AC21 approval with twists & turns

R

riddle

Registered Users (C)
Finally I got the "welcome notice" . Here is the summary of my journey.

Applied in 1999 and got RFE for Labor as well as I140. Applied for I485 when it became current . I lost my job in late 2001, well before 6 months of applying. Somehow managed to get another permanent job on EAD. Meanwhile, I tried to negotiate with my old employer for part-time job so that I can complete my 6 months with old employer and I was successful. In late 2002, I got RFE for birth and marriage certificates.
In few months I was asked to attend an interview, but could not attend it due to very short notice. Finally I got interview again this month. My attorney came with a concise employment letter and I feel he was instrumental in moral support and paperwork. He said we would be using AC21. The interview was scheduled on a snowy day :D at 8 AM. We were not supposed to enter the building the till 8; we reached there by 6:30 since we live in another city nearby. It was not an easy 90 minute standoff with adrenaline pumping adventure ahead. Finally the officer invited us with a smile and that was good sign. We took oath and the officer made sure we were relaxed - God bless him. He asked few questions from the I485 application like traffic voilations etc., and verified the address and other details. Took my employment and letter and that's it and said congratulations :p . Well, since the sytem was down on that day he said we would get the approval notice by mail; I got it yesterday.
Moral of the journey was not to lose hope and have tenacity and patience. Make sure your attorney and you are on same page since your attorney is going to be instrumental. My attorney was quite good - decent fees, knowledgable and above all helping attitude.
 
Congrats riddle..

It seams your attorney is greatly helpful in your case. It would be great, if you give us the attorney name and website.. I am looking for a good attorney for my case.

thanks
 
Thanks

Since the attorney was a local attorney he had some info on how the cases were dealt in the local office. His main weapon was the new rule released in August 2003. I think, every attorney is now using this memo, but the approach might be different.
Some people did advise me to change the attorney; but I didnt. The underlying reason was that he was aware of my whole case. My advise is not to change the attorney unless there is absolute necessary.
My attorney does not have a website. I need to check with him before I can share his info with you.
 
Did you inform INS abount AC21?

congratulations,
Did you inform INS about your job change(AC21) before the interview?

Thank you.:)
 
So You just informed in the Interview? great. I know some officer in Buffalo did not have the idea of AC-21. How did he responded?
Was he knowing about AC-21?
 
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Congrats.

Can you also tell us about the employment letter like did it mention the date you joined. Did they ask you that in the interview after the oath ?

Also, did they ask for any specific documentation like W2, tax returns etc ? or was it just the emp letter and the ac21 letter.

Thanks
 
The emp letter did have the joining date and my attorney wanted that on the letter so that everything is in black & white. Less questions , less pain.
I was asked to bring the following.

1) 3 yrs tax returns 2) Marriage & birth cert
3) emp letter stating wages 4) for my wife they asked lease papers, bills etc to prove we live together

The officer verified asked us general questions like address, DOB etc., The questions maily related to the questionare in I485 form. Then finally he asked me the employment letter - looked at it kept it in the file :)

Believe me I was tensed up. I did not have some of the above documents with me but my Attorney suggested some other documents as substitute.
I was told some officers would look how you answer the questions and how relaxed you are. I am pretty sure that the officer who conducted that interview knew how to seperate wheat out of chaff.
I was not relaxed but confident. I had no choice.
;)
 
Thanks for the details. I am getting some relief after going through your case since my case is similar to yours. Do you know how many days the letter indicated you were with the original company (I mean did you show 180 days and explain it as part time for some time or just full time for say 100 days)

Also you mentioned that you didnt have all the docs. Can you tell us which of the docs you didnt have ?

Thanks
 
The letter indicated that I started with new company on "original" date but I did mention the probationary period for few months. The final start date was > 180 days. I hope I making sense here.
No mention of part time in the letter.
I did not have the tax returns for one year, original marriage cert.
 
actually its not clear. Did you mention two dates ? something like. "I started on X with New.Co on probation and actually joined on X+180" ?

ALso, did u lose ur tax return or u never filed it ? did the officer ask u anything about the return like why its not there etc ?

It will be nice if you can post the format of the letter so that we may use the format. I have not yet informed ac21 and thinking of doing in next month or two.

Thanks
 
I am not sure whether I can post the letter unless I check with my attorney.

This is what was written in the letter....

This is to confirm that Mr.YZ started with us on 11/12/2001; he completed his 90 day probationary period on 02/12/2002.
The WWW Inc would abide by the conditions laid out in labor and I-140 filed by previous employer SSS Inc.


I did file my Tax returns but lost it; I got a copy from IRS. He did not look at my returns. I carried my paystubs with me.
 
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