关于140批准后的PD可否保留的问题# EB23 - 劳工卡
S*r
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这个问题版上每个月都有人问：我还没交485，140批了，我现在换工作可以保留PD么？
一般大家的认知是：只要批准的140没有欺诈（fraud or willful misrepresentation
）都可以保留PD。
我查了一下USCIS的有关法律条文，与之相关的是以下两个文件：
第一个文件是09-12-2006发的Field Manual，这个文件陈述了I-140表格上具体审核的
每条内容，是指导具体处理申请的移民官如何审核I-140的工作手册，甚至涵盖了申请
人有可能欺诈的地方，大家有时间可以一字一句研读一下，下为链接：
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-6
具体关于PD如何确定是以下这段：
(1) Determining the Priority Date .
In general, if a petition is supported by an individual labor certification
issued by DOL, the priority date is the earliest date upon which the labor
certification application was filed with DOL. In those cases where the alien
’s priority date is established by the filing of the labor certification,
once the alien’s Form I-140 petition has been approved, the alien
beneficiary retains his or her priority date as established by the filing of
the labor certification for any future Form I-140 petitions, unless the
previously approved Form I-140 petition has been revoked because of fraud or
willful misrepresentation. This includes cases where a change of employer
has occurred; however, the new employer must obtain a new labor
certification if the classification requested requires a labor certification
(see the section on successor in interest).
以上便是大家对PD共识的法律依据。
下面还有一段：
(3) Priority Date Based on Earlier Petition .
If an alien is the beneficiary of two (or more) approved employment-based
immigrant visa petitions, the priority of the earlier petition may be
applied to all subsequently-filed employment-based petitions. For example:
Company A files a labor certification request on behalf of an alien ("Joe")
as a janitor on January 10, 2003. The DOL issues the certification on March
20, 2003. Company A later files, and USCIS approves, a relating I-140 visa
petition under the EB-3 category. On July 15, 2003, Joe files a second I-140
visa petition in his own behalf as a rocket scientist under the EB-1
category, which USCIS approves. Joe is entitled to use the January 10, 2003,
priority date to apply for adjustment under either the EB- 1 or the EB-3
classification.
说的是如果JOE同时有几份I-140，那么PD是按最早的那份140来定。顺便说一句，老美
真够变态的，还真觉得别的国家的火箭科学家都爱来美国当清洁工啊。
第2个官方文件是USCIS关于I-140的一个问答网页：
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e
大家直接去看Q #5. When filing my Form I-140, how should I organize the
evidence with the petition? [Answer Finalized on 06/30/09]
这个文件是2009年更新的，比第一个文件要更新。
看回答部分：
If the alien beneficiary may be entitled to an earlier priority date based
on a previously approved Form I-140 petition, please provide a statement to
that affect, along with a copy of the Form I-797 approval notice for the
previous petition. (See 8 C.F.R. 204.5(e))
还是不是非常明确，但是提到了这个8 C.F.R. 204.5(e)
我们追根溯源去看一下这个8 C.F.R. 204.5(e)：
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-1
这里关于PD的主要有这两段（d小节基本上是介绍，e小节才是我们关注的重点）：
(d) Priority date . The priority date of any petition filed for
classification under section 203(b) of the Act which is accompanied by an
individual labor certification from the Department of Labor shall be the
date the request for certification was accepted for processing by any office
within the employment service system of the Department of Labor. The
priority date of any petition filed for classification under section 203(b)
of the Act which is accompanied by an application for Schedule A designation
or with evidence that the alien's occupation is a shortage occupation
within the Department of Labor 's Labor Market Information Pilot Program
shall be the date the completed, signed petition (including all initial
evidence and the correct fee) is properly filed with the Service. The
priority date of a petition filed for classification as a special immigrant
under section 203(b)(4) of the Act shall be the date the completed, signed
petition (including all initial evidence and the correct fee) is properly
filed with the Service. The priority date of an alien who filed for
classification as a special immigrant prior to October 1, 1991, and who is
the beneficiary of an approved I-360 petition after October 1, 1991, shall
be the date the alien applied for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status.
In the case of a special immigrant alien who applied for adjustment before
October 1, 199 1, Form I-360 may be accepted and adjudicated at a Service
District Office or sub-office. (Amended 6/27/96; 61 FR 33304 )
(e) Retention of section 203(b)(1) , (2) , or (3) priority date. -- A
petition approved on behalf of an alien under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3
) of the Act accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition
for any subsequently filed petition for any classification under sections
203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act for which the alien may qualify. In the
event that the alien is the beneficiary of multiple petitions under sections
203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act, the alien shall be entitled to the
earliest priority date. A petition revoked under sections 204(e) or 205 of
the Act will not confer a priority date, nor will any priority date be
established as a result of a denied petition. A priority date is not
transferable to another alien.
我们关心的是什么情况下PD不能保留，这里提到在sections 204(e) or 205条款下被
revoked的PD不能保留。
继续追查，看204(e)和205是什么：
204（e):http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-1272/0-0-0-1430.html#0-0-0-1807
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle an immigrant, in
behalf of whom a petition under this section is approved, to be admitted the
United States as an immigrant under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section
203 or as an immediate relative under section 201(b) if upon his arrival at
a port of entry in the United States he is found not to be entitled to such
classification.
205:http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-1610.html#0-0-0-186
Sec. 205. [8 U.S.C. 1155] The Secretary of Homeland Security 1/ may, at any
time, for what he deems to be good and sufficient cause, revoke the approval
of any petition approved by him under section 204. Such revocation shall be
effective as of the date of approval of any such petition.
204(c)说的是你是你老板直系亲属的情况
205则是笼统的说，国土安全部可以在任何时候在合理理由下取消你的I-140
好了，这一通追查下来，似乎我们一开始关心的那个换工作保留140的认知还是成立的。
最后我在这里提供一个链接，是在某律师的网站上看到的：
http://www.olenderpham.com/immigration/business-immigration/emp
以下是粗体字的回答部分
Question: Under 8 CFR § 204.5(e), a foreign national is eligible to use an
earlier priority date from a previously approved immigrant visa petition
under the first-preference, second-preference, and third-preference
employment-based categories. Are there any restrictions regarding use of a
priority date from one category to another? (For example, if a third-
preference immigrant visa petition is approved, can the priority date be
used for a later-filed first-preference immigrant visa petition?)
Answer: There is no restriction on the use of a priority date from a third
preference immigrant visa petition to a first preference immigrant visa
petition. The use of a priority date from a first, second, or third
preference category may be used on subsequent filings (regardless of first,
second, or third preference) provided the original petition was not denied
or revoked. In addition, retention of old third and sixth preference
petition (petition filed before October 1, 1991) priority dates may only be
allowed if the beneficiary applies for an adjustment of status or immigrant
visa within two years of the date of visa availability.
下面是小体字的重要部分：
Note, however, that if the previous employer withdraws the earlier I-140
petition at any time up until the employee's I-485 application has been
pending for 180 days, the priority date is likely no longer valid. (See the
discussion of Mawalla v. Chertoff below). Becasue of the long queue for
third preference category workers, it seems that the only safe way to use
the underlying I-140 petition to retain the earlier priority date is with
the previous employer's cooperation.
这段内容和版上某些ID所持的观点是一致的：如果雇主withdraw I-140,注意，这里是
雇主收回(withdraw)而不是取消(revoke/cancel)，移民局将视作该I-140从未发生过，
因此PD不复存在。雇主只有在I-485 pending 180天以后才无权收回I-140，这条是AC21
里明文写的。
但现实里，USCIS规定雇主没有这个必要去收回I-140,雇主可以不收回，也可以收回，
后者可能要支付律师一笔额外费用，所以雇主常常不去收回。但是如果你离职时和雇主
闹翻了，对方完全有可能这么做。
还是这个网址，给出了雇主很有可能不回收I-140的理由（请大家scroll down）：
Potential Liability for Employers Who Withdraw I-140 Petitions Without Reason
Even in at-will employment states, employers have a duty not to take certain types of action against current or past employees without good reason. Several civil employment law cases litigated in the state and federal courts indicate that employers may face liability for breach of contract, and even fraud for taking certain immigration-related action against employees without good reason. Employers, for example, are required to inform USCIS upon an H-1B worker's termination of employment. 8 CFR 214.2(h)(11). But the employer is not required to notify USCIS upon the termination of employment of an I-140 beneficiary (the H-1B withdrawal notice is sent to a different address and references a different case number than an I-140 withdrawal request). If an employer requests that USCIS withdraw an I-140 petition for a worker simply to punish him, the employer risks an employment suit in state, or federal court. Suits like this can be unpleasant because they raise the possibility of additional investigation by Department of Labor, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Department of Homeland Security.
当然，这条还很有争议性。我在另外律师网站上看到过相反论点：即无论雇主收不收回
，PD都可以保留。我在USCIS官方文件里也没有看见明确解释，这里还望高手指点。
以上文件仅供大家参考。
一般大家的认知是：只要批准的140没有欺诈（fraud or willful misrepresentation
）都可以保留PD。
我查了一下USCIS的有关法律条文，与之相关的是以下两个文件：
第一个文件是09-12-2006发的Field Manual，这个文件陈述了I-140表格上具体审核的
每条内容，是指导具体处理申请的移民官如何审核I-140的工作手册，甚至涵盖了申请
人有可能欺诈的地方，大家有时间可以一字一句研读一下，下为链接：
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-6
具体关于PD如何确定是以下这段：
(1) Determining the Priority Date .
In general, if a petition is supported by an individual labor certification
issued by DOL, the priority date is the earliest date upon which the labor
certification application was filed with DOL. In those cases where the alien
’s priority date is established by the filing of the labor certification,
once the alien’s Form I-140 petition has been approved, the alien
beneficiary retains his or her priority date as established by the filing of
the labor certification for any future Form I-140 petitions, unless the
previously approved Form I-140 petition has been revoked because of fraud or
willful misrepresentation. This includes cases where a change of employer
has occurred; however, the new employer must obtain a new labor
certification if the classification requested requires a labor certification
(see the section on successor in interest).
以上便是大家对PD共识的法律依据。
下面还有一段：
(3) Priority Date Based on Earlier Petition .
If an alien is the beneficiary of two (or more) approved employment-based
immigrant visa petitions, the priority of the earlier petition may be
applied to all subsequently-filed employment-based petitions. For example:
Company A files a labor certification request on behalf of an alien ("Joe")
as a janitor on January 10, 2003. The DOL issues the certification on March
20, 2003. Company A later files, and USCIS approves, a relating I-140 visa
petition under the EB-3 category. On July 15, 2003, Joe files a second I-140
visa petition in his own behalf as a rocket scientist under the EB-1
category, which USCIS approves. Joe is entitled to use the January 10, 2003,
priority date to apply for adjustment under either the EB- 1 or the EB-3
classification.
说的是如果JOE同时有几份I-140，那么PD是按最早的那份140来定。顺便说一句，老美
真够变态的，还真觉得别的国家的火箭科学家都爱来美国当清洁工啊。
第2个官方文件是USCIS关于I-140的一个问答网页：
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e
大家直接去看Q #5. When filing my Form I-140, how should I organize the
evidence with the petition? [Answer Finalized on 06/30/09]
这个文件是2009年更新的，比第一个文件要更新。
看回答部分：
If the alien beneficiary may be entitled to an earlier priority date based
on a previously approved Form I-140 petition, please provide a statement to
that affect, along with a copy of the Form I-797 approval notice for the
previous petition. (See 8 C.F.R. 204.5(e))
还是不是非常明确，但是提到了这个8 C.F.R. 204.5(e)
我们追根溯源去看一下这个8 C.F.R. 204.5(e)：
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-1
这里关于PD的主要有这两段（d小节基本上是介绍，e小节才是我们关注的重点）：
(d) Priority date . The priority date of any petition filed for
classification under section 203(b) of the Act which is accompanied by an
individual labor certification from the Department of Labor shall be the
date the request for certification was accepted for processing by any office
within the employment service system of the Department of Labor. The
priority date of any petition filed for classification under section 203(b)
of the Act which is accompanied by an application for Schedule A designation
or with evidence that the alien's occupation is a shortage occupation
within the Department of Labor 's Labor Market Information Pilot Program
shall be the date the completed, signed petition (including all initial
evidence and the correct fee) is properly filed with the Service. The
priority date of a petition filed for classification as a special immigrant
under section 203(b)(4) of the Act shall be the date the completed, signed
petition (including all initial evidence and the correct fee) is properly
filed with the Service. The priority date of an alien who filed for
classification as a special immigrant prior to October 1, 1991, and who is
the beneficiary of an approved I-360 petition after October 1, 1991, shall
be the date the alien applied for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status.
In the case of a special immigrant alien who applied for adjustment before
October 1, 199 1, Form I-360 may be accepted and adjudicated at a Service
District Office or sub-office. (Amended 6/27/96; 61 FR 33304 )
(e) Retention of section 203(b)(1) , (2) , or (3) priority date. -- A
petition approved on behalf of an alien under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3
) of the Act accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition
for any subsequently filed petition for any classification under sections
203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act for which the alien may qualify. In the
event that the alien is the beneficiary of multiple petitions under sections
203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act, the alien shall be entitled to the
earliest priority date. A petition revoked under sections 204(e) or 205 of
the Act will not confer a priority date, nor will any priority date be
established as a result of a denied petition. A priority date is not
transferable to another alien.
我们关心的是什么情况下PD不能保留，这里提到在sections 204(e) or 205条款下被
revoked的PD不能保留。
继续追查，看204(e)和205是什么：
204（e):http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-1272/0-0-0-1430.html#0-0-0-1807
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle an immigrant, in
behalf of whom a petition under this section is approved, to be admitted the
United States as an immigrant under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section
203 or as an immediate relative under section 201(b) if upon his arrival at
a port of entry in the United States he is found not to be entitled to such
classification.
205:http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-1610.html#0-0-0-186
Sec. 205. [8 U.S.C. 1155] The Secretary of Homeland Security 1/ may, at any
time, for what he deems to be good and sufficient cause, revoke the approval
of any petition approved by him under section 204. Such revocation shall be
effective as of the date of approval of any such petition.
204(c)说的是你是你老板直系亲属的情况
205则是笼统的说，国土安全部可以在任何时候在合理理由下取消你的I-140
好了，这一通追查下来，似乎我们一开始关心的那个换工作保留140的认知还是成立的。
最后我在这里提供一个链接，是在某律师的网站上看到的：
http://www.olenderpham.com/immigration/business-immigration/emp
以下是粗体字的回答部分
Question: Under 8 CFR § 204.5(e), a foreign national is eligible to use an
earlier priority date from a previously approved immigrant visa petition
under the first-preference, second-preference, and third-preference
employment-based categories. Are there any restrictions regarding use of a
priority date from one category to another? (For example, if a third-
preference immigrant visa petition is approved, can the priority date be
used for a later-filed first-preference immigrant visa petition?)
Answer: There is no restriction on the use of a priority date from a third
preference immigrant visa petition to a first preference immigrant visa
petition. The use of a priority date from a first, second, or third
preference category may be used on subsequent filings (regardless of first,
second, or third preference) provided the original petition was not denied
or revoked. In addition, retention of old third and sixth preference
petition (petition filed before October 1, 1991) priority dates may only be
allowed if the beneficiary applies for an adjustment of status or immigrant
visa within two years of the date of visa availability.
下面是小体字的重要部分：
Note, however, that if the previous employer withdraws the earlier I-140
petition at any time up until the employee's I-485 application has been
pending for 180 days, the priority date is likely no longer valid. (See the
discussion of Mawalla v. Chertoff below). Becasue of the long queue for
third preference category workers, it seems that the only safe way to use
the underlying I-140 petition to retain the earlier priority date is with
the previous employer's cooperation.
这段内容和版上某些ID所持的观点是一致的：如果雇主withdraw I-140,注意，这里是
雇主收回(withdraw)而不是取消(revoke/cancel)，移民局将视作该I-140从未发生过，
因此PD不复存在。雇主只有在I-485 pending 180天以后才无权收回I-140，这条是AC21
里明文写的。
但现实里，USCIS规定雇主没有这个必要去收回I-140,雇主可以不收回，也可以收回，
后者可能要支付律师一笔额外费用，所以雇主常常不去收回。但是如果你离职时和雇主
闹翻了，对方完全有可能这么做。
还是这个网址，给出了雇主很有可能不回收I-140的理由（请大家scroll down）：
Potential Liability for Employers Who Withdraw I-140 Petitions Without Reason
Even in at-will employment states, employers have a duty not to take certain types of action against current or past employees without good reason. Several civil employment law cases litigated in the state and federal courts indicate that employers may face liability for breach of contract, and even fraud for taking certain immigration-related action against employees without good reason. Employers, for example, are required to inform USCIS upon an H-1B worker's termination of employment. 8 CFR 214.2(h)(11). But the employer is not required to notify USCIS upon the termination of employment of an I-140 beneficiary (the H-1B withdrawal notice is sent to a different address and references a different case number than an I-140 withdrawal request). If an employer requests that USCIS withdraw an I-140 petition for a worker simply to punish him, the employer risks an employment suit in state, or federal court. Suits like this can be unpleasant because they raise the possibility of additional investigation by Department of Labor, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Department of Homeland Security.
当然，这条还很有争议性。我在另外律师网站上看到过相反论点：即无论雇主收不收回
，PD都可以保留。我在USCIS官方文件里也没有看见明确解释，这里还望高手指点。
以上文件仅供大家参考。
