AC21 help (<180 days) *****

gcfarmer

Registered Users (C)
My Status:
=======
o I-140 was approved in Apr-2002 with Company A.
o I-485 filed in Jun 2002 by Company A.
o FP done in Aug 2002 with Company A.
o Got laid off from sponsoring company A (in NJ) after 2 months of filing I-485, i.e., Aug 2002. Got a new job in VA (Company B) starting Oct 2002 on EAD. Currently working fulltime on EAD in VA with Company B. The job title and description are same…..
o I-140 is valid and has not been withdrawn and it has been around 18 months since I-485 was filed.
o Earlier company's (A) lawyer is still representing me with INS.
o Wife is on H-1B (working in NJ) and her name is on my GC application.
o Sponsoring Company shutdown in Dec’2003


Questions:
1. a. Should we be informing INS about job change as per
latest AC21 memo? That I am currently working with
Company B. I had to change jobs before 180 days,
because got laid off. In the AC21 letter should we
mention start date in the letter ?

b. Does changing jobs due to lay-off as compared to
voluntarily changing makes a difference for INS? As I
was laid-off, will INS consider this..?

c. Do we have to inform INS every time we change
jobs; say I switched again 2 months later after
informing INS.?

2. a. Is it advisable to change lawyer now?

b. As it seems the current lawyer is not very helpful. OR
should we change lawyers after we get RFE?
c. How much time is given by INS to respond to RFE?


3. We are maintaining primary residence at NJ. Primary applicant is working in VA, We did not inform INS about address change (AR-11). Do we need to inform INS about address change, even though we are maintaining primary residence?

4. Does the new job have to be in the same geographical area (Job profile is same)? My original job was in NJ, through which I filed Labor, I-140 & I-485 and my latest job is in VA.

5. The sponsoring company no longer exists; as it merged into another company and the that company shutdown the original sponsoring company, Will this have an impact on my GC application ?

THANKS a LOT for your help !!

Best Regards.
 
1. If you are laid off rather than quit- INS looks at it favourably.
2. Goegraphy does not figure in into AC21- You must conform to prevailing wages of the area- so indirectly it figures in.
3. If you change employers- you are expected to inform BCIS not required to. Different people do different things- it all seems to be working out.
4. Address change- AR11 is a must.
5. Old co. merging etc should not matter at all.
6. New lawyer- why not.
HTH
 
Top