First of all my thanks to everyone who posted their comments and precious suggestions to help ppl makin their ways easier in immigration process. Below is my complete timeline of applying and getting J1 waiver.
Nov. 8, 2006 - Forms and affidavits got notarised to be sent to CGI Houston
Nov. 9, 2006 - Sent to CGI Houston for attestation
Nov. 10, 2006 - CGI Houston Recieves Documents and passport
Dec. 5, 2006 - Attested Documents return back to me (to be sent to authorities in India)
When an I-485 is accepted at the Service Center, requests for FD-258 FBI fingerprint checks, fingerprint fees, and G-325A consular background checks are made by USCIS. Responses to these requests come back to USCIS and must be matched up with the appropriate files held in staging. File Maintenance "file connects" these responses to the corresponding files.
My wife and I had our passports stamped after a 6 hour ordeal that started at 8:30 a.m. and ended at 2:30 p.m. Here are some tips based on what we experienced,
1. For an 8:40 appointment, get there before 8 if at all possible. They were not checking appointment timings, so people with 9/10 a.m. appointments were ahead of us in the line. All they care is that you have an appointment for that day.
Hello All,
Heres my experience on the CP
Flew to India on June 12th (Interview Date June 26th) Since you have to submit documents to VFS 7 working days prior to Interview.
Flew Virgin Atlantic ti Mumbai and went straight to VFS from the Airport. They are open from 8.00am - 12.00 and 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Documents Submited to VFS
- Copy of the first, second, last page of the current passport, copy of all us visa's in the current passport.
There is no need for old passports and copies of all pages.
Hello,
I finally received my Green Card yesterday. My wife got hers 2 weeks ago. Here are the filing dates.
I-140 (EB1) filed in July 2006 (Approved in 2 weeks)
I-485 sent to NVC in September 2007
Interview notification from Chennai US Consulate on January 17, 2007
Interview at Chennai on February 12, 2007
Received the passports on February 20, 2007
Validation stamp in the passport on February 28, 2007
Welcome Letter (wife) on March 6, 2007
Green Card (wife) received on March 7, 2007
Release Date
12/23/2025
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is amending regulations governing the H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize the allocation of visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers. The new rule replaces the random lottery for selecting visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills.
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
08/21/2025 09:29 AM EDT
Edition Date: 08/21/25. Starting March 5, 2026, USCIS will accept only the 08/21/25 edition. Until then, you can also use the 01/20/25 edition. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.
Published by: Financial Express - January 8, 2026
https://www.financialexpress.com/business/investing-abroad-my-h-1b-approved-but-stuck-in-a-34-month-queue-attorney-shares-legal-fixes-for-missing-form-i-824-4100306/
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Rajiv S. Khanna, US Immigration attorney, provides free immigration help by hosting a free community conference call for US immigration-related questions every Thursday. You can post questions for the call if you are a member of our US Immigration forums. Membership is immediate and lifelong. Walk-ins are also permitted.