Question regarding the experience letter for filing i140.
I am currently working for Company B and have an approved EB2 PERM. Before joining this company, I worked for Company A outside USA for 4 years and for the same company A in USA for 2 years.
When my current employer Company B filed the PERM, we have given my experience Outside USA for Company A as Job1 and then my experience for the same company A in USA as Job2. My PERM was approved with these details.
For filing I140 as per policy Company A has given just one experience letter in letterhead for my entire 6 years of experience with them (outside USA and USA). This experience letter has all the responsibilities/skills and employment dates listed in PERM for my Job1 outside USA and Job2 USA experiences.
My attorney suggests we file the i140 with this PERM, Experience letter and a supporting Cover letter that will explain both the job experiences are for the same company. Will getting just one experience letter for Job1 and Job2 for the same employer create any RFE or issues in i140 approval?
Please suggest anything we could add while filing I140 that will help in getting an approval.
In the worst case if my i140 for this PERM is denied. Can we my Current employer Company B file another PERM when their current PERM has not expired? Or should we wait till the expiry of the current PERM and then file a new PERM that will have all my experiences from Company A as in one Job? When we file a new PERM will we able to capture the priority date from the old PERM (whether it is still active or expired)?
I don’t see any issue with filing i140 with your current situation. Remember, i140 is primarily for verification of company B’s credibility, rather than yours.
USCIS has already approved your PERM which is supposed to be a verification of your documents.
This case is irrelevant here. Don’t worry, your i140 would be approved even if you do not attach a cover letter.
I doubt if you are right here. PERM is generally filed to DOL and not to USCIS. And FYI, none of our documents are submitted during PERM process unless DOL issues audit and asks for the same.
Normally you have time to get your experience letter till the time your PERM gets approved + 180 days. But most employers don’t prefer that because entire money spent for PERM would go waste if the candidate is able to provide the letter in prescribed format (like the problem this poster is facing).
So they ensure that they have the letter before even starting PERM process.
It is during i140 stage, USCIS comes in to picture. Our documents are submitted to USCIS along with the approved PERM notice. In PERM, there is a section that lists the skills of the alien worker.
The skills listed there needs to match exactly with the experience letter. USCIS can issue RFE for any discrepancy or may even issue NOID if there is a mismatch.
If they have specifically mentioned that the job requires outside US experience and US experience separately in the PERM advertisement, there are chances that the i140 gets denied. Because you misled a US worker that the job requires outside US experience who could have applied for the position if it was not a mandatory thing. It’s up to poster’s luck now.
I agree with your point that the supporting documents are ONLY required in case of Audit.
And it was my mistake to write USCIS instead of DOL.
In this case, he has all the supporting documents.
This case is pretty similar to my case where I had outside-USA experience and in-USA experience with the same company and got only 1 consolidated skill and experience letter. I shared my opinion based on what has happened in my case.
USCIS decision can go in any direction (can be multiple) based on even a single word’s omission or mis-match between any two documents. I agree with you on this too.
As a matter of fact, USCIS can even issue NOID, even after 5-6 years of issuing i140, based on their OWN mistake (no fault of company or employee), if they find it out in final stages of GC processing.
On the case of job advertisement, I agree that they should probably maintain the text and scenario they had asked for. If they had specifically mentioned that the job experience should have been attained outside-USA, they should probably include a cover letter explaining the combined experience letter. That should be fine.
Otherwise, his whole case is pretty good. He is not deliberately trying to twist the facts. He has all the supporting documents even if he gets a RFE.