212 d 3 a waiver

[nivwaiverguy]

I was charged with a crime about 15 yrs ago which came under petty offense (max possible 9 months of imprisonment but no actual prison term). However after couple years of the incident when traveling, the cbp stopped me and said the charge made me inadmissible into the US. They sent me back home .They did not even look into the court docs to apply the petty offense exception.  They threatened to arrest me if I dont go back. So, I came back to India and got a waiver. I returned to the US after few months.

Now I am back home again after 12 years being in the US (all legal, no other laws broken on H1B) and this time I talked to an attorney before I left to India. He assured that the one crime I have comes under petty offense exception but still be prepared for any poss delay. Well, at the time of the interview the CO said that he will read my file/ court docs and decide.

After ~ 3 weeks, I contacted the consulate (in Hyd) and they told the application was sent again for a new waiver - 212 d 3 a. I contacted LegalNet and they said that the consular officer cant change the decision made by the CBP and so he recommended for a new waiver. My application is now with the DHS/ CBP. They told me that I need to contact the CBP (not the consulate) to dispute the factual finding of whether my crime fits petty offense exception or not.

It's been 4 months since the interview and no news. My questions,

1. Does anyone know how long it is taking for inadmissibility waivers to be processed these days. I searched online for the latest processing times but none recent came up. The latest was from Middle of 2017 and it took 6-9 months. I know that there is no time limit but it helps me knowing how long it is taking for others on avg. Mine is a theft charge which is not an aggravated crime. In fact my case was dismissed after a pretrial diversion. I did not serve any jail time. Also, this is my 2nd waiver albeit the administration has changed since.

2. I hired a lawyer to contact the DHS/ CBP to have my inadmissibility removed as petty offenses do not need a waiver. How long will CBP take to get back and will it effect my current pending visa application in any way.

3. My H1B expires Mar 2nd of 2019. Since I have about 3 months of valid extension left, should I tell my employer to apply for a new H1B extension now.