I485 Denied (VISA SCREENING CERTIFICATE)

RNGrad2006 · May 18, 2007

I have been going to millions of site to look for a way out...not found a single one so far....
sorry...lemme give the background....
I came here on H1 visa in 2003. I had a travel visa valid till July 31st,'06. I got married in 2005, my wife joined me here in Jan, 2006 on H4. In March 2006, I changed my company and got an new H1 visa that was valid till 2009. Meanwhile, my wife wrote and passed the NCLEX RN (Nursing Lic) and a Nursing Home agreed to sponsor her for EAC & GC. So I went to an attorney and he filed for I485 end of October 2006. We both got a EACs in November and my wife started working based on the EAC\EAD. I also used this EAC to join a company that offered me permanent job. Now, for Nurses, in order for the Gov: to issue a GC the primary applicant (in this case my Wife), needs the NCLEX licensure & a VISA screening certificate. Unfortunately my wife is yet to get the VISA screening certificate due to the fact she has not yet taken the IELTS\TOEFL exam (She is taking the exam next week). Immigration office asked for this certificate aprrox 15 weeks back and since we did not have it, on May 2nd they denied the application & with that both our EAD\EAC were withdrawn and has told us to leave the country immediately. They also have said that there is no appeal in this case. After going through various sites, I came to realize, actually my attorney had made a terrible mistake because the law had changed about 5 months prior to our application date....the law says that in order for the application to be successful, one needs to have NCLEX & VISA SCREENING CERIFICATE issued before you make the application ...
Please go to the following link for more reference
http://www.rreeves.com/news_article.asp?aid=413
Please guys...attorneys.....anybody....if you guys know some way out of this...please advice.....I am now looking for a Plan A,
Can I go back to my H1 which was originally set to expire in 2009??
We had a Baby on April 14th...Can we stay back based on the fact the Baby is a US citizen?
while I am also looking at my Plan B which is to leave the country as I have been asked to do. If anybody knows, please let me know how long I have to leave the country.....Thanks a lot

I am so sorry for your situation. I am really surprised your attorney did not advise you on the Visascreen as that has been required for several years now even for non immigrant visas. I don't think there is a way around it. It is a fairly long process unfortunately. I went to school in the US and it still took 3-4 months to receive. We were in the US in 2001 when my husband lost his job due to the high tech crash and had to leave the country as well. It was a hard time for us and wish we had a crystal ball since we sold our house as we thought we would have to relocate and were not sure where we would get jobs. Since then the housing prices have doubled and don't know when we will be able to afford to get back in the market. But we only had to relocate to Canada so not as difficult as your situation. I don't think you would be entitled to stay in the US just based on having a child here but not sure. I would seriously look into your H-1 ASAP. My thinking is that you would have to reapply since you applied with your wife for AOS (I485) which may nullify your H1 that was valid until 2009. Bad timing since there are no H-1's available now even for those with masters degrees. But you may be eligible for EB2 if you have a masters. It is tough right now but it seems there are some positive changes going on with immigration which may be known in the next week or two. Do whatever you can to stay in the country as the process is quicker when you are already in the country I have been told. Again...so sorry for your situation. So important to get the correct information.

suzanne4, RN · May 18, 2007

When the AOS is submitted, previous visas are cancelled.

This same question has already been posted and responded to above.

This thread closed.