Hello,

I am on the 10th year of my H1B renewal, currently valid until 2011. My employment based GC application was filed in Aug 05 under EB3 and my I140 & I485 were filed in 2007. My I140 was approved shortly thereafter, currently awaiting adjudication of I485 (for IN under EB3 category, USCIS is currently processing Jun 01).

I would like to apply for EAD and AP.

My question is (or I guess are):

- Is it possible for me, once my EAD/AP is approved, to start my own company and employ myself under AC21?
- I head the IT department of my company which serves industry A, however my new company will serve IT needs in industry B. Would that causes issues with the 'similar job' requirements of AC21?
- I plan to travel out of the country shortly. Can I travel after applying for the EAD/AP? Do I have to be in the country while the applications are pending? What happens if I leave the country and my EAD/AP comes through while I'm still outside of the country?
- Lastly, as with any new business, there is an inherent gap between startup and actualizing real revenues. During this period, as is obvious, my compensation will be nowhere close to my compensation. What would be the impact of this difference?

My apologies for the long list of questions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

- Yes it is possible to start your own business, here is the thread with a lot of details on self-employment

http://ac21portability.com/modules/xhnewbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=12&viewmode=flat

- No servicing one industry versus another should not be an issue, example a sys admin at a financial svcs firm probably does very similar stuff as a sys admin at a oil company.

- Yes you can travel on your H1B - Enter country using H1B, follow all the requirements for entering country on H1B (carry employment letter, pay stubs etc), dont say anything about AP/EAD unless asked.

- Hopefully this question can be answered by the above thread, but yes this will and can be an issue if there is a RFE.

Thank you. This is very helpful.