Making personal trip to US to collect Green Card

[mjrt2001]

Hi Joef and others,
I have been working in India for the last 2 years (same company that started my GC processing and who moved me to India).
I finished the employment based green card interview by Consular Processing here and recieved the sealed package.
Now I need to go to the US with this package.

My employer is planning to send me to the US in the 5th month ( in Jan 2003) after my CP, which I feel is too late even though the visa is for 6 months. Is it ok if I make a personal trip to the US right away to collect my Green Card and also attend to some personal work there and then return back to India after that. I can then go back to the US permanently in January with my employer and start working there. Will it be a problem making a trip on my own ?

[JoeF]

Re: Making personal trip to US to collect Green Card

I would not do that. The rules are that the job offer has to be valid throughout the GC process, and that you start in the job specificed by the LC when you become a PR.This would be when you enter the US with the immigrant visa.
So if you do not start working in the job specified in the LC at that time, you would open yourself up to fraud accusations.
Here is what I would suggest to the employer: have the employer put you on payroll in the US sooner than the 5 months, so you can enter sooner, and get on payroll in the US immediately. Then, have them send you on a *temporary* assignment to India to finish up there.
The disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, so I am not absolutely sure that this is ok. You should discuss this with your lawyer and your employer.

[mjrt2001]

Thanks for the idea. I discussed it with the lawyers and the employer and thats what we'll be doing.

My office is at Sanfracisco but my port of entry is Chicago. In this ok?

Will the port of entry effect how early I get the green card? Is there a site which maintains details on how fast green cards are send for each port of entry?

[JoeF]

Re: Making personal trip to US to collect Green Card

The port of entry doesn't matter. I am located in SoCal and entered in Detroit after my CP.
It could matter, though, in the speed of getting the actual card, but this can change very rapidly. The INS officers at the POE have to send the paperwork to a Service Center, from which it goes to a card printing facility. There can always be screwups. An example: a couple years back, the INS officers at SFO didn't send the paperwork to CSC for a couple of months. But again, this can change very quickly. A friend of mine, going through SFO, got his card within 2 weeks last year.
So the timeframe for the actual card is quite unpredictable. I would not worry about that, anyway. The stamp you get at the POE has the same legal value as the card, and it is valid for 1 year.

[scria]

Extension

Do you know if I have to have the actual card before I can apply for a two year permission to stay outside the US?

I know that I have to be present in the US while applying but not sure if the stamp is ok or card is required. Thanks.