NSC on Switching Between Principal and Dependent on I-485
Posted Nov 03, 2000

In a discussion between representatives of AILA and INS Nebraska Service Center (NSC) officials, an attorney asked whether a married couple could switch roles in an employment-based I-485 situation. Basically, the scenario would be that one of the spouses was the beneficiary of an I-140 approval, and both filed the I-485. The spouse whose company filed the I-140 is considered to be the principal applicant, while the other spouse files the I-485 as a derivative applicant (dependent). The dependent applicant then gets an I-140 approval, and the couple then wants to switch -- the principal would become the derivative, and vice versa -- without withdrawing and re-filing the I-485s.

Interestingly, NSC says this is possible. In order to accomplish the switch, it is necessary to send in a written request which includes the following information: names of petitioning company and beneficiary for the I-140 that is being used, the case number of the I-140, and the beneficiary's "A" number, if one has yet been assigned.

We do not have confirmation that the other INS Service Centers will honor such a request, but if NSC is doing it then there would not appear to be any rule prohibiting such a switch. This type of request is certainly worth trying at any other INS center. People may be interested in switching because one petition may have an earlier priority date or a more favorable preference category, or because the original principal applicant may have a fear of losing his/her job offer. Our reaction to this piece of news is, it never hurts to ask! 

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