PLEASE HELP ASAP --- AC21 and PD questions ...

M

mariano

Registered Users (C)
These are the particulars of my case (dates are fictitious):

I140 & I485 were filed concurrently (Received Date: March 01, 2008).

I140 approval notice received on June 1, 2008 and had these 3 dates:
>>Notice Date: May 01, 2008
>>Receipt Date: March 01, 2008
>>Priority Date: November 01, 2007 (!???)


#1: Since my I485 was filed on March 01, 2008 and the I140 is already approved, can someone confirm that I'll be able to use AC21 in case I find a new job that starts on September 1, 2008? (Assume the job duties and salary are similar to what's in my LC.)


#2: Is my Priority Date really November 2007 (I'm afraid it is a typo and should really be November 2008)? Is this PD also for my I485? What does Priority Date mean, anyway?


#3: I just looked at the current NSC processing time for I485 and it said August 10, 2007. Assuming the processing times move by 1 day everyday, does this mean that I can expect some final decision (hopefully approval) on my I485 sometime in 3 months (assuming my PD is really November 2007, which is 3 months from August 2007)?


#4: AC21 requires that the new job is similar to what's specified in LC. If the new job is a superset of the duties described in LC, will it still be eligible for AC21? If not, do you have recommendations on how I can find out if my new job duties will be considered as similar to my LC job duties? (I'll be happy to post some of the key duties here if you guys can help me assess them.)


#5: If I use AC21 successfully to continue my I485 without my new employer filing a new LC and I140, is there any chance that my new employer could receive an RFE? (I just want to know in advance if there's a chance my new employer could jeopardize my greencard by not cooperating with RFEs.)


I might be called for a job interview next week. I will be grateful if you could respond to my questions above as soon as possible, in case these questions come up.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Please help if you can give even partial response (need to have answers by next week)

Sorry for the rush --- I so desperately need this new job and want to take it if I am already eligible for AC21.

I appreciate your help.
 
1. Yes. Salary doesn't have to be similar ... it just should not be so hugely different that they believe the job is not similar, otherwise you will have extra convincing to do. If you jump from $60K to $180K or down to $25K, it would raise a red flag unless such variations are common in your profession.

2. Priority date is when your labor certification was filed. Or if you were eligible to skip the labor certification, the priority date is when the I-140 was filed. So in the context of your I-140/I-485 dates, November 2007 appears correct.

3. That date you see for NSC represents the I-485 receipt date of the people they are approving now, and that is not the same as priority date. So you need to wait until they reach March 2008 before you can expect a decision. So if they are at August 2007 now, you should expect to wait for 7 more months, assuming they progress at the rate of 1 month per calendar month. Of course, you could get lucky and get approved sooner, or unlucky and get approved years later ... that date is only a rough guideline, not a guarantee. In addition, your priority date must be current ... do you know what that means?

4. Depends on how much of a bigger superset. AC21 allows "similar", so the next job doesn't have to be an exact match. However, if the new job has more than 50% of its duties different, it is likely to be found to not be similar.

5. If the I-140 is approved, the employer won't get an RFE about it unless USCIS sees a reason to revoke it on the basis of fraud or because they think it was approved in error. However, you should revoke the G-28 of the attorney assigned to handle your I-485, if the attorney is tied to the employer. This is because RFE/NOID about the I-485 may go to that attorney if the G-28 is still valid.
 
Getting worried again after GXR's I-485 denied past 180 days!!!

Thanks for your response, Jackolantern!

I've read GXR's post today about his I-485 being denied even though he switched jobs after 7 months have passed. I am now half-hearted about this new great job I am eyeing --- I'm thinking if I should just wait until middle of next year when I expect my I-485 to be approved. I am all totally confused/scared of MTRs, and without financial resources to pay my own attorney in case I get denied.

Those of you who have filed AC21, I would be grateful if you could post some experiences you have with AC21.

Those who are just considering it (like me) --- would you still continue with AC21 knowing that it might get ignored and your I-485 denied due to a revoked I-140?

Finally, what options do we have if our I-485 gets denied? Will we have time to look for another job and, if necessary, start the process all over again? I am SO WORRIED NOW.

Thanks for your patience/help.
 
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