I am brand new here and thank you very much to the helpful and friendly people (as well as my friend who introduced me to this thread). I have been browsing this for many hours this evening.
First the long back story: I was going through the immigration process in the late 90s but my company was bought by another company and I was laid off in 2000. I went out of status but discovered that some ex-managers were starting another project for which they would need someone with my skills when it neared implementation. He convinced his company to sponsor me - they refused to hire me without all paperwork in order - and I was grandfathered under the 2001 'amnesty' at the last minute.
In early 2004, I got my I-140 approved and I immediately filed for I-485 & EAD. Unfortunately, less than a month before I got my EAD, the person who would have been my manager quit the sponsoring company and the project has been put on 'hold'. Luckily, they didn't cancel my I-140 so not everything was bad.
Since then, I have worked for various companies on and off as a consultant and most offers I got during this time has been for consulting or significantly lower wages than what was in my application. (I did have some offers in other regions - I am in NY - but the info given to me made me think that applying from another region would drastically delay everything. I wish I had come aross this forum earlier.)
Now, I have been invited for the I-485 interview in two weeks (when I am between consulting positions)! There is one good news: I helped out one of my ex-professors when he was starting a new company last year and he was interested in having me work for him. He was in Minnesota so I didn't bother about it but he says that the offer still stands.
My questions are:
1. Will there be problems if I produce an employment offer from a MidWest company while I am in NorthEast (without AC21)? If the intended employment is based out of MN, can they reject me for continuing my process in NY? Can I tell them the reason (I was waiting for my process to be done) if I get asked about getting a job in MN while in NY?
2. Am I better off postponing the interview (so that I could get some pay stubs from the new company)? How long does it take to get another interview?
3. Could this process go smoother if I produce pay stubs? In that case, I could postpone since I can persuade my new company to let me telecommute for a short period but am I better off moving the interview to the MidWest region (is it even possible?) or should I keep my residence in NY until everything is settled?
4. What are the reasons I could use for postponing the interview if necessary? (I can't say that I am out of the country since I can't travel.)
5. Do I need to take the tax returns and W-2/1099 forms from the past few years to the interview? It may provoke further questions about the sources of income (since I never filed for AC21 adjustment and the level of income has not been at my wage level during periods).
6. I also have an FP appointment this week. Should I go for it or should I postpone everything until all issues are cleared.
Sorry for the long post but I am really worried and considering my current status, I can't take any risks so all replies are very much appreciated.
First the long back story: I was going through the immigration process in the late 90s but my company was bought by another company and I was laid off in 2000. I went out of status but discovered that some ex-managers were starting another project for which they would need someone with my skills when it neared implementation. He convinced his company to sponsor me - they refused to hire me without all paperwork in order - and I was grandfathered under the 2001 'amnesty' at the last minute.
In early 2004, I got my I-140 approved and I immediately filed for I-485 & EAD. Unfortunately, less than a month before I got my EAD, the person who would have been my manager quit the sponsoring company and the project has been put on 'hold'. Luckily, they didn't cancel my I-140 so not everything was bad.
Since then, I have worked for various companies on and off as a consultant and most offers I got during this time has been for consulting or significantly lower wages than what was in my application. (I did have some offers in other regions - I am in NY - but the info given to me made me think that applying from another region would drastically delay everything. I wish I had come aross this forum earlier.)
Now, I have been invited for the I-485 interview in two weeks (when I am between consulting positions)! There is one good news: I helped out one of my ex-professors when he was starting a new company last year and he was interested in having me work for him. He was in Minnesota so I didn't bother about it but he says that the offer still stands.
My questions are:
1. Will there be problems if I produce an employment offer from a MidWest company while I am in NorthEast (without AC21)? If the intended employment is based out of MN, can they reject me for continuing my process in NY? Can I tell them the reason (I was waiting for my process to be done) if I get asked about getting a job in MN while in NY?
2. Am I better off postponing the interview (so that I could get some pay stubs from the new company)? How long does it take to get another interview?
3. Could this process go smoother if I produce pay stubs? In that case, I could postpone since I can persuade my new company to let me telecommute for a short period but am I better off moving the interview to the MidWest region (is it even possible?) or should I keep my residence in NY until everything is settled?
4. What are the reasons I could use for postponing the interview if necessary? (I can't say that I am out of the country since I can't travel.)
5. Do I need to take the tax returns and W-2/1099 forms from the past few years to the interview? It may provoke further questions about the sources of income (since I never filed for AC21 adjustment and the level of income has not been at my wage level during periods).
6. I also have an FP appointment this week. Should I go for it or should I postpone everything until all issues are cleared.
Sorry for the long post but I am really worried and considering my current status, I can't take any risks so all replies are very much appreciated.