Hi all,
This is w.r.t I485 Baltimore, Maryland case that has been denied citing that the beneficiary was not working for the employer at the location from where the labor was approved.
The employer, Netguru Inc., had filed for the beneficiary's I-485 from Waltham, MA, based on a labor which was approved for the same place. (Waltham, MA seems like their US head quarters). The district director had cited that the labor was approved for a particular location and the applicant was not working at the location where the labor is approved and hence issued a NOID which then went to AAO. The AAO cited various reasons including entries found in I129 (H1B) and 325a (Bio-graphic info) and had denied the case.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/admindec3/a1/2004/mar2204_01a1245.pdf
This is a very scary scenario for many of the consultants (like me) who will be travelling from state to state depending on the clients available. 'Part 5' of the I129 (H1B) form has a section 'Address where the person(s) will work'.
[1] As far as I know many employers would leave that a blank. So if such an applicant happens to travel and move to different geographical locations within US, would it be unlawful?
[2] Does it mean such an application has violated the H1B and invalidates the H1B and hence will be ineligible for 485 (because 485 requires that the applicant is in valid status while his I-485 being processed)? (This is the reason cited by AAO to deny the 485).
[3] My H1 was transferred in March of 2002 for a company based in Pittsburgh. But my initial assiggnment happened to be at Atlanta and so I had to work there for 4 months till end of July 2002. Then I moved to Pittsburgh to work in an inhouse project in Pittsburgh till March 2003. My I485/I140 was filed at this time. Since March 2003 I was assigned a new client in Maine and currently in Maine, but I maintained my address in Pittsburgh (used my roomate's address) till July 2004. In July 2004 I notified USCIS of my address change and filed AR11. I just reviewed my I-129 and found that Part 5, which contains the location of employment offer was left blank (meaning the employee works at primary location). My employer had processed 100s (496 as per DOLETA data) of GC application in the past 5 years and every consultant had been like me moving from place to place. Am I in trouble here?
Guys throw in your inputs and if anyone had their 485 approved inspite of the fact that they never worked at the employer's location share your expriences too!
TIA
dyno