>
Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 15:24:56 -0700
Hi Stefan,
Last year I was in a similar situation to yours, and I just got my greencard
two weeks ago from the US embassy in Bern. My I-140 had been approved in
April 2001 and I filed for adjustment of status (through INS Texas service
center) in May 2001. In October 2001 I decided to change to consular
processing because I was getting worried about my job. The interview was
very simple: I just gave them the requested original documents and they
didn't ask me a single question. I'm really glad for making that decision
because now I have a normal life again...
Regarding your situation, you have two choices: (1) consular processing or
(2) adjustment of status through Texas service center. I would recommend you
the first way because it is MUCH MUCH faster and you get feedback during the
process; that is, you can call the US embassy and they will tell you what
the status of your case is.
If you go through the Texas service center, expect a very long and
frustrating wait. There is virtually no way of finding out what the status
of your case is. They do have a phone number but it takes 1-2 hours of
repeated dialing just to speak to someone who usually doesn't know anything.
Also, I don't think that adjustment of status is safer because after you
file your application you must stay with the same company for 6 months
(180-day rule) before you're allowed to switch company. With consular
processing, you would already have your greencard by that time. That's why
consular processing could be even safer!
What did you specify when you filed your I-140 petition: adjustment of
status or consular processing? If you stated adjustment of status, you will
need to file the form I-824 with the INS to change to consular processing.
Once you get the receipt notice from INS -- about 5-6 weeks -- you can
immediately file your application with the US embassy in Bern. That's very
handy because in many other countries you must wait until the I-824 gets
approved, which takes about 1 year! In Switzerland, you only need the
receipt notice.
There are of course some other issues. For example, if you have ever been
out of status for more than 6(?) months, you have no choice but to do
consular processing.
Now with everything I wrote above, please consider that I'm not an
immigration attorney. This is all based on my personal experience and I'd
like to share it with you. But you should definitely consult a specialized
immigration lawyer before making any decision.
Regards,
Thomas
=================================================================
To unsubscribe from the swiss-list mailing list send the
message body of "unsubscribe swiss-list" to majordomo_at_swiss-list.com
or visit http://www.swiss-list.com/mailing/
Received on Tue Apr 09 2002 - 22:29:02 PDT
