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How long did your U.S. green card take?

17 points by makecheck ↗ HN
The U.S. green card process seems to take an astonishingly long time (assuming you aren't taking advantage of corrupt government employees). A feeling of lock-in with your current job adds to the frustration, because quitting can jeopardize or reset a permanent residency application that has been going on for months.

U.S. immigrants, how long did your card take? Did it seem to benefit from theoretically-irrelevant factors like which company you worked for? And, does it seem like the high tech industry is any faster for acquiring a green card (compared to, say, these people who seem to get cards after crossing the border under questionable circumstances)?

28 comments

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craigbellot
I'm still on an H1-B work visa for 3 years. They said they will consider it once my term is nearing its end.
white
I consider you're talking about your employers, aren't you? As far as I know H1B can be extended to 5 years at max (2+2+1), so you should better hurry up. Propose them to share the costs of legal process if it will make them move up. I doubt you will have fun extending your advance parole and work authorization every year while waiting for your EBGC.

Keep in mind that there are some restrictions on owning the company which brought you on H1B and which sponsored EBGC for you. If your lawyer doesn't know anything about that, fire him and find another one.

john_gunther
Your mileage for responses will be higher if you post in an immigration forum/newsgroup.
davidw
Looks like he's getting some very useful responses right here. I'm amazed at all the shit the US foists off on these people, and am nervous the authorities are going to be a big hassle for my wife if we ever move back there.
white
Good lawyers help.

What also matters is what group are you fitting into. Having a diploma which is evaluated to Master Degree of American university speeds up a process significantly. Process with Bachelor Degree is pretty slow. There is also an extra quota for those who have American education. And the process is much faster for those ones.

My EBGC process took about 20 months for the whole family. It could be faster, but I had to reschedule fingerprint exams for 2 or 3 months, being out of the country. My lawyers were pretty expensive, but they are much worth it. :) I have MS of CS from foreign university. It was evaluated to the Master Degree. I also have a bunch of certificates, but I don't think they play any difference.

Originally coming on H1B for two years and H2 for the rest of the family, I didn't have to prolong it and I also didn't use advance parole and work authorization (although, my lawyers made them for me).

I'm working for a pretty small company (less then 20 employees). My original position was not anything special, a regular IT fit, so I don't think it matters.

I have spent a lot of time learning the whole process and one of the most important concerns is the lawyers. They can help or they can kill.

Feel free to drop me a message to w at qwe3 dot com if you have any more questions.

P.S. I have a friend in SF waiting for his EBGC for almost 6 years now. Nothing, yet.

seshagiri
Could you please share the name of the lawyers you approached. You are quite true that the lawyers can make or kill it. The application process will be at least half the trouble if you have a good lawyer representing you. Also, I have heard the lawyer fee can run up to $10K. Is this true?
white
Well, speaking about the lawyers fees, the sky is the limit. ;) I know typically a good and expensive lawyer firm can charge around $15K for the family of three (well, this includes the official payments for the process, but doesn't include the medical exam and a few more minor fees). You can always negotiate though.

I've been working with David Fullmer from Ivener & Fullmer, LLP. The web site is http://usworkvisa.com/. You can contact me personally and I can provide a reference. They are based in Los Angeles.

tomh
+1 to the comment about good lawyers making or breaking; my wife went with Paul Parsons located in Austin, TX - http://www.immigrate-usa.com/ - paid less than $10k (though it was not an EC1/2 case), and got a green card in less than 2 years time, despite moving to another state during this process and having to transfer the case. We consider ourselves lucky to have worked with him and his team.
white
My congrats. Case transfer between states often leads to unexpected delays. Actually, it's one of the most popular reasons to get your case delayed for years - it's being simply lost.
raju
Hi White. I just mailed you regarding some questions I had. I hope thats Ok. My email address is in my profile. Thanks!
white
Well anyway you still can play GC lottery. If there is a chance, why not trying it? ;) My brother was one among hundred of thousands who's used that chance.
krishna2
The lottery is available to only certain countries' applicants. (Generally the countries which do not use the full quota due to lack of applicants).
aristus
My wife's took 5 months, but then she married a local. :) But before that was a three-year tragicomedy with all the problems you bring up, plus another nasty one: the "visa discount". Large employers love to cut your salary by 15-20% if they can get away with it. What are you going to do? Quit?
tomh
One company's unofficial policy was that they would let foreigners located in the US 'volunteer' at their job with no pay and decide to support their visa after three months of 'volunteering'. Not sure about the legality on that one...
raghus
I could probably write several pages on this, so I'll try and keep it succinct: much depends on what category you file under. Employment-based Green Cards are filed typically under EB1/2 or 3. Make sure you don't let your employer and the lawyer make all your choices. Do some research.

An EB1 filing is the fastest - but you typically need a PhD or equivalent to qualify. Most other filings are in EB2/EB3 which approximate a MS/BS educational equivalent. EB1s could go as 'fast' as 1-2 years wheras EB2/EB3 could take 3-5 years.

These are typical numbers - counting from the day you file. I know folks that got it in just over a year in EB2 and folks that are still waiting 6 years after filing. All the best!

hollerith
assuming you aren't taking advantage of corrupt government employees

Bribery happens here less often than you probably think.

I have lived in the US for 47 years and never has anyone confided in me that they bribed an employee of the US government although of course I have read about bribery in the newspapers.

The Feds pay their employees enough to live comfortably, and an employee never knows whether someone offering a bribe is working with the FBI on a sting operation.

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mynameishere
All I had to do was trade some beads for Manhattan.

(Scratches head).

vbrhjajcn
I came here in 2001 to join Microsoft on H1. Worked there for almost 4 years, then got fed up and left. Joined a small company in Los Angeles, transferred my H1 there. My GC process was restarted. Finally received my green card in the end of the last year. It took me almost 7 years. I have MS in Economics and PhD in CS from foreign universities.
semigeek
4 months; I had a really good lawyer and qualified for EB1. Another thing to consider is what processing office you will go thru - the line is longer say in San Francisco than it is in Pittsburgh.
white
I assume you're not talking about the whole EBGC process. I don't believe it's possible to file a case and pass through all steps in just four months. And actually I never heard it can happen in less then 10 months.
watmough
I came over from UK on a L1-B, with a big oil company.

About 98 or so, the process was started and I got my GC in June 2001. The lawyers were Amdur and Amdur in Houston who were great to work with. I have no idea of the cost though I imagine it probably ran to 10 or 20 k.

I was lucky, as many companies shut down the process in the recession that started around then.

I also have a masters from University of Aberdeen, which was accredited as equivalent to a US masters degree. I'm sure that helped.

makecheck
Thanks for all of your responses so far. I guess my case is typical, which is what I was afraid of. :)

For those on visas, note that the limit on H1s goes away as long as you apply for a green card before your last visa expires. You are supposed to receive new H1s for as long as the green card takes.

krishna2
Actually, only the first time that you ever apply for a visa, you are fighting the quota. Then onwards, you are just reusing the same number - so no worries there. [this is good until the 6 years of eligibility of h1].

Secondly, if your application had been pending for more than year, then you can keep your h1 alive (even after 6 years), and use your pending-gc-application to get h1-renewals.

Lastly, if you get past the first two and a half stages of the greencard process and you get an EAD and you have worked 180+ days with your employer, then, as Southwest says, you are free to move about the country. :)

krishna2
They say the third time is a charm - and I am on my third application - pending for about 3 years. The previous two times (first in 2001, the company went bankrupt. The second time in about 2003, but I left the company after a couple of years).

Sometimes, it is just a matter of luck. There was one in 1998 (when suddenly everyone got "current" and could move on with life). Then, there was a period in 2000-to-mid-2001 when the whole process took less than a year (for even high-demand countries like Mexico, India and China). There was a recent event (in July/August of 2007) - but that was only a partially-lucky event since many bad things happened after that.

krishna2
Oh..visit http://www.immigrationvoice.org/ - and post your exact scenario. Lots of helpful folks there. And if you search the archives, you might just find someone with your situation might've already asked the same questions.
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