Changing lawyers (from company one to personal lawyer) once I-140/I-485 submitted concurrently

I-140 is employer based application and you can not have your Attorney for it until Company agrees. Once I-140 gets approved, you can change your Attorney for I-485 if it is still pending.

A new attorney can try submitting new G-28 notice of entry of appearance as attorney forms for the I-485 as well as any ancillary employment/travel authorization applications, along with copies of the Receipt Notices that would come to your home address 10-14 days after filing; this may or may not work to change the attorney of record 9it should, but tough to get them to record these changes). the I-140 is really your employer's application as petitioner, and it's your employer's choice who gets to be attorney on that case. the question is, what benefit does this give? Once filed, the bulk of the work is done - absent a request for evidence on the I-485 or work/travel applications, there's a little a new attorney could do on the new case. If you have concerns, may be best to first set up a consultation to speak with a separate lawyer directly.

While there are some self-sponsoring categories for a Form I-140 application, where one is filed by an employer, the beneficiary (i.e. the employee) cannot substitute his own attorney for the one representing the petitioner (i.e. the employer). The attorney of record, who also filed the Form I-485 application, owes loyalty to both you and the employer, and you might consider contacting that attorney for questions or concerns you may have. Also, since you, yourself, are the petitioner for the Form I-485 application, you are free to engage a different lawyer to represent you in that application. It seems quite unusual to want to change attorneys after the two applications have been prepared and filed, and while those cases remain pending. If you have questions that address matters you would not want the company's attorney to communicate to your employer, such as questions about what would happen if you decided to seek a job elsewhere, you certainly could seek advise from an attorney of your choice, without the necessity of changing the counsel of record in the pending cases. David N. Soloway Frazier, Soloway & Kennedy, PC Atlanta, Georgia

If the I-140 is an employer petition you need to discuss with your employer about taking it over. The I-485 is your application and you may take it over.