Interoffice Memorandum: Interim Guidance for Processing I-140 Employment-Based Immigrant Petitions and I-485 and H-1B Petitions Affected by the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) (Public Law 106-313)   [open pdf - 91KB]

"The purpose of this memorandum is to provide field offices with interim guidance on: (1) Processing Form I-140 petitions and Form I-485 applications in connection with the I-140 portability provision of §106(c) of AC21; (2) Adjudication of H-1B petitions in connection with the 7th year extension provisions of §106(a) of AC21; (3) Adjudication of H-1B petitions in connection with the 7th year extension provisions of 104(c) for aliens subject to per country visa limitations; and (4) Adjudication of H-1B petitions in connection with the H-1B portability provisions of §105 of AC21; This interim guidance will only be in effect until regulations that are currently in progress are published as a final rule. The proposed rule may take a more restrictive position than this memorandum. Please note that the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) will not be updated at this time."