Re: Last Date
Originally posted by jack76
Hi Guys
I need your Sincere advice on this!..Any kind of information is
really appreciated..They are letting me go by the end of this month..This is my situation..
i applied 140/485/EAD/AP In Nov 24 2003(ND)..My current h1 ends
on apr31..only consolation is they wont cancel the existing h1.
i dont think i will able to ask them to extend that also..
you know american companies they dont understand the complications!..
what is the thought process i should do!..
Please help me with your valuble suggestions
Hi jack76.
I was in exactly the same situation as you about 6 weeks ago -- my company closed our entire studio here in VA. My visa situation is/was identical to yours although I've yet to apply for AP.
140/485/EAD situation:
Fortunately you will be in status as long as your I-485 is pending (and as long as your company continues to support the I-140). And, if you haven't received your EAD yet, you should get it within a couple weeks afaik (mine was filed 10/23/03 -- I got it approved on 02/06/04 and received the card 6 days later). You can use the EAD to work anywhere as long as the I-485 is pending. You should be able to renew the EAD/AP yourself if necessary.
The biggest obstacle that you face at this point is if your company revokes the I-140 (generally unlikely) or (more importantly) if the USCIS issues an RFE (you will need your company to support you in this case which could pretty much kill the green card process). In my case, I'm actually with the same company once again starting in March (in a different studio) so I should be fine. I've yet to determine whether I'll be able to "resurrect" my H visa or if I'll need to use the EAD (and apply for AP so I can go outside the US).
As you may know, once your I-140 is approved (you are probably about 7-8 months away from getting this at the current pace) you will be able to use "AC21 portability" as long as your I-485 has been pending for more than 6 months (which it will have been 7-8 months from now). Of course, at the time that the I-485 is processed (up to 3 years from now at the current pace
) you need to be in a position that is "similar" to the one for which the green card process was initiated.
H visa situation:
I'm not sure about the validity of your H visa even if your company doesn't "cancel" it. I believe they are required to inform the USCIS that they are no longer employing you eventually but even if they don't, I believe that the H visa is "tied" to that company's sponsorship. I certainly wouldn't try to travel outside of the US on it but you might be able to transfer it to another company if you find one soon. I'm pretty sure that if this was the only visa you had, you would be out of status as of your last day of employment -- the fact that you applied for adjustment of status is the only thing keeping you in status at this point.
Options:
Here's what I would do in your situation (others please feel free to correct / add to this):
#1 Consider contacting a good immigration lawyer. For $250-$500 or so, you could probably get much more reliable advice in a 1 hour conversation or via an exchange of emails than you'll get here
.
#2 Do everything you can (if possible) to get your company to support the I-140. Ask them to not revoke the application (usually companies don't bother to revoke these since it requires effort on their part and doesn't generally buy them anything). Find out what you can about what happens if you get an RFE and you are no longer working at the sponsoring company. My understanding (perhaps incorrect) is that unless the company "lies" and says they still plan to hire you as soon as the green card is obtained, you're SOL. Is there any chance that your company would take you on at another location or at some point in the future?
#3 When applying to other companies stress that you are able to work immediately (at no cost to them if you use the EAD). Companies don't want to have to wait for employees to be able to work and prefer not to have to pay $$$ if possible -- they'll go with another candidate instead. Try to pick a company with a good immigration lawyer
. If possible (when they make you an offer), talk to their immigration lawyer to see if there's anything they can work out. Depending on your situation it might be possible to start over with the LC process and be back in about the same situation within a year. In most states this is unlikely since LC is taking so long but apparently PERM (faster LC processing) might actually become a reality this year so that might help.
#4 Assuming the I-140 goes through, at the time that the I-485 is processed, make sure you are in a job which is as similar as possible to the one for which the GC was done. Again, a good lawyer might help here.
#5 You shouldn't need the H visa, although you could certainly ask your next company about transferring + extending it. Having the H visa (and using it instead of EAD) would mean that you'd have this to fall back on if the green card process dies (up to the 6 year limit). You also wouldn't need to apply for EAD/AP every year. With premium processing ($1000) the H visa could be transferred + renewed in < 2 weeks afaik (and I'm pretty sure renewals aren't affected by the H cap which was reached recently). Of course, you will be eating into the 6 year limit on H status if you do this...
Also, as far as collecting UI goes (not sure if you've thought of this yet), my
personal conclusion is that this should be ok and should not interfere with the green card process although this is a subject that others will debate. The concern is that the green card requires you to show that you will not become a "burden of the state". Some think that accepting UI could look bad, although the view that I accept is that UI is employee sponsored insurance, not public assistance, and, having paid into it, one should be eligible to collect it if you otherwise meet the requirements (are able to look for + accept work in the US -- which the AOS + EAD gives you). That said, although I'm probably eligible to collect about 2 weeks worth of UI between jobs, I'm not going to risk it for the $200 or so that this would give me...
Above all, don't panic. You might be able to get through this situation just fine. This isn't too bad of a time to be looking for work currently -- the economy has picked up quite a bit compared to 2 years ago.
I hope this helps.
ETA
