GKVBC,
That's correct. According to 3 lawyers (including mine). I was also told that if an application moves to Dallas DOL, it' is most likely to be rejected (NOF-ed) and in this case (my) laywer normally suggests to withdraw it and try again in 6 month.
For regular cases, whether they get LPR-ed or not, depends on number and character of replies to Ad. The best scenario is - no replies. Good - laywer being able to clearly demonstrate why each reply does not qualify. Bad - reply(s) that clearly indicate that there's a good match for the position.
Normaly the strategy is to indicate "rear" technologies used at your work. This simple reduces chances of high number of matching replies. Don't go overboard though. Don't make it too specific (things like: "6 feet tall", "must know southern dialect of Zimbabwe", etc), or SESA will send it back on the bases that application is "tailor"-ed for the specific applicant.
Good lawyer normally knows what to write for a specific state, given the legal knowledge and past experience.
For RIR, the same is true. Though it looks like RIR cases are reviewed with greater scrutiny now (it's not extremally bad, but RIR rejection cases have definately increased, especialy in IT related field). If there's enough time, Regular is probably safer than RIR now. Especially in CO SESA, where there's probably only 4 month of real difference (given that time is needed to run 6 month Ad campaign).
Though, due to April01 backlogs, some ppl have been waiting for several month now for April01 to clear. Some (including myself) are considering converting to RIR (this will at least help to bypass April backlogs). i think, realistically, we (CO SESA applicants) should wait till end of the year and see what comes out of the Sep-Oct workshop that CO SESA has initiated.
These are my current observations. Guru's, if any of these are wrongful, please, do not hesitate to respond.