EB2 India Aug Unavailable and AC21

[doesitmatter]

Hello,
My PD is Dec 01 and I am from India. I have approved I-140. I am desperately trying to get my I-485 done in before July 31 so that I can atleast get EAD, AP and FP processed before the visas hopefully become available.

My company is also going thro layoffs and I could potentially be laid off sometime within the next month or so. The question I have is if laid off...am I eligible for AC21 portability given that I am filing my 485 when priority dates are available (July) and then due o retorgression my 485 is pending Aug, Sept and maybe beyond.

http://www.murthy.com/news/n_porret.html

The link above seems to imply this...but I was not sure if anyone has tried this. The most common cases seem to be 180 days rule...

Please help.

 

[eastsidedude]

no

Hello,
My PD is Dec 01 and I am from India. I have approved I-140. I am desperately trying to get my I-485 done in before July 31 so that I can atleast get EAD, AP and FP processed before the visas hopefully become available.

My company is also going thro layoffs and I could potentially be laid off sometime within the next month or so. The question I have is if laid off...am I eligible for AC21 portability given that I am filing my 485 when priority dates are available (July) and then due o retorgression my 485 is pending Aug, Sept and maybe beyond.

http://www.murthy.com/news/n_porret.html

The link above seems to imply this...but I was not sure if anyone has tried this. The most common cases seem to be 180 days rule...

Please help.

You become eligible for AC21 portability only once the 485 has been pending with USCIS for 6 months.

Retrogression does not impact the AC21 portability as long as the 485 has been filed.

If the company lays you off before 6 months are up, USCIS will question whether you still have a "permanent job offer" with the company sponsoring your I-140.

Technically, the sponsoring company can tell USCIS that even though they are doing layoffs now, they still intend to employ you once you get your green card. This is not going to be an easy case to argue with USCIS, so be prepared to hire a lawyer.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

My company is also going thro layoffs and I could potentially be laid off sometime within the next month or so. The question I have is if laid off...am I eligible for AC21 portability given that I am filing my 485 when priority dates are available (July) and then due o retorgression my 485 is pending Aug, Sept and maybe beyond.

So long as the I-485 is pending, you remain eligible for AC21 portability. If your I-485 is not ajudicated before 7/31, the silver lining if you are laid off is that it is quite unlikely that your case will be picked up and an employment verification RFE issued, giving you some extra time to find a new job.

I suspect that after October 1st the EB2 India dates will return back to something close to what they are this month, but priority date setting is a black art that no one should claim to be an expert in, least of all myself.

 

[doesitmatter]

My PD is 11/2001..so I hope to be current in Oct. I did not quite follow what you meant by being eligible for AC21...are you saying if I get a RD of 485 before Aug 1...if laid off I can use AC21 even though 6 months would not have elapsed?

on the silver lining...I guess you are saying after Aug 1..it is unlikely that I will get an emplyment RFE since my PD is not current and no one will be looking at my file post Jul31 until Oct. This gives me a couple of months atleast to get a similar job to use AC21 and keep my GC alive...is that right?

Once again...thank you so much...cant stress how invaluable the advice is provimg to be. I would never have guessed it if not for you people on the board. Thanks!

So long as the I-485 is pending, you remain eligible for AC21 portability. If your I-485 is not ajudicated before 7/31, the silver lining if you are laid off is that it is quite unlikely that your case will be picked up and an employment verification RFE issued, giving you some extra time to find a new job.

I suspect that after October 1st the EB2 India dates will return back to something close to what they are this month, but priority date setting is a black art that no one should claim to be an expert in, least of all myself.