Dr. William:

My previous employer sponsored I-140 was approved. Since I changed employer thereafter, now I need to file an I-140 again based on NIW. Is it possible to transfer my earlier Priority Date to my new I-140 application? and how to do it?

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Answer:

It is possible to transfer an earlier Priority Date from one employment-based green card case to another, filed for the same person, if the first case has reached the point where the 1-140 petition has been approved. Similarly, it is possible to transfer a priority date from an approved I-130 petition to a later family-based filing. 

To make the USCIS Service Center aware that you have an earlier priority date, it is generally best to put such requests on the top of the filing or directly behind the cover sheet, to maximize the chance that it will be seen and acknowledged. This will avoid a rejection of the file, based on the priority date not being current, and a needless delay in processing the new filing.