Ac21:what my lawyer told me

M

marlon2006

Registered Users (C)
My lawyer is president of the (regional?) AILA. I inquired whether it would be OK change employment using AC21. He advised me not to since there is always a considerable risk in such process. The reason according to him is that there have been unfair denials of I-485 during the process of interpretation of new job vs. old and he has been working closely with AILA on that.
Well, because I am damn conservative, I have turned down an excellent job offer.
Damn this long greencard process !
 
marlon2006 said:
He advised me not to since there is always a considerable risk in such process. The reason according to him is that there have been unfair denials of I-485 during the process of interpretation of new job vs. old and he has been working closely with AILA on that.
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That's news to anyone here. USCIS has always had an extremely liberal interpretation of "same or similar" and no one here has heard of such issues, or have any of the prominent attorneys.
 
The lawyer is a loyal servant to the employer

was this lawyer the official lawyer for your current company?
If so then he was successful in getting you to stay put. He has been a loyal servant to your employer.

Did you talk to the lawyer in the new company whose offer you turned down?
 
I'm not sure of your particular situation, that maybe that's the reason why your lawyer advised you not to move on but I think if you qualify for AC21 is safe to do so.
 
I think it is a myth that AC21 is risky.
I am Surprised/Dumbfounded/Astounded/Flabbergasted that you did not get a second opinion from other lawyers (ones like Rajiv or Murthy at the least !)

485/EB3: ND: Aug 2003
 
I got a second opinion.

In fact I did get a second opinion;
The independent lawyer told me that moving to the new job without the H1B to back up the EAD would be considerably risky in his view and if I want no risk, he advised me to stay where I am for now. I currently have H1B 7th year and EAD. New employer would issue no H1B.
Honestly, why make this damn AC21 process so freaking cumbersome ? Now you can say well just issue a letter showing that jobs are similar. In reality, when you mention to the new potential employer this freaking letter to USCIS... many times employers that dont have a legal department to interpret such letter may see this is a showstopper in the hiring process.
Why not just say, darn, if the Labor+I-140 is approved and I-485>180 days, you are free to change jobs and just show the paystubs to USCIS. I am pissed at this and I am just counting the freaking days to get rid of this greencard process. This has been a nightmare in my professional life.
 
marlon2006,

I agree with you. there are many who are suffering like you while Employers and USCIS are enjoying making money on us. now they increased the MTR fee to $385.00 or something, and they are really motivated to deny any application to get some "extra revenue" through this freaking channel. I think they definitely have some quota reserved for these denials.
 
marlon2006 said:
The independent lawyer told me that moving to the new job without the H1B to back up the EAD would be considerably risky in his view and if I want no risk, he advised me to stay where I am for now.
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If you want no risk you should leave the US and not attempt to immigrate. ;)

There have been hundreds of folks who have successfully used AC21 (including myself) with no issues whatsoever. Every single I-485 denial I have heard of has been in error, because the sponsor revoked the I-140 and USCIS screwed up. Every single one has been overturned at the MTR stage.

Sometimes I wonder what planet these attorneys inhabit. The questions is not a matter of "no risk", but how much risk is acceptable. That's not an attorney's job to decide, but they do have an obligation to lay out how many denials they are seeing, and for what. If they don't have enough information to provide then they shouldn't take your money.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
If you want no risk you should leave the US and not attempt to immigrate. ;)

No, I just do not want to add another layer of risk to this process. Leaving the US would eliminate the event itself, not the risk.
I know how I appreciate your comments, but I believe your experience is based on a small sample of yourself and some random reports from people in this forum. Perhaps the AILA lawyer opinion was biased, but he may indeed have access to more global statistics that are showing high number of denials for such AC21 case. I will never know, it is a gamble and that is where I think the problem is. If they really wanted people to move on, they could just allow folks to change jobs after I-140 approval and that is it.
Thanks again and I hope my I-485 gets processed quickly.
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marlon2006 said:
TheRealCanadian said:
If you want no risk you should leave the US and not attempt to immigrate. ;)

No, I just do not want to add another layer of risk to this process. Leaving the US would eliminate the event itself, not the risk.
I know how I appreciate your comments, but I believe your experience is based on a small sample of yourself and some random reports from people in this forum. Perhaps the AILA lawyer opinion was biased, but he may indeed have access to more global statistics that are showing high number of denials for such AC21 case. I will never know, it is a gamble and that is where I think the problem is. If they really wanted people to move on, they could just allow folks to change jobs after I-140 approval and that is it.
Thanks again and I hope my I-485 gets processed quickly.
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Marlon2006, First of all no lawyer in his right frame of mind would tell you that there is absolutely no risk involved in this. He will be open to a lawsuit from you if in case you did end up having problmes and he had told you previously that there is no risk.
You have to see the extent of the risk involved. Risks in AC21 are almost same as that of any 485 application, and its not that big a gamble either. Actaully there have been so many instances that I have personally known wherein a 485 adjudication/approval is triggered by AC21, provided your priority date is current.
Anyway its now up to personal preference on how much courage you can gather. AC21 does not require much courage as such. I have known a couple of friends who even after coming to US think 10 times before putting their resumes on Job sites such as monster fearing that their employer will come to know and then what will happen. I have spent hours explaining to them that its perfectly safe with no avail.
Best of luck with your GC.

neocor
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well I recently used AC21 and I think my case is straight forward, I140 approved and I485 receipt date is more than an year.

I know I took some calculated risk and I am using attorney Rajiv Khanna, I will keep here posted how my case goes.

I should mention my salary is 70% more than what is mentioned in my labour, I still work at the same client when my GC was started and performing similar duties, I just changed my employer for a better salary.

I belive my approval is round the corner provided visa numbers are avilable during october.
 
sk your lawyer if he gaurantee with the exisitng empl GC is gauranteed?

You are the one to weigh it and see the pros and cons, if this is just another offer for a few extra $$, then don't do it, your RD also makes difference, if you just filed 180 days ago, less probabi;ity of getting approved soon.
if the offer is something of a lifetime then worth the risk :cool:
marlon2006 said:
TheRealCanadian said:
If you want no risk you should leave the US and not attempt to immigrate. ;)

No, I just do not want to add another layer of risk to this process. Leaving the US would eliminate the event itself, not the risk.
I know how I appreciate your comments, but I believe your experience is based on a small sample of yourself and some random reports from people in this forum. Perhaps the AILA lawyer opinion was biased, but he may indeed have access to more global statistics that are showing high number of denials for such AC21 case. I will never know, it is a gamble and that is where I think the problem is. If they really wanted people to move on, they could just allow folks to change jobs after I-140 approval and that is it.
Thanks again and I hope my I-485 gets processed quickly.
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I changed the job using Ac21. My previous employer informed INS that I have left them. So, INS revoked my 140 and sent me NOID. I have responded to that, but I don't know what will happen. Its a lot of hassel.

Its better, if you get the letter from new employer descrbing similar job duties right away and you invoke AC-21, before INS asks for it.

But, still I feel, its better to wait, if its a matter of few months. Getting denail is a mess and then MTR and stuff. You will end up spending lot of money on the lawyers and all the tension. If its a matter of only few months, I would say that better to wait. Atleast, you know that you will get gc without any issues.

And, if INS does not deny my I-485, and approves it in time, I won't mind the hassel for my case. But, seriously, the risk is not worth it.
 
defleopard22 said:
And, if INS does not deny my I-485, and approves it in time, I won't mind the hassel for my case. But, seriously, the risk is not worth it.
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The problem with your thinking is that even if you proactively file an AC21 change of intent, there is no guarantee that USCIS will pay any attention, and if the I-140 is revoked they will issue the NOID anyways.
 
Dude - Any idea about using AC21 without even getting 140 approval but when 140/485 are pending over 180 day i.e. yates memo of may 2005? Are their any such cases in your knowledge.
 
jbond said:
Dude - Any idea about using AC21 without even getting 140 approval but when 140/485 are pending over 180 day i.e. yates memo of may 2005? Are their any such cases in your knowledge.
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I have come across people who have changed jobs after 180 days of filing the 485 even though the 140 is not yet cleared.

One of my friend actually is contemplating switiching after a month of applying 485, and his 140 is not yet cleared. I have advised him not to file AC21 as yet even if he decides to change jobs. Not atleast until 6 months have passed. He says the previous employer wont revoke the 140, he has confidence in them.

I dont know thought if he is going to fall in trouble.
 
Guys,
I am a real life example of using AC21. My previous employer was harrasing me so much that I had to leave him reluctantly and join a new employer. He tried to screw my case by withdrawing the i-140 , my case was cancelled and I filed MTR, case was reopened.
Now they have transfered the case to local office for interview. With the retrogression in picture I am thinking of making another switch in dec. Can the new employer cause me problems if he sends a letter to USCIS stating that I am no longer working for him ? I have already responded to the RFE for I-485 ( EVL etc...).

What should I make sure to ask to the next employer ( to provide) to make sure I have no problems in the interview at local office.

Thanks!
 
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