u/abhi-top-dev

I'm trying to decide whether to self-pay for Premium Processing ($2,965) for my EB-1C I-140 and would appreciate advice from people who've gone through this.

My situation:

• India-born
• EB-1C (Multinational Manager)
• L-1B at my current company
• Employer is filing my I-140
• I can choose Premium Processing now or regular processing (and upgrade later if needed)

My understanding is:

• The priority date is established when USCIS receives the I-140, regardless of whether it's filed under premium or regular processing.
• Premium Processing only speeds up the I-140 decision (45 business days) and does not change the priority date.

If that's correct, then my question is:

For someone born in India, where the EB-1 category has a backlog, does Premium Processing actually help me file the I-485 any earlier, or is the Visa Bulletin usually the real bottleneck?

For those who chose Premium:

• Did it actually accelerate your overall green card timeline?
• Or did you still end up waiting for your priority date to become current?

I'd especially appreciate responses from EB-1C India applicants or immigration attorneys who've seen similar cases.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice from anyone who has gone through the US CPA application process with a similar background.

My wife's profile:

• ICAI Chartered Accountant (qualified in 2019)
• Completed articleship
• Entered CA after Class 12
• No B.Com or any bachelor's degree
• No M.Com/MBA

We're planning to apply through NIES, but we're unsure which state to choose. We're currently considering Montana, Alaska, Guam, and Washington.

I have a few questions:

• Has anyone with ICAI only (no bachelor's degree) been approved to sit for the CPA Exam?
• Which state did you apply through?
• Did NIES evaluate your ICAI qualification as enough to meet the education requirements? If you remember, how many semester credits were awarded?
• Did you have to complete additional college credits?
• If you were applying today with this profile, which state would you recommend?

Most posts I've found are from people with B.Com + CA, so I'm specifically looking for experiences from ICAI-only candidates.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I've spent the last few days researching this, but I'm still finding conflicting information. I'm hoping someone with first-hand experience (or a NIES evaluation) can help.

This is for my wife, whose profile is a little different from the typical Indian CPA applicant.

Her background:

• Passed Class 12
• Qualified as an ICAI Chartered Accountant in 2019
• Completed the required articleship
• No B.Com
• No bachelor's degree
• No M.Com/MBA or any other university degree

Our goal right now is simply to become eligible to sit for the US CPA Exam. Licensing can come later.

After researching, I understand that:

• NIES (NASBA International Evaluation Services) evaluates foreign education.
• The State Board—not NIES—ultimately decides eligibility.
• Different states have different education requirements.

I'm considering states such as Montana, Alaska, Guam, and Washington, as they seem to be more international-friendly.

However, I have several questions:

1. Has anyone here qualified for the CPA Exam with ICAI only (no B.Com or bachelor's degree at all)?
2. If yes:
   • Which state did you apply through?
   • Which evaluator did you use (NIES, FACS, ECE, etc.)?
   • Were you approved to sit for the exam?
3. Did NIES consider your ICAI qualification equivalent to a bachelor's degree, or did they simply award semester credits? If you remember the credit breakdown (total, accounting, and business credits), that would be incredibly helpful.
4. Are there any states that are known to work better for ICAI-only candidates?
5. If you were applying today with this exact profile, which state would you choose and why?
6. Has anyone had to complete additional courses after the evaluation? If yes, how many credits were you missing?

I'd really appreciate responses from people who've actually gone through this process or have seen a NIES evaluation for an ICAI-only candidate. Most discussions I found online involve B.Com + CA, so it's difficult to tell what happens when someone only has the ICAI qualification.

Thanks in advance! Any guidance, evaluation reports (with personal information removed), or experiences would be greatly appreciated.