I-485 Rejected - PD porting didn't work

[peppapig007]

Here's my case:

Indian citizen. EB-2 NIW (self petition) approved, priority date = Mar 15, 2016.

EB-1A (self petition) approved in Jul 2019, priority date = Mar 14, 2019. No job change in between.

Filed I-485 in Oct 2019 with both I-140's attached. Explained in cover letter that USCIS is allowing "Dates for filing" to be used in lieu of "Final Action dates". According to Oct 2019 visa bulletin, "Date for Filing" for EB-1A India was 15 Mar 2017. As my EB-2 NIW PD is from 2016, I-485 should have been accepted by USCIS.

USCIS denied application & returned the whole package stating that my PD is not current.

Questions:

1) What could be the reason USCIS deem porting to be not valid in this case?

2) Should my EB-1A PD date show Mar 15, 2016 (carryover from EB2-NIW)? If so, how do I get it corrected? Is an email sufficient or in-person appt is needed?

3) What does USCIS "see" as PD? Is it based on some date in their "system" or is it strictly based on the evidence provided?

4) When filing I-485, I provided both I-140's & had put PD of 2019 in the form for the "Underlying petition priority date" (I-485 page 4, part 2, #4). I did this because the category I wanted to use was EB-1 & my PD for EB-1 is from 2019. Was this incorrect?

4) If USCIS was incorrect in rejecting application, is there any appeal process?

Please share your experiences/advice. Thanks in advance.

 

[pontevecchio]

This is not a question which a forum can answer in a meaningful way. Please get a lawyer on the case.

[Attorney_15]

From a review of the information provided here, it is possible USCIS thought that the I-485 was being filed based on the EB2 petition and not on the EB1 petition