Contact congressman without i-140 approval notice

Printable View

07-28-2013, 03:11 PM
Niksammy

Contact congressman without i-140 approval notice

Gurus,

I am an Eb3-Eb2 porter who will be current starting 1 Aug 2013. I currently work for a fortune 500 company and my case is being handled by Fragomen. My interfile request was sent to USCIS in June 2013 and my Eb2 i-140 is already linked to i-485 (this was confirmed by L2 officer in July 2013).

Fragomen said that once my date is current, there is no need for me to contact my local congressman as they will take care of everything.
My company also has a policy of not sharing i-140 approval notice with employees (and HR department folks are very rigid and insist that they wont make any exception for me). Since dates for EB2I are expected to retrogress by Oct 2013, rather than taking a chance, I am planning to contact my local congressman by 21st Aug 2013 if I do not get an approval.

I have a copy of my Eb3 i-140 approval notice, i-485 receipt notice.

Now my question is :
- Will congressman's office work on my request if I do not have a copy of new Eb2 i-140 approval?
- I do have A# for my new Eb2 i-140. Can the congressman's office use this A# instead of my i-140 approval notice?
- Other than using FOIA to get a copy of my Eb2 i-140approval (which can take 3-6 months), do I have any other option?
07-30-2013, 07:58 AM
Kanmani

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niksammy

Gurus,

I am an Eb3-Eb2 porter who will be current starting 1 Aug 2013. I currently work for a fortune 500 company and my case is being handled by Fragomen. My interfile request was sent to USCIS in June 2013 and my Eb2 i-140 is already linked to i-485 (this was confirmed by L2 officer in July 2013).

Fragomen said that once my date is current, there is no need for me to contact my local congressman as they will take care of everything.
My company also has a policy of not sharing i-140 approval notice with employees (and HR department folks are very rigid and insist that they wont make any exception for me). Since dates for EB2I are expected to retrogress by Oct 2013, rather than taking a chance, I am planning to contact my local congressman by 21st Aug 2013 if I do not get an approval.

I have a copy of my Eb3 i-140 approval notice, i-485 receipt notice.

Now my question is :
- Will congressman's office work on my request if I do not have a copy of new Eb2 i-140 approval?
- I do have A# for my new Eb2 i-140. Can the congressman's office use this A# instead of my i-140 approval notice?
- Other than using FOIA to get a copy of my Eb2 i-140approval (which can take 3-6 months), do I have any other option?

Your pending case is I-485 but not the I-140 case, so there should be no problem if you approach the congressman without the copy of I-140.

A# is the Alien number not the I-140 Receipt number. If you check this A#, it will be the same in all your documents including H1B approvals.

NONE .
07-30-2013, 08:30 AM
Niksammy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kanmani

Your pending case is I-485 but not the I-140 case, so there should be no problem if you approach the congressman without the copy of I-140.

A# is the Alien number not the I-140 Receipt number. If you check this A#, it will be the same in all your documents including H1B approvals.

NONE .

Thanks Kanmani!

I assumed that I need to have a copy of Eb2 i-140 approval as well - my bad.

Regarding A#, I am aware that it is different from receipt number (which starts with SRC because all my documents were submitted to TSC). I always had a different A# for my i-485 and Eb3 i-140. When I upgraded to Eb2, it had the same A# as Eb3 A# and old priority date. The A# for my i-485 is the one mentioned on all my EADs and APs since 2007. This was the reason I mentioned A#.

According to Fragomen, this has happened to many people and is not an issue at all. I recently spoke to L2 and she was able to confirm that my i-485 is attached to new Eb2 i-140 now and they are waiting for dates to be current.
07-30-2013, 08:37 AM
Kanmani

Nik, you should be fine with I-485 receipt number to expedite to your approval. Porting, interfiling may confuse them, just do as every other EB2 applicant obtain the congressman's help.
07-30-2013, 09:47 AM
Niksammy

Thanks a lot!
07-30-2013, 10:20 AM
Eb2_Dec07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niksammy

Thanks a lot!

Niksammy, can u share what is the procedure to contact congressman for help.

Do we need to share documents and stuff with them . Is there a rep or someone that should be contacted .
07-30-2013, 11:10 AM
gcq

If you need a copy of your immigration documents, you can always file a FOIA request with USCIS. You can get a copy of your entire application including labor certification with this request. If you don't know the I-140 receipt number, mention your A# in the request and ask for "all documents that support this application including I-140 and Labor certification".
07-30-2013, 11:21 AM
Niksammy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eb2_Dec07

Niksammy, can u share what is the procedure to contact congressman for help.

Do we need to share documents and stuff with them . Is there a rep or someone that should be contacted .

I have not contacted my congressman as yet. I was trying to figure out the procedure and documents needed to contact congressman in case I do not get any updates from USCIS by 20 Aug 2013. Since I do not have a copy of my EB2 approval notice (porting from Eb3), I wanted to check with gurus if I need a copy of my Eb2 approval notice. Kanmani responded that I do not need a copy of my EB2 approval (just i-485 receipt should be fine since I am inquiring about i-485).

1) Use http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ to find your local representative. Need all 9(XXXXX-XXXX) digits of zip code.
2) On your representative's page, there will be an option to contact him/her for matters related to help with federal agencies. You will have to describe your problem and fill out a privacy act form and fax to their local office. Someone from their office will contact you, and you will have to provide all supporting documents.

Since my local representative's office is 3 blocks away from my home, I am planning to walk in and meet the immigration liaison around 20th Aug 2013 if I do not get any updates. Hope this answers your question.
07-30-2013, 11:23 AM
Niksammy

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcq

If you need a copy of your immigration documents, you can always file a FOIA request with USCIS. You can get a copy of your entire application including labor certification with this request. If you don't know the I-140 receipt number, mention your A# in the request and ask for "all documents that support this application including I-140 and Labor certification".

It might take anywhere from 30-180 days to get this information from USCIS using FOIA, hence wanted to look at alternatives.