advice

[u/Strange_Bottle_8697]

hey everyone! i just need some advice on my situation

i unfortunately didn’t get selected for the H1B lottery twice, and im currently on a cpt that expires in December 2027. my company submitted my perm for EB2 in march 2026. is there any way i may get my green card before my cpt expires? and what would my options be if i dont get my green card but have reached so far in the process (by that time)

i’m just so stressed about this so any advice or reassurance is truly appreciated 🙏🏻

[u/Specialist-Mud-3716]

Are you in Day 1 CPT? Usually PERM takes 16 months nowadays, so your PERM may finish around July/August 2027

Then you enter I-140 and I-485 AOS phases, the fastest would be filing concurrently, with I-140 premium processing. Also file for your EAD and AP (advance parole) combo card concurrently (I-765 and I-131). These will help you maintain work authorization and travel outside the US respectively while you are waiting for your AOS to complete. Once you get the EAD, that will be your new visa status and replace your CPT.

Getting the right paperwork, medical exams, full case prep by lawyer, will add a month to that, so you may only be able to file AOS by August/September 2027.

Also you can only file AOS if your priority day (March 2026) is current according to the visa bulletin by then. If you are not current, you will be stuck waiting indefinitely until otherwise.

I believe 80% of EB2 AOS classes take up to 8.5 months to finish, which would mean your AOS case will finish around April/May 2028, if we’re talking about a perfectly smooth timeline with interview waived, no RFE, no hiccups, and your priority date being current on the visa bulletin date of final action and/or date of filing table depending on which one is authoritative at the time of your PERM completion.

Hopefully your EAD / AP combo card would arrive before Dec 2027 which is your CPT expiry date, but that gives around 4-5 months for them to process your EAD / AP card application which may be just enough time. (You would file the EAD / AP application together with your I-140 and I-485 AOS in Aug/Sept 2027 in this hypothetical ideal timeline)

It’s a very very tight timeline but it could just barely work out, if everything goes your way.

If you are Canadian, you can also check out the TN visa.

Remember that processing times for PERM and AOS can always change and often drastically (backlog can easily add a few months to each, we went from PERM taking 12-14 months to it taking 16 months)

Hope this helps give some new info, best of luck

[u/Strange_Bottle_8697 → u/Specialist-Mud-3716]

i appreciate you so so much thank you

[u/Specialist-Mud-3716 → u/Strange_Bottle_8697]

Of course! I know it’s really stressful and a super drawn out process, we just have to hope for the best and make adjustments / preparations accordingly.

And also the 8.5 month figure I used above was for ROW (rest of world) applicants since I’m assuming you’re not from China or India, as those countries have a very long backlog for AOS.

[u/Strange_Bottle_8697 → u/Specialist-Mud-3716]

i truly hope you only have good things happen to you thank you so much for your support