Originally Posted by
Pedro Gonzales
I disagree that 2 is going to be higher than 1. In fact I'm willling to bet that it will be significantly lower.
When I researched using AC21 portability a year ago, my take from my online research (that I trust) and my lawyer (that I trust less) was that there is a lot of flexibility in terms of geography and job description Progression in career and lateral moves in related organizations in the same sector (eg., in my sector, moving from an investment bank to a private equity fund, a family investment office, a venture capital shop, a corporate etc) are quite acceptable.
On the other hand, a person that doesn't have an EAD has to find an employer that is willing to go through the PERM process and apply for a new I140 and I485, all of which takes time and expense, and for smaller employers in my sector, this is a hassle they'd rather avoid.
Secondly, I don't believe that the 300 per month porting numbers are going to stay constant. I'll bet that they'll drop precipitously next year. That is because the folks most likely to port (because of children aging out, ability and willingness to move to better opportunities, or simply tired of waiting for their GCs) have already done so. No doubt every year there will be more people that fall into that category, but that is going to be far lower than we've had in FY2012 & FY2013 because of a pent up demand of several years that was met in those years. Also post 2008, I believe there are fewer % of applicants in EB3 and more in EB1 and EB2.