The last few weeks saw an exceptional crowd of Desis thronging the clinics for Immunization exams.Almost everyone of them finding out that they don't have Tubercolosis and HIV. A sense of pride and smile beeming across the faces in the clinics over the worthless euphoria of having gotten through the Immunization process and the i-693 forms.
It was an unexpected bonus time for the Immigration lawyers who charged exorbitant legal retainer fees with no basis.Even the USCIS fees seemed a paltry amount when compared to the hefty fees charged by the lawyers.But then,it was like the piece of bread hung in front of the hungry horse.Nobody batted an eyelid when it came to spending for this purpose.
It all started one fine friday when I got a call from a friend saying that all the Visa categories can now file for the third stage - i 485 towards procuring a Green card.Something sounded fishy immidiately as it was so obvious that this miracle could not happen suddenly because there are thousands of people waiting for this 3rd stage for more than 3 or 4 years.Even my priority date was Dec 2004 and I had been expecting only sometime in 2009 for my dates to get current.
Emails started flying with lots of smileys embedded in it.People started speaking about the "EADs" that could be got for the dependent wife and the AC21 job portability rule etc.Nobody fathomed on the impending shock that the USCIS had in store in a few days.
The shocking news came out yesterday saying that the Visa numbers have been exhausted and all the i-485 applications are going to be returned!And there ended all those million dreams of securing the Green card in a few months!
There is talk about suing the USCIS but then we all very well know how the legal system works!It could be many years that the case even comes for hearing.By then even by the usual route,I hope I would have gotten the Green Card.
For now my wife and I will have to just wait and look out for updates from USCIS and our lawyers.
-raapi
Posted by rajesh | 
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