245i thru employment

Hey guys, my grandfather (USC) petitioned for my family (dad, mom, sister and I) back in 1996/1997 and so I assume my sister and I are grandfathered into the 245i LIFE Act, correct? Would I be able to adjust my status thru my work if my boss is okay with it? I'm 25 if that makes a difference. Another thing to note is that our petition was denied at some point in the mid 2000s so not sure if that hurts my case. My whole thing is that couldn't I remove myself from that petition somehow since I am over 21 now and try to adjust thru another way (employment). FYI, I also have DACA.

245(i) eligibility - you will have to prove that the case was "approvable when filed". This is extremely simple in cases that were approved since a case cannot be approved without being "approvable when filed". However a case can still be denied due to abandonment, failure to respond to a RFE, sponsor dying, etc.

You'll need your father or grandfather to do a FOIA and get all relevant paperwork out of USCIS. You'll have to prove that the case existed, and that your grandfather is your father's father (birth certificate), then you'll also have to prove that you were eligible as a derivative because you're your father's child and were under 21 at the time (your birth certificate).


Adjustment via work using 245(i) - Assuming you can do the above, yes.

DACA - Irrelevant.

Also, one cannot de-couple himself from a petition, which is irrelevant as you can have as many petitions pending as you'll find willing sponsors.

Thank you so much! I was trying to put together the words, to ask a similar questions. My father was the beneficiary of a PERM labor Cert back in 2001 and we are currently waiting on a reply to our FOIA request for his PERM records from the Department of Labor. If all goes well and we have proof that his certificate was filed in time (04/30/2001) then I will be using my grandfathered status under 245(I) so that my employer can petition me for adjustment via EB3. I'm just REALLY hoping the DOL - ETA has some type of proof of his PERM Certificate filing and that they will release it to my father via the FOIA request
I already have the other necessary proof:
-Both my father and I were physically present in US on December 2000
-Birth Certificate to prove I am his daughter and derivative beneficiary

Do you have 750 ETA?

What is your priority date?

That sounds like a massive headache

You only have to prove that your father was in US on December 21st 2000. Your physical presence is irrelevant for 245(i).

Also, back in the date the local state agencies could certify a labor certification. So if DOL returns nothing try the Department of Labor of your state.

So the attorney that was handling my father's case back in the day was completely horribly and unorganized. Due to his incompetence and lack of follow up for my father's case the DOL had closed the case. It was then later re-opened in 2006 with a priority date of 04/30/2001. Back in 2006 when the attorney was able to have the case re-opened and reinstated my father constantly requested copies of all his documents and case files from the attorney. The attorney would claim time and time again that he had mailed them to us, which we never received. I wish I had more knowledge then of my father's rights as the client, I would have made sure we received all these documents but I was only 11 at the time. As a side note, once I was older and did my research this attorney has had several complaints filed and was eventually disbarred about 3-4 yours ago.
Anyway I've gone through my parents' files and instead of sending them copies or duplicates of letters/documents from the DOL/ETA the attorney only ever sent them letters explaining the status of my father's case. But about 2 weeks ago I decided to go through all the docs again and realized I had missed 1 paper. It is a letter address to the attorney from the DOL with information about my father's case being reopened. I have filed a FOIA with that letter attached so they can use the info on it to search their files, and I am hoping for the best.

SO to answer all the questions I currently DO NOT have a 750 ETA cert, the priority date is listed as 04/30/2001. I hope to get a copy of the CERT from DOL FOIA request and if someone can walk me through how to upload a image/pdf of letter I can do that (with info redacted, of course)

Put it up on google docs or something. Alternatively export it to image and put it up on imgur.

Opted to put on imgur with info redacted. Don't know how to make link clickable, everytime I click on insert link I get a pop up that says Access Denied. But you can all copy and paste the link, if it doesn't work!

http://imgur.com/VMWappj