stranger70
Registered Users (C)
I have unique situation that I need some advice and suggestions from valued members at this forum.
I am from a non-retrogressed county, currently on H-1B visa end of 5th year. I have two graduate degrees (2 masters, no PhD) from a US university and currently working in state government agency. Although the preferred qualifications for my current job is typically a master degree plus two years experience, the actual minimum qualifications combination is a bachelor plus 4 years of experience. Therefore, when in March 2004, my employer applied for labor certification (done through the RIR track – no attorney), it had to be in the EB-3 category (she tried to make changes in the advertisement but couldn’t because of rigid state government policies – unlike the private sector).
As all backlogged cases were transferred from states to federal BECs (mine was in Dallas), my case was one of them, as evidenced by the continuation option letter (better known as 45-day letter) which my employer received, signed favorably, and mailed on the same day. A couple of months after that (when the DOL established the online LC backlog case status system), I was surprised to see that my case was closed. Since then, I became one of the forum dwellers commonly found reviewing posts in threads such as “Case closed erroneously by DOL”, “My case was closed…no NOF”, and the like.
My employer, through the agency’s attorneys and legal counselors, tried to contact DOL to inquire about the error and re-open the case. They made several phone calls and sent many emails but no response from DOL.
As I lost any hope that my case will re-open, in May 2007 I started preparation for a self-petitioned I-140 EB-2/NIW concurrently with I-485. Although I was not the perfect candidate for NIW, I do have some credentials that were worth the try (i.e., singed a contract with a famous publisher to write an industry-specific application-oriented textbook for graduate students on the use of a well-known statistical software package in health research…).
Last week, to my utmost surprise, I received the certified LC. My supervisor came to my office and handed it to me.
I understand from posts on this forum that it is OK to submit multipleI-140s. So, I want to take advantage of this opportunity and submit another I-140, particularly as a backup plan due the uncertainty of my NIW application being approved. According to the LC, my priority date is March 2004 (date accepted for processing based on DOL documentation). According to the September Visa Bulletin, they are processing cases with August 2002 priority date for all chargeability areas in the EB-3 category.
I am also aware that if my first I-140 NIW petition filed in 07/31/2007 got denied for some reason, my concurrently filed AOS I-485 will automatically be denied.
Here are my questions:
(1) In the scenario where I submit a second I-140 with my recently approved EB-3 LC (say this month), is there a way or procedure to inform the USCIS that I would like to link or associate this new I-140 petition to an already submitted I-485 (filed concurrently with a pending NIW petition)?
If yes, what is it? I have gone through this journey without an attorney so far. Is this situation worth seeking an attorney, or is it something I could do myself?
(2) Assuming that I submit the second I-140 this month without mentioning the previous pending applications, and some time in the coming two or three months I receive notification from USCIS that my first NIW got denied, can I reinstate that AOS application filed in July and link it to the second (would be still pending) I-140 petition?
(3) How do priority dates come into play in my situation?
- Filed first I-140/NIW plus I-485 in July 2007 when all PDs where current
- Filed second I-140/EB-3 (say in September) with an approved LC with a PD of March 2004, given a September visa bulletin PD of August 2002
Could it be true that the second I-140 petition won’t work with previously filed I-485 because PDs do not match? In other words, is the previously filed I-485 is unique to that first NIW petition, and once that first petition is denied, I have to go through the whole process (medicals, big fees, etc.) to apply another AOS if the second I-140 got approved?
I know my post is large (an I apologize) but wanted to give a full-picture so that I get an informed advice?
Please guys and gals try to review my case and suggest some insights. I am so thankful to the great efforts by forum organizers, mediators, and members for the wealth of information and real-life seniors being discussed.
For your kind review,
Stranger
I am from a non-retrogressed county, currently on H-1B visa end of 5th year. I have two graduate degrees (2 masters, no PhD) from a US university and currently working in state government agency. Although the preferred qualifications for my current job is typically a master degree plus two years experience, the actual minimum qualifications combination is a bachelor plus 4 years of experience. Therefore, when in March 2004, my employer applied for labor certification (done through the RIR track – no attorney), it had to be in the EB-3 category (she tried to make changes in the advertisement but couldn’t because of rigid state government policies – unlike the private sector).
As all backlogged cases were transferred from states to federal BECs (mine was in Dallas), my case was one of them, as evidenced by the continuation option letter (better known as 45-day letter) which my employer received, signed favorably, and mailed on the same day. A couple of months after that (when the DOL established the online LC backlog case status system), I was surprised to see that my case was closed. Since then, I became one of the forum dwellers commonly found reviewing posts in threads such as “Case closed erroneously by DOL”, “My case was closed…no NOF”, and the like.
My employer, through the agency’s attorneys and legal counselors, tried to contact DOL to inquire about the error and re-open the case. They made several phone calls and sent many emails but no response from DOL.
As I lost any hope that my case will re-open, in May 2007 I started preparation for a self-petitioned I-140 EB-2/NIW concurrently with I-485. Although I was not the perfect candidate for NIW, I do have some credentials that were worth the try (i.e., singed a contract with a famous publisher to write an industry-specific application-oriented textbook for graduate students on the use of a well-known statistical software package in health research…).
Last week, to my utmost surprise, I received the certified LC. My supervisor came to my office and handed it to me.
I understand from posts on this forum that it is OK to submit multipleI-140s. So, I want to take advantage of this opportunity and submit another I-140, particularly as a backup plan due the uncertainty of my NIW application being approved. According to the LC, my priority date is March 2004 (date accepted for processing based on DOL documentation). According to the September Visa Bulletin, they are processing cases with August 2002 priority date for all chargeability areas in the EB-3 category.
I am also aware that if my first I-140 NIW petition filed in 07/31/2007 got denied for some reason, my concurrently filed AOS I-485 will automatically be denied.
Here are my questions:
(1) In the scenario where I submit a second I-140 with my recently approved EB-3 LC (say this month), is there a way or procedure to inform the USCIS that I would like to link or associate this new I-140 petition to an already submitted I-485 (filed concurrently with a pending NIW petition)?
If yes, what is it? I have gone through this journey without an attorney so far. Is this situation worth seeking an attorney, or is it something I could do myself?
(2) Assuming that I submit the second I-140 this month without mentioning the previous pending applications, and some time in the coming two or three months I receive notification from USCIS that my first NIW got denied, can I reinstate that AOS application filed in July and link it to the second (would be still pending) I-140 petition?
(3) How do priority dates come into play in my situation?
- Filed first I-140/NIW plus I-485 in July 2007 when all PDs where current
- Filed second I-140/EB-3 (say in September) with an approved LC with a PD of March 2004, given a September visa bulletin PD of August 2002
Could it be true that the second I-140 petition won’t work with previously filed I-485 because PDs do not match? In other words, is the previously filed I-485 is unique to that first NIW petition, and once that first petition is denied, I have to go through the whole process (medicals, big fees, etc.) to apply another AOS if the second I-140 got approved?
I know my post is large (an I apologize) but wanted to give a full-picture so that I get an informed advice?
Please guys and gals try to review my case and suggest some insights. I am so thankful to the great efforts by forum organizers, mediators, and members for the wealth of information and real-life seniors being discussed.
For your kind review,
Stranger