Doubtful @ I-140 portability? Let's do this..

A

aws

Registered Users (C)
Folks,

Within the last 2-3 days, a lot of furor has been generated due to that recent article on I-140 portability. I bet different lawyers will have different opinion as that news has not yet appeared in form of an official CIS memo.

In such an uncertain state, why not enquire with the right authority, i.e., the CIS itself? :D
I did it myself y'day evening and after spending @ 30 min. on a phone call and talking to an immigration officer at CIS, this is what I found out:

1) After 6 months in pending, I140 withdrawal will have no bearing if the beneficiary is able to provide proof of similar occupation.
2) AC21 law can be used to change employment/employers in similar field as long as the new job is similar to that described in labor certification.
3) Also, she told the different lawyers have different way of interpretation of AC21, so one should always check with CIS!

Sounds good? :) , for me, it did.

I suggest the following:

1) Let atleast 5-10 of us take some time today and tomorrow and call USCIS and speak to an immigration officer. (do this atleast 2-3 times each person)
2) Clarify what is their latest info./stand on the AC21 as regard to I140 status
3) Consolidate all of our responses (atleast 15-20 nos.) and then see what is the majority in opinion.

I think it is worth the effort. If we do this, by end of 8/27, I think we will have nothing in dark.

Who is supporting me in this effort?
 
Aws,

Thats a good idea, but may be a little more spread out over a few more days might be better...but yes I think contacting the right authority for answers is the way to go...will post what I find in a couple of days...

Cheers,
Prabhu :)

aws said:
Folks,

Within the last 2-3 days, a lot of furor has been generated due to that recent article on I-140 portability. I bet different lawyers will have different opinion as that news has not yet appeared in form of an official CIS memo.

In such an uncertain state, why not enquire with the right authority, i.e., the CIS itself? :D
I did it myself y'day evening and after spending @ 30 min. on a phone call and talking to an immigration officer at CIS, this is what I found out:

1) After 6 months in pending, I140 withdrawal will have no bearing if the beneficiary is able to provide proof of similar occupation.
2) AC21 law can be used to change employment/employers in similar field as long as the new job is similar to that described in labor certification.
3) Also, she told the different lawyers have different way of interpretation of AC21, so one should always check with CIS!

Sounds good? :) , for me, it did.

I suggest the following:

1) Let atleast 5-10 of us take some time today and tomorrow and call USCIS and speak to an immigration officer. (do this atleast 2-3 times each person)
2) Clarify what is their latest info./stand on the AC21 as regard to I140 status
3) Consolidate all of our responses (atleast 15-20 nos.) and then see what is the majority in opinion.

I think it is worth the effort. If we do this, by end of 8/27, I think we will have nothing in dark.

Who is supporting me in this effort?
Click to expand...
 
aws,

Good Job. It is good to ask about

1. What will happen if I-140 denied after the applicant sent AC21 letter to USCIS? (denial mainly due to the company ability to pay)

2. Will the new employer have to file new I-140 petition?

naanshi.
 
my feedback...

Folks,

This morning, I spoke with another immigration officer, and she too, said me the same thing about I-140, etc., what the first IO told me (described in the starter thread).

I am relieved... ;)

Pl. support this effort. I am sure it will benefit most of us, unless you are ready to wait for your I-140 for ages: :eek:

Thus, so far: the count of opinion: YES: 2 NO: 0
 
i already did this last week, below is the post and the thread

http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=140018&page=1&pp=15

23rd August 2004, 11:22 AM
iknowitall
Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 201

guys

just to comfort you even more, i just called the USCIS 800 number on friday and asked them about the ac21 portability issue and this what they had to say

" you can change your jobs after 180 days of application of the 485 petition, it does not matter if your 140 is still in process"

now because i was not convinced with the customer reps. answer, i asked to speak to an immigration official and the official said , that it does not matter Sir, as long as your petition is pending for 180 days you can change employer as long as the job is in line with your 140 petition , i.e. the field of work is same."

now after reading this report , i have feeling the everyone is on the same page here and i think ac21 is applicable guys, so go get rid of slavery and get better jobs.
 
Guys,
Before you could talk to the CIS did you have to give out your application details? Does this become an official enquiry or does it count as clarification. I want to do the same thing but not if it turns out to be an official enquiry about my case.

Thanks
 
you can ask these questions as a general inquiry because these are very basic questions about rules. i did the mistake once of giving out my 140 application number to an immigration official and she told me that she is not authorized to speak to the beneficiary about the 140 petition, i hope it doesnt affect me later at any stage, guys any thoughts on that ? its wierd though they allow you to check the online status even if you are the beneficiary by putting in your application number but if you call they dont want to tell you anything about it.
 
This was a summary of the meeting
August 04, 2004 ... 8/4/04 - Summary of AILA-USCIS Issues from JULY 31, 2004 Board of Governors Meeting


140 Portability Under 106(c)

AILA has taken the position that the statute merely requires an I-140 and an I-485 to be pending for 180 days in order for a beneficiary to be "portable" with regard to a change of employers or a change of jobs with the same employer to a same or similar occupation. Previous memos issued by CIS had inferred that an I-140 must be approved and that the I-485 must then be pending for 180 days before portability attaches. The new General Counsel of the CIS, former AILA member, Robert Devine, and William Yates appear to have agreed with AILA that an I-485 beneficiary may
"port" to a new employer or position if the I-485 has been pending for 180 days, regardless of whether or not the I-140 has been approved. The subsequent withdrawal of the I-140 by a petitioner or denial of the I-140 petition by the Service Center would have no impact on the beneficiary's status in the U.S. CIS is now drafting a formal memo to this effect. There is NO OFFICIAL MEMO YET

GFor those of you familiar with Murthy Law firm this is the responce I got

Thank you for your eMail. This is an issue that AILA has been working on for quite some time. While there have been discussions and agreements in principle, there is nothing official in writing at this time. It is always uncertain the amount of time that it will take to obtain a memo with a changed policy. Sometimes, the memos appear quite quickly while, in other situations, you will have oral statements by the government but no memo for a year or more. At this time, while this is a generally favorable sign, there can be no action that should be taken in reliance upon these discussions. The previous memo requiring the approval of the I-140 is still the policy.

If there are any official announcements on this matter or a new memo, we would include it in our weekly MurthyBulletin.


Dana J. Delott*

Attorney at Law

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C.
Dictated by Attorney and transcribed.
 
Some of our friends called USCIS and talked directly to the officers who process the cases. According to them, after 180 days I-140 does not matter any more, which confirms what my company law firm told me long back.

naanshi.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I-485 portability and wife work

We have I-140 approved, and I-485 (work related) for my family pending and
presented in oct-2002.
We started from Visa L-1 ( already expired) with current AP and EAD for my wife and myself valid until dec04 and in process for getting it until july05.
In case of myself leaving my current job I have some questions: a) there is
any time frame to leave the country if I interrup the labor relationship with my sponsor ( assuming I don't get a new job) ?, b) If that relationship is broken ,can my wife keeps working for her company with her EAD approved until july05 ?c) Everything could change is my sponsor asks for cancelling
I-140 ?
tks
 
Dude,do not chnage the direction of this thread!!!!The issue here is critical for us.Please post your questions in a new thread.
 
What if the present employer revokes I-140

As I understand from this thread, after 6 months in pending, I140 withdrawal will have no bearing if the beneficiary is able to provide proof of similar occupation. I have some queries regarding this:

Does the new employer has to file new petition for 1-140. If yes, then does it necessarily need to be done before the present employer revokes I-140.

What will happen in case RFE is issued on I-140. Present employer will definitely not respond to it.


RD: 10/09/03
ND: 10/15/03
I-140/I485 --- PENDING, No RFE
EAD/AP: Approved 12/2003
 
Back to what AWS suggested, may be those of us who do call up bcis for general inquiry on this issue could also ask when a formal memo is expected on this matter...if this issue has been going on around for a while even before the AILA recommendations early August, then they should have some ballpark of when to expect a memo...or may be bcis gives out formal memos once a quater or six months or something...anybody knows when the next momo is expected??

Cheers and fingers crossed on a +++++++Ve note for all of us
Prabhu :)
 
Good Job AWS

Aws and other people waiting for I-140 approval,

As i posted a memo from my lawyer before, it looks like CIS is serious about this issue, :o I am sorry i could not provide the info about my lawyer to whoever asked, but tell you one thing i am going for it, have an interview on Friday and hopefully switch the job in 3 to 4 weeks.

Good luck everybody

Lucky1111 :cool:
 
Will it be safe to cross borders on EAD-AP if one were to switch jobs based on this expectation and 140 was still pending? Any thoughts....can it cause rentry problems, like if they were to ask u who do u work for?

Cheers,
Prabhu :)
 
I don't want to sound bad.
As long as CIS does not write it down, it is uneasy to use it. How can we hold responsibility to someone without any document. I am not sure. The fate is pretty much depending on an individual IO who is working on your file.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top