Employers and I-140 withdrawls

Since we opened our ac21portability.com website about a month ago we have heard a lot of frustration, anger and worry from folks regarding the fact that their employers will withdraw the I-140 if the person leaves the company, in some cases some unscrupulous employers even threaten the employee, forcing them to continue working. We want to clear up some misconceptions and provide all possible information so you can make an informed decision. The key point we want to stress is:
If you have an approved I-140 and 180 calender days have passed since you filed your I-485 (based on the receipt date) then the law is on your side.

- The I-140 belongs to the employer and they are perfectly within their rights to revoke / withdraw it if you leave them.

- The I-485 belongs to you and as long as you had an approved 1-140 at the time of filing and 180 days have passed since the receipt date, even if your employer withdraws the 1-140, you are perfectly within your rights to live and work in the US (as long as its a same/similar role)

- If your employer threatens you, they are wrong and do not get intimidated.

- Yes if your I-140 is withdrawn, its is much more likely you will get an RFE, since the USCIS wants to make sure you ported off to a same or similar job OR in worst case you may get a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), this happens in some cases probably due to the fact that the officer was not aware of AC21, lack of training etc. The USCIS Ombudsman's has a post on this and there is good reason to believe that information regarding AC21 is disseminating to all the officers, here is the Ombudsman's memo. In the event of a NOID you have to file a Motion to Reopen (MTR), again as long as you were in a same/similar role, you case will be given a fair hearing. Its a hassle and a headache but ultimately we believe the law is on your side.
Here is our scenarios and strategies document for further reading if your situation is not exactly as mentioned above. Our next post we will talk in detail about how to respond to RFE's and MTR's. We also hope to put up documents for these. Meanwhile keep telling us about your situations: contact@ac21portability.com
Just in case you were wondering here is what an RFE related to employment looks like

again please feel free to reach out to us at contact@ac21portability.com or browse over to all available resources at ac21portability.com