Good news, FOIA worked
All,
FINALLY, I have gotten a copy of my approved I-140 and underlying (substituted ) Labor Certification...
..from the INS.
I have filed a FOIA request (Freedom of Information Act) - there is a form on the INS web page. It is only one page, and apart from address etc., all I wrote was "I request a complete copy of my I-140 petition and underlying Labor Certification".
I mailed it to VSC in November 2002, got a receipt letter (not a regular receipt notice) in mid December. At the end of February, I got a thick envelope with 62 pages of photocopies with everything I wanted. I didn't have to pay anything (an attorney had offered to get me a copy from the INS for $1,500). They have erased the name of the previous beneficiary from all the pages, but all the other information is there.
There is a post-it sticker on my I-140 that says "Approved - Please do NOT revoke this petition", which I have no clue what it means.. Any ideas, attorneys?