Interesting question on AC21 interpretation

[marlon2006]

A hypothetical question:

Imagine that 1.5 years after filing I-485, with I-140 approved, one decides to change jobs to same or similar position. You get the Employment Evaluation Letter from new employer, but you do not send it to USCIS, since that is not required anyway.

Then 3 weeks later, few days after starting the new job you receive the greencard on the mail.

It looks to me that the above is totally supported by the law, isn't it ?
During the citizenship process, in case the immigration officer inquiries on reasons why you have been working for the new employer for 5 years, you could show the AC21 letter which is on your possession and that's it ?

Following the logic above it seems that upon publication of the AC21 portability law, the notion of sticking with employer after getting GC makes no sense. Just my thought.

 

[Jackolantern]

Even if you do the AC21 and change to another employer, you are still expected to stay with that other employer for some time after getting the GC. All that happens is that you effectively ported the GC application to the next employer, not that you're a free bird all of a sudden. That's why they still require the next job to be same or similar to the original job. So you still need to stick with your employer after getting the GC; it just doesn't have to be the same employer with whom you started the process.

 

[marlon2006]

That is convenient. I think most people would stick to a new job for at least one year anyway.

Regarding proving intent to work for sponsoring employer, if ever required during citizenship process, I imagine that one should be able to demonstrate excellent performance reviews throughout employment, letters from co-workers and supervisors showing that one was committed and dedicated for the success of the company. It seems that one could also apply for citizenship in the 6th year and then list past employment history of 5 years in order to avoid triggering questions on why you left early.

Even if you do the AC21 and change to another employer, you are still expected to stay with that other employer for some time after getting the GC. All that happens is that you effectively ported the GC application to the next employer, not that you're a free bird all of a sudden. That's why they still require the next job to be same or similar to the original job. So you still need to stick with your employer after getting the GC; it just doesn't have to be the same employer with whom you started the process.

 

[puerthoughts]

I also want to know how you can establish that your new job duties are the same as mentioned in the Labor certificate, since your desi employer will not give you the copy of the labor....

Any ideas ?

 

[TheRealCanadian]

I also want to know how you can establish that your new job duties are the same as mentioned in the Labor certificate, since your desi employer will not give you the copy of the labor....

They don't have to be the same. They need to be "same or similar", which is pretty broad.

 

[Jackolantern]

I also want to know how you can establish that your new job duties are the same as mentioned in the Labor certificate, since your desi employer will not give you the copy of the labor....

Any ideas ?

The "occupational classification" is what needs to be similar, not the job itself.

Do you know the DOT code that classified your job on the labor certificate? Go to http://www.occupationalinfo.org/dot_index.html and look up that code to see the description. That description is what your new job needs to be similar to.

 

[indian_gc_ocean]

The "occupational classification" is what needs to be similar, not the job itself.

Do you know the DOT code that classified your job on the labor certificate? Go to http://www.occupationalinfo.org/dot_index.html and look up that code to see the description. That description is what your new job needs to be similar to.

Even though on a top level it is the occupational classification, when I recently did AC21 through a leading lawyer, I was told that LC job duties are to be compared to the new job to determine if they both fall within the same or similar occupational classification. In other words, it is not for us to tell USCIS what the occupational classification is, immigration officer will refer to the DOT code if the job duties do not match. It is always better to have the same/similar job duties in the LC and the new job not worrying about the actual classification.