Postponing the Ds 260 (EB3)

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

Hello visa journey people. A  question for experienced immigrants

•  How much can i postpone submitting my DS 260  and legal documents to  NVC ? I have approved petition  on the EB3 (other workers) program, Priority date is 9 June 2022and i have paid the consular fee ( fee bill) . According the  Visa bulletin now, they are processing cases  from August 2020 . My intentions are to  go on a seasonal job  from January until April 2024 on a H2B visa .
•  If i get denied an H2B visa ,does this reduces my chances to have a positive outcome on the EB3 visa interview . Ps.  since 2014 i have been working on seasonal jobs in US every year and i don't have any visa denials 
• does anyone have experience traveling to USA  after approved petition from USCIS ? Share your journey ,please. 

 Every information will be very helpful  and appreciated !

[SalishSea 17,818]

5 hours ago, BulgarianGuy92 said:

Hello visa journey people. A  question for experienced immigrants

•  How much can i postpone submitting my DS 260  and legal documents to  NVC ? I have approved petition  on the EB3 (other workers) program, Priority date is 9 June 2022and i have paid the consular fee ( fee bill) . According the  Visa bulletin now, they are processing cases  from August 2020 . My intentions are to  go on a seasonal job  from January until April 2024 on a H2B visa .
•  If i get denied an H2B visa ,does this reduces my chances to have a positive outcome on the EB3 visa interview . Ps.  since 2014 i have been working on seasonal jobs in US every year and i don't have any visa denials 
• does anyone have experience traveling to USA  after approved petition from USCIS ? Share your journey ,please. 

 Every information will be very helpful  and appreciated !

I believe H2B has reached the numerical cap for this fiscal year, has it not?   I read that at USCIS.gov.

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

21 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

I believe H2B has reached the numerical cap for this fiscal year, has it not?   I read that at USCIS.gov.

For 2023 yes, but i am planning to go  From January until April 2024.  

[appleblossom 2,478]

1 hour ago, BulgarianGuy92 said:

For 2023 yes, but i am planning to go  From January until April 2024.  

 

The cap has been reached for the first half of FY 2024. https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-non-agricultural-workers/cap-count-for-h-2b-nonimmigrants

 

Re: your question about the DS-260, I believe you have a year in which you have to proceed, so you can delay things for quite a while. You can wait to submit the DS-260 & docs. Then once you are DQ'ed, you can also delay the interview if needed.  But none of this is relevant if your PD isn't current anyway? When do you actually want to move?

 

Oh, and I travelled to the US several times after the petition was approved and before I got my immigrant visa. No issues at all for me, I entered on my O1 visa the month after my IV petition was approved, and then went backwards and forwards before I moved permanently on my IV in July.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by appleblossom

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

20 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

The cap has been reached for the first half of FY 2024. https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-non-agricultural-workers/cap-count-for-h-2b-nonimmigrants

 

Re: your question about the DS-260, I believe you have a year in which you have to proceed, so you can delay things for quite a while. You can wait to submit the DS-260 & docs. Then once you are DQ'ed, you can also delay the interview if needed.  But none of this is relevant if your PD isn't current anyway? When do you actually want to move?

 

Oh, and I travelled to the US several times after the petition was approved and before I got my immigrant visa. No issues at all for me, I entered on my O1 visa the month after my IV petition was approved, and then went backwards and forwards before I moved permanently on my IV in July.

 

 

•  Yes my PD isn't current , actually now NVC is processing cases from August 2020  (my PD is in June2022).
• i want to move and start working for my EB3 sponsor as soon as possible, but in the meantime  i want to work a little bit more on H2B,  so i can save some money  in advance ,wile waiting to get scheduled for interview .

Ps. the employer that i am working for on H2B is in fish processing industry in Alaska , they hire a lot of people from eastern Europe , Philippines ,Mexico and etc.  I like this employer a lot because the company covers visa expenses, tickets, hotels , offers affordable housing and meal (15$ per day) and a lot of overtime. 

[appleblossom 2,478]

1 minute ago, BulgarianGuy92 said:

•  Yes my PD isn't current , actually now NVC is processing cases from August 2020  (my PD is in June2022).

 

Yes, but you can't be scheduled for an interview until a visa is available to you anyway.  So depending on when you want to move, you may not need to delay things, as the Visa Bulletin and waiting for your PD to become current will do that for you. 

 

Where are you getting the August 2020 date from? It's not on this month's VB so wondering if you're looking at an old one?

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

19 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

Yes, but you can't be scheduled for an interview until a visa is available to you anyway.  So depending on when you want to move, you may not need to delay things, as the Visa Bulletin and waiting for your PD to become current will do that for you. 

 

Where are you getting the August 2020 date from? It's not on this month's VB so wondering if you're looking at an old one?

 

[appleblossom 2,478]

Oh, I thought you were EB-3, didn't spot you came under 'other worker'. 

 

So when do you actually want to move in an ideal world? You've got quite a wait anyway so unless you want to delay a really long time, I think the PD wait will take care of that for you. 

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

2 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

Oh, I thought you were EB-3, didn't spot you came under 'other worker'. 

 

So when do you actually want to move in an ideal world? You've got quite a wait anyway so unless you want to delay a really long time, I think the PD wait will take care of that for you. 

 well, the best will be  In April or May 2024, realistically speaking i don't see myself with the EB3 visa in 2024, hopefully 2025 ...i don't feel motivated working in Europe 

[appleblossom 2,478]

5 minutes ago, BulgarianGuy92 said:

 well, the best will be  In April or May 2024, realistically speaking i don't see myself with the EB3 visa in 2024, hopefully 2025 ...i don't feel motivated working in Europe 

 

I think you're fine then. I'd just carry on with the NVC stage and then delay the interview if needed when you get to that point - but that's likely to still be a long way off given the PD has only moved 2 months in the past year. 

 

Will your employer be happy to wait that long though? 

Edited October 19, 2023 by appleblossom

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

1 minute ago, appleblossom said:

 

I think you're fine then. I'd just carry on with the NVC stage and then delay the interview if needed when you get to that point - but that's likely to still be a long way off given the PD has only moved 2 months in the past year. 

yes, for this year i think not going to give anymore employment based visas .  140 000 employment based visas  per year , hopefully next year there will be some movement in the visa bulletin .

 I have a friend that he got his EB3 visa for around 2 years , but he started his process in 2018 .

[appleblossom 2,478]

2 minutes ago, BulgarianGuy92 said:

yes, for this year i think not going to give anymore employment based visas .  140 000 employment based visas  per year , hopefully next year there will be some movement in the visa bulletin .

 I have a friend that he got his EB3 visa for around 2 years , but he started his process in 2018 .

 

It was current a couple of years ago, I think just very few applicants compared to normal then because of Covid. Employment based can be super quick if EB1 and sometimes EB2, but can also be really slooooowwww!

 

Good luck, I hope it all works with your timescales. 

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

1 minute ago, appleblossom said:

 

It was current a couple of years ago, I think just very few applicants compared to normal then because of Covid. Employment based can be super quick if EB1 and sometimes EB2, but can also be really slooooowwww!

 

Good luck, I hope it all works with your timescales. 

 Thank you for the quick response and  all the information you gave 

[SalishSea 17,818]

5 hours ago, BulgarianGuy92 said:

For 2023 yes, but i am planning to go  From January until April 2024.  

The federal FY starts October 1.   So, there will not be an H2B visa available for you in January.

[BulgarianGuy92 1]

15 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

The federal FY starts October 1.   So, there will not be an H2B visa available for you in January.

 i will have more information in the end of November  or early December . Now i just have a job offer .