Should I use AC21? Please help.

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Newman05

Registered Users (C)
I need your help guys please.

I'm stuck in the stupid FBI name check. I have been in my current position for almost 6 years now. I have a good job offer and I don't know what to do!! I'm just scared to use the AC21.
the new job offer is in another state. It's basically a director of a department. My current job is a specialist in a department. (the same field but the director position has more duties).
the new job offer will pay 55% above my current salary.

I don't know if I should use AC21 or not and I don't know what will happen if the AC21 is denied?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Regards.
 
Depends on how similar the new job is. As a department director you're obviously going to have management of other people as a major portion of your duties. If your current job doesn't involve any management of others at all, I doubt if it would be considered similar enough. And of course you have to also consider the similarity of the other job duties (but all duties don't have to be the same, since the AC21 requirement is "same or similar", not "exactly the same").
 
I had a similar question for my immigration lawyer this month. I was considering a move from my current position of a Senior Systems Administrator to a Manager position in a neighboring state. Same industry, exact same duties (my new boss said he would match the wording exactly), similar salary, but a change in title. To my surprise, my lawyer advised against this move due to the change in title. I had wrongly assumed that similar duties would carry more weight than the job title.

I had previously told the lawyer that if I did change jobs, I definitely wanted to minimize any risk to my application.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Thanks guys for your replies. I just talked to my lawyer and he told me to go for the new job. He said as far as he understand the AC21, that the concept is to give a mobility to the I-485 applicant in the same field. Currently, an pplicant may get stuck in the immigration system for several years and you don't expect that for several years you won't get promoted or get better positions. here comes the AC21 to give the person the mobility but in the same field. So, since I'm in the same field I will probably be ok. He said that he'll argue that it's a progress in my career and a step forward and the AC-21 should apply to my case. He also suggested to ask the new employer to file a new H-1 for me.

I don't know what to do.
 
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NovasTaylor said:
I had a similar question for my immigration lawyer this month. I was considering a move from my current position of a Senior Systems Administrator to a Manager position in a neighboring state. Same industry, exact same duties (my new boss said he would match the wording exactly), similar salary, but a change in title. To my surprise, my lawyer advised against this move due to the change in title. I had wrongly assumed that similar duties would carry more weight than the job title.
Click to expand...
Job duties do carry more weight, but a job title that doesn't match well with the job duties raises a red flag, making it seem you're trying to wordsmith the job duties to create an appearance of AC21 compliance, rather than giving a true picture of the job duties. If you're a manager, you'd better be managing. Did your "Senior Systems Administrator" have management duties ... how many people reported to you?
 
Newman05 said:
Thanks guys for your replies. I just talked to my lawyer and he told me to go for the new job. He said as far as he understand the AC21, that the concept is to give a mobility to the I-485 applicant in the same field. Currently, an pplicant may get stuck in the immigration system for several years and you don't expect that for several years you won't get promoted or get better positions. here comes the AC21 to give the person the mobility but in the same field. So, since I'm in the same field I will probably be ok. He said that he'll argue that it's a progress in my career and a step forward and the AC-21 should apply to my case. He also suggested to ask the new employer to file a new H-1 for me.
Click to expand...
AC21 was more about lateral mobility than upward, hence the "same or similar occupational classification", not "same or higher". Programmer/Analyst to Senior Programmer/Analyst is OK, but not Senior Programmer/Analyst to Department Manager. Get a second opinion from another lawyer who has known of somebody who changed from a non-management position to a position that has management as a primary duty, informed USCIS of the change, and still got their I-485 approved (hint: I don't think you'll be able to find such a lawyer).
 
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Jackolantern said:
Job duties do carry more weight, but a job title that doesn't match well with the job duties raises a red flag, making it seem you're trying to wordsmith the job duties to create an appearance of AC21 compliance, rather than giving a true picture of the job duties. If you're a manager, you'd better be managing. Did your "Senior Systems Administrator" have management duties ... how many people reported to you?
Click to expand...

While I managed "project teams" I was not a manager per se, so my lawyer's advice makes complete sense. Thanks for putting this in context for me.

T
 
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