Can I Change Job After Filing I-485

What is AC21?

Groundwork:

In 2000, Congress enacted the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-Get-go Century Act of 2000[ane] (AC21) which, in role, added INA 204(j)
This provision allows sure employment-based aligning of status applicants experiencing delays in the employment-based adjustment of the condition procedure some flexibility to alter jobs or employers while their Application to Register Permanent Residence or Suit Status (Form I-485) is pending

"If eligible under INA 204(j), the Immigrant Petition for Conflicting Workers (Form I-140) (and underlying permanent labor certification, if applicable) may remain valid and the casher of an canonical employment-based immigrant visa petition in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd preference category may transfer, or "port," to a qualifying new job offer that is in the same or a similar occupational classification equally the chore offer for which the petition was filed. The new task offer may be through the same employer that filed the petition or a different employer".

"These provisions are referred to as "portability." Employment-based aligning applicants who apply such benefits are considered to have "ported" the petition filed on their behalf to the new task offering".

What Types of Jobs are "Portable?"

How Tin I Use the Same Priority Appointment?

General Portability Requirements

To authorize for portability nether INA 204(j), the adjustment applicant must meet the post-obit eligibility requirements:

The applicant is the beneficiary of an canonical Form I-140 petition or of a pending petition that is ultimately canonical
The petition is filed in the employment-based 1st, 2nd, or third preference category
The applicant's properly filed adjustment awarding has been pending with USCIS for 180 days or more at the time USCIS receives the request to port
The new job offering through which the applicant seeks to adjust condition is in the same or similar occupational classification as the job specified in the petition
The bidder submitted a request to port
The new task offer maybe with the same petitioner or with an entirely new employer, including self-employment
Applicants can submit the portability request and show with the aligning application or in whatever in-person interviews or in response to a request or other notice from USCIS

Note:

If the applicant makes a request to "port" on or later January 17, 2017, the applicant must submit a Confirmation of Bona Fide Job Offer or Asking for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j) (Form I-485 Supplement J)
If the applicant requested to port before January 17, 2017, the applicant could have requested to port through a letter, since Form I-485 Supplement J did non become into event until Jan 17, 2017

Is Approved Petition Required?

- If USCIS has approved an applicant's Form I-140 petition and the applicant'south adjustment application remained unadjudicated for 180 days or more than (from the aligning awarding receipt date), the canonical petition remains valid unless the petition'southward approval is after substantively revoked
- This applies fifty-fifty if the applicant changes jobs or employers then long as the new offer of employment is in the same or similar occupation
- Even so, If the adjustment application has been awaiting for less than 180 days, the approved petition cannot be ported for new employment
- In all cases, an offer of employment must have been bona fide and the employer must have had the intent (at the fourth dimension the petition was approved) to employ the casher upon adjustment

In case of revocation, the officeholder adjudicating the adjustment application may deny the adjustment awarding and Supplement J request.

What if the Petition is Withdrawn by My Previous Employer?

- If USCIS receives a request from a petitioner to withdraw a pending Form I-140 petition, USCIS problems an acknowledgment of the withdrawal request and denies any corresponding adjustment application
- However, if the pending petition is approvable and the aligning application was pending for 180 days or more than, the petition may remain valid for priority engagement retention and possible eligibility under INA 204(j) for the adjustment awarding.[seven]

However, If the adjustment bidder is not eligible nether INA 204(j), the applicant must obtain a new employment-based preference petition in guild to file a new adjustment application, even if the withdrawal of the original petition occurred afterward it had been approved for at least 180 days or a corresponding adjustment awarding was pending for at least 180 days.

When Does the Countdown Start for 180 Days?

The counting the number of days the adjustment application has been pending begins on the 24-hour interval the bidder properly filed the aligning application with USCIS and includes every subsequent agenda day until USCIS receives the applicant's request to port (so long equally the application remains unadjudicated).

What is the Purpose of I-485 Supplement J and the Air conditioning-21 Portability Process?

The purpose of I-485 Supplement J is to provide a confirmation of the bona fide job offer (during initial I-485 filing) or to inform USCIS in I-485 porting cases nether AC-21 (for pending I-485 cases)

Who Needs to File Form I-485 Supplement J?

For all new I-485 filings where it is used to ostend that the task offered in the underlying I-140 immigrant petition (pending or approved) is still valid and offered to the beneficiary
All requests for AC21 portability of pending I-485 applications where the beneficiary wishes to transfer their pending I-485 to a new employer or job which is "same or similar"

Is it Necessary For My I-485 Application to be Pending for More than 180 days if I accept an Approved I-140?

Although USCIS cannot deny your I-485 application on the sole basis that you left your employer before 180 days accept passed
USCIS can issue a request for show (RFE) to decide whether the original offering of employment was bonafide
Your sponsor'south support could be necessary to answer to the RFE and its refusal to cooperate could mean denial of your I-485 application

How to Determine If a New Job is in Same or Similar Occupational Nomenclature?

"To make up one's mind whether a new job offer is valid for purposes of INA 204(j) portability, the new chore offer must exist in either the same occupational classification or a similar occupational nomenclature as the task specified in the underlying Course I-140 petition".

Same Occupational Nomenclature

An occupation that resembles in every relevant respect the occupation for which the underlying employment-based immigrant visa petition was approved.[17]
Appropriately, USCIS evaluates whether the jobs are identical, resembling in every relevant respect, or the same kind of category or thing when determining whether ii chore offers are in the same occupational classification

Similar Occupational Classification

An occupation that shares essential qualities or has a marked resemblance or likeness with the occupation for which the underlying employment-based immigrant visa petition was canonical.[xviii]
When determining whether two job offers are in similar occupational classifications, USCIS evaluates whether the jobs share essential qualities or take a marked resemblance or likeness

In order to determine if the new job offering is in the aforementioned or like occupational classification as the task listed on the petition, officers evaluate various factors.

Relevant Factors Include:

The U.South. Section of Labor (DOL) occupational codes assigned to the respective jobs;
Job duties
Task titles
The required skills and experience
The educational and training requirements
Any licenses or certifications specifically required
The offered wage or salary
Any other material and credible evidence relevant to a conclusion of whether the new position is in the same or a similar occupational nomenclature

Note: A change to the same or a similar occupational classification may involve lateral move, career progression, or porting to cocky-employment, either in the same or a different geographic location.

Should I Go on both I-485 and H1-B/L1 or H4?

It is besides keen to have both H1-B, L1, or H4, and I-485 if possible. It is a great contingency, if in that location is a sudden job loss or the possibility of being out of status, firsthand availability of an EAD and AP would definitely assistance yous avoid whatsoever violations.

We wrote a blog on that topic which might aid yous make a decision. You lot can notice that blog here

Portability rules are circuitous. Contact a reliable immigration attorney to ensure a safe transition to your new employment.

If yous have questions almost the adjustment of condition or have questions well-nigh the Greenish Carte du jour process in general, you tin schedule a consultation with u.s.:

Schedule a telephone call at 469-994-9407 or contact united states of america using the form .

Due to popular need (and a few due east-mails from people who could non join the H-1B webinar I hosted a few weeks ago), I decided to have some other H-1B CAP webinar on Feb 25, 2021, at 12pm (CST).

I will cover the following topics:

H-1B Registration
Information about the selection procedure
H-1B Requirements for the Employer and the Employee
Tips to avoid an RFE
Considerations for OPT students
Q &A

If you are interested, and could not make the previous webinar, you tin annals hither:

Source: https://ustunlawgroup.com/changing-jobs-after-filing-i-485-with-ac-21/

Posted by: truesdalehimat1991.blogspot.com