if I move somewhere else? Are there any official regulations on that?

 

Do you have experience by any chance on how to change consulates? I guess I will use AskNVC ... but what should I write them?

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 minute ago, exp said:

I am not. Hence I feel a bit stuck (re-entering may be hard once I leave due to Covid).

 

Why can't I keep the petition active in Montreal if I move somewhere else? Are there any official regulations on that?

 

Do you have experience by any chance on how to change consulates? I guess I will use AskNVC ... but what should I write them?

 

You have to be ordinarily (and legally) resident in a country to be able to interview there. So permanent resident, work visa, student visa, any of those types of things are fine, but if you’re not a citizen I’d assume you will lose your right of residence when you relocate elsewhere.

 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/notifying-national-visa-center-nvc-about-a-change-of-address-before-visa-interview.html

[exp 17]

28 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

You have to be ordinarily (and legally) resident in a country to be able to interview there. So permanent resident, work visa, student visa, any of those types of things are fine, but if you’re not a citizen I’d assume you will lose your right of residence when you relocate elsewhere.

Thank you, I did not know that!

 

One last question on this: I do have an address and residence in my home country. My work permit in Canada is valid until summer. However, I will not immideately leave Canada (but sometime during spring). Can I still ask NVC to change my address now or could there be issues? (It would be easiest if we had done the greencard via an attorney but we haven't).

 

 

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

The only potential issue I can think of is an interview earlier than you expect (before you have actually relocated), but if you’re able to easily fly there for the interview then it’s not really a problem. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

I'm thinking that once you're in the US on your H1B you can just adjust status 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

3 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

I'm thinking that once you're in the US on your H1B you can just adjust status 

I assumed that was the plan, in the event he gets the H1 before the immigrant visa. However if AOS is still taking so ridiculously long by the time he is here on a H1B, and if at that stage there is probably not much longer to go before his immigrant visa interview, then it might make a lot more sense (get a green card a lot faster) to fly home and interview and return as a LPR. 

[exp 17]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

The only potential issue I can think of is an interview earlier than you expect (before you have actually relocated), but if you’re able to easily fly there for the interview then it’s not really a problem. 

Thank you very much for your help on this! I submitted the request via AskNVC and hope things will go well

Indeed, this I won't see as a problem as I plan to move as soon as I can.

 

15 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

I'm thinking that once you're in the US on your H1B you can just adjust status 

 

10 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

I assumed that was the plan, in the event he gets the H1 before the immigrant visa. However if AOS is still taking so ridiculously long by the time he is here on a H1B, and if at that stage there is probably not much longer to go before his immigrant visa interview, then it might make a lot more sense (get a green card a lot faster) to fly home and interview and return as a LPR. 

Yes, if the H1B is faster (as I think and hope it would).

However, I'd still want to proceed with the greencard as planned in case H1B does not work out or is delayed.

 

If I can return home for the interview from my H1B and re-enter afterwards as LPR, that's even better.