Urgent Advice requested for EB-1!

[Ticonderoga]

My EB-1 I-140 petition has been approved by VSC. My current status is H1B. I came to this country on a H1B as a Management Analysts. The same company filed the EB-1 for me as a Project Manager.

Now the attorney and the company want to move me to L1A as Project Manager, as a parallel process to AOS/CP. The reason cited by the company and the lawyer is that to keep it clean and avoid rejection at CP or RFEs at I-485, given that the job profiles were different.

My questions are:

1. Is it really important to move to a L1A now, from a safety perspective?

2. Is it that my company basically wants to ensure that I dont quit midway through I-485, should I choose it? Or if I file for I-485, the 180 rule kicks in, irrespective of L1 or H1 status?

3. The lawyer says that there is no timeline effect on the processing of the GC as this will be done in parallel. Is this true?

4. Net-net, should I agree to move to L1A?

5. Do I need to go for AP and EAD, whatever my Visa status. L or H? I have a travelling job and have to visit Europe and Asia every few months.

Thank you very much.

 

[Chris Brunot]

Though it may not be critical, but certainly it is better to shift to L-1A. EB-1 is for multinational managers and executives and so is L-1A. So the position requirements are almost the same. Shifting to L-1A may help in AOS/CP but since your I-140 has already been approved, it may not make much of a difference.

Still, I don't see any harm shifting to L-1A.

If you maintain your independent status (H-1 or L-1), then you do not need to apply for AP everytime you leave the US. You may reenter on your H-1/L-1 visa. There is no need to apply separately for EAD too.