I-485, AC-21, Concurrent filing guidance

[dreams_n_work]

Dear Friends,

I have been reading these posts in the last month and am getting accquanited with our issues. I truly appreciate all the wonderful work done here and hope I can do the same in time. It is a good feeling to know of the community coming together for common causes.

Kindly guide me on my case. My labor was filed in New Hampshire in June 2004. It was sent to Boston DOL in September. I am expecting a clearance in the coming few days. My processing center is Vermont.

I have a B.E. from Bombay University and ten years plus of software work experience. My lawyer mentions that my filing will be in the EB3 category.

I have read about the possibility of the I-485 priority date moving back for EB3.I am also confused about the concurrent filing of I-140 and I-485. I would like to get my I-140 cleared earlier and at least have the option of AC-21 in case of any challenging situation. Even if the 485 is adjusted later on.

What would people here advise me. Should I even request the lawyer to consider EB2 and file in both categories simaltenously.

Should I continue with EB3? If so how do I ensure to get the benefit of AC-21 if my I-485 priority date moves back? What would be the approach different people would take if they were in the same position as me.

Thanking you for the guidance.

 

[GC_DJ]

Dear Friends,

I have been reading these posts in the last month and am getting accquanited with our issues. I truly appreciate all the wonderful work done here and hope I can do the same in time. It is a good feeling to know of the community coming together for common causes.

Kindly guide me on my case. My labor was filed in New Hampshire in June 2004. It was sent to Boston DOL in September. I am expecting a clearance in the coming few days. My processing center is Vermont.

I have a B.E. from Bombay University and ten years plus of software work experience. My lawyer mentions that my filing will be in the EB3 category.

I have read about the possibility of the I-485 priority date moving back for EB3.I am also confused about the concurrent filing of I-140 and I-485. I would like to get my I-140 cleared earlier and at least have the option of AC-21 in case of any challenging situation. Even if the 485 is adjusted later on.

What would people here advise me. Should I even request the lawyer to consider EB2 and file in both categories simaltenously.

Should I continue with EB3? If so how do I ensure to get the benefit of AC-21 if my I-485 priority date moves back? What would be the approach different people would take if they were in the same position as me.

Thanking you for the guidance.

I am in a similar situation as you. There are no easy answers. If your labour is cleared soon and If you can apply for I-140 and I-485 together, you can atleast get the benifit of EAD. If you can't make the deadline of Jan 01, 2005 then Eb3 cutoff dates is expected to move to some time in 2002 and you can not apply for I-485 until the dates get past your priority date. You can apply for I-140 but there is a possibilty that they will not process your I-140 until your priority date is current. To use AC21 your I-140 has to be approved and I-485 is pending for atleast 6 months. Bottom line is Eb3 guys who have priotity date in the middle of 2004 are screwed big time (May be 2 years wait for prority date to become current).

You can apply for another labour in EB-2. The Eb2 dates are not expected to go back atleast for now. Also, with all the restructuring going on we don't know how long it will take for your second labour to be approved. So there are lot of unknowns here and hard to predict the future.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

I would make no assumptions as to the EB3 retrogression yet, and unless our poster is Indian- or Chinese-born, retrogression is extremely unlikely to affect them.