pending I-140/I-485 laid off

M

mabayan

Registered Users (C)
Please help, Please guys and gals who been through similar experience do not ignore this post. I really really need all the help. My wife and daughters are oversees visiting and I need to make up my mind about bring them back or not, so please help.

I got laid off today :mad: . My I-140 and I485 are both pending. My I140 submitted on 08/28/03 and my I485 submitted on 02/28/04, so 180 already passed and I have a valid EAD. The HR in this company I was working for promised me they will not revoked the I140 application, but when asked if INS sends RFE they said we will not lie to them. I need help in answering these questions.

1. Do I need to tell my lawyer or not (since for I140 the attorney is considered the company's attorney even though I hired him an paid for him)

2.Can I do the AC21 or it does not apply to me??

3. If AC21 apply to me, do I have to search for a job in the same city/state/ ...etc.

4.Should I apply for extension of my H1-b with a new employer or EAD is enough? My H1 will expire on Jan 31, 2005.

5. Is there any issue I need to be aware of? Thanks all.
 
Here is what you should do...

Firstly you are not in any real problem since you have a valid H1 on which you are working. So, relax....

Now this is what you can do -

1) Based on the last working day for your existing company, I am not sure how many days you have till you are really off the payroll. So aggressively start looking for other job in any state or city. Get a job on H1, not on EAD. If it is tough then join a consulting company on h1 and then through them work as a contractor somewhere.

2) Your main concern is expiring H1 status so you have to file H1 transder whatevery comes before this one expires. Even if you don't get any job by then get a friendly consulting company to file an H1 transfer for you.

3) Once i the new job, wait for 140 approval. I am sure your approval is round the corner now. What are your chances of getting an RFE ? Evaluate those. If they are high ( most likely it will be ability to pay issues or education eval so look into those).

4) If RFE chances look high, send a Ac21 letter as soon as you join a new company.

Now since you are on H1 you are safe so file another labor as a safety net from other company. Just in case your current 140 is denied you can fall back on other labor application.

For your family, so they have a AP or h4 stamp that is valid. If they have a valid h4 stamp, sit pretty. They should not have any problems as long as you file for H1 transfer in ti,e. If they have just an AP then ask them to stay there till you apply for h1 transfer and then ask them to get a H4 stamp.

Alternatively you can rush them back into USA on AP before your last date on payroll.

Wait for others views here and then decide.

best of luck
 
will_get_there

Thanks for the great replies to "mabayan".

go a question about one thing;

4) If RFE chances look high, send a Ac21 letter as soon as you join a new company.

How is sending AC21 letter work here? If you don't have I140 approval, can you even mention "AC21".


mabayan;
can the company (without paying you) keep you in the company atleast for a month or two? This way they don't have to lie when the RFE shows up.
 
summit,

In my view if mayaban gets a 140 RFE he stands no chance since the company will either not respond to RFE or will respond negatively so the case will be denied right there. By sending AC21 before the RFE is received mayaban will have a chance to fight for AC21 since AC21 specifically allows job change if 485 is pending for 180 days and its the USCIS memo that talks about 140 approval which can be challanged in an appeal. I have seen cases some cases here where people fought to the hilt and won finally.


summit said:
will_get_there

Thanks for the great replies to "mabayan".

go a question about one thing;

4) If RFE chances look high, send a Ac21 letter as soon as you join a new company.

How is sending AC21 letter work here? If you don't have I140 approval, can you even mention "AC21".


mabayan;
can the company (without paying you) keep you in the company atleast for a month or two? This way they don't have to lie when the RFE shows up.
Click to expand...
 
mabayan,

Sorry to hear your situation. To add will_get_there's list,

Since you have valid H1b unitl Jan 2005, join another friendly h1b company and transfer your h1b. Either as soon as you get the transfer approval you can apply for an extension based on your I140/I485 being processed with your old employer. Since your employer said they will not revoke your I140 you are still fine applying for extension based on pending I140/485 application.
will_get_there... please correct me if i am wrong.

Best of luck.
 
I was in Similiar situation

I was in exact similar situation. I choosed to work on EAD and still waiting for my I-140 and I-485 to adjudicated. only thing is new job you should have Similar job description and same or more salary as it was on your Labour.

As far as RFE concern, if yours is a small company you will most likely get it, if you company says that " you are not with them but they intend to hire you back as soon as you get Green Card" will be enough to get you out of trouble. otherwise you can do the following

1) use the EAD for new Job and DO AC21, you family can get back to USA any day on AP untill their I-485 is still pending and AP is Valid.
2) Transfer the H-1 Visa, you family have to travel before your last day on Parole, or the new H-4 Visa stam after you change the company.

I asked many questions to my lawer and this is my understanding, Please consult your attorney for more details, there are so many catched in Immigration laws, even make attorney crazy.
Best of Luck
 
Hi Mabayan

I had a very similur situation like you, Last July I got layed off.
(Big corporate company more than 3000 employee). My compnay
attorney told me same thing, that they don't withdraw my I140 or 485
but if there is RFE they don't reply back.

I start using my EAD (I did't filed my H1b extension and AC21). with similur job.
Last month my 140 and 485 got approved without any RFE.

Best of Luck
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I-140 Apprrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooved

Hello every body, the great people of this forum. I just received the magic email :D . Finally, My I-140 has been approved today, Feb. 7th 2005. I can feel relaxed now.

To give an update about my situation:

1- My wife and kids came back on time on January 10th.
2- I found a job with similar description and title as my LC and 15% better pay than my pervious job and started on January 24th.
3- And today the great day I got the happy news.

So, the question is should I send my AP letter or should I wait for the I-485. Please give me your suggestions. Thanks.
 
Congratulation!!! mabayan:

can you post your details(PD, RD & EB category), this will help us to give more accurate advice
 
gchunger said:
Congratulation!!! mabayan:

can you post your details(PD, RD & EB category), this will help us to give more accurate advice
Click to expand...

My PD is 8/6/2002; however I am not of the countries affected by the PD retrogression issue. I-140 RD is 8/28/2003 & I-485 3/1/2004. My EB category is EB-3.
 
Hang in there

Hang in there for a few weeks. If you are not affected by the retrogression you are sure to get some news for your 485's within a month.
 
Did you join new company using EAD/H1 ? Did you file AC21 too ?

anyone Please reply...

My client also wants me join them using H1. My company is very small so expecting high chance of RFE. My details can be found in my signature...


Thanks in advance




mabayan said:
Hello every body, the great people of this forum. I just received the magic email :D . Finally, My I-140 has been approved today, Feb. 7th 2005. I can feel relaxed now.

To give an update about my situation:

1- My wife and kids came back on time on January 10th.
2- I found a job with similar description and title as my LC and 15% better pay than my pervious job and started on January 24th.
3- And today the great day I got the happy news.

So, the question is should I send my AP letter or should I wait for the I-485. Please give me your suggestions. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
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