Got Green Card but company where I work is not doing good

[wantMyGC]

Hello Attorney,

My family and I fortunately got the green cards this week after a long wait. But the company where I have been working since
2001 is not doing well due to cash flow issues. Note that I never changed company since I came to the US in 2001. I have not been paid salary for the last few months. I am the last employee of the company and seems like this company may go bankrupt soon.

Luckily my wife works as Independent Contractor (Not a full time employee) and I have a part time business which are supporting my family for the last few months. My business is related to finance and investments which is different from the GC approved job profile.

Can you please help me by answering following questions.

1) What are the precautions I should take to protect my green card?

2) Can I leave the present company and start my business by forming an LLC?

3) My business is online based so I can work from my birth country India for a few months. Can I visit India for a few months until my business is fully developed?

4) Since my business is different from the GC approved job profile, will it cause any difficulty during citizenship process?

5) A friend on the forum told that it may be required to work in your labor certified job (even with diff employer) for 6 months. Can I go to India for 6 or 7 months by taking leave from the same company ( i.e without leaving the company) ? I can manage with my part time business income during this time. In this case, just working for the same job profile is sufficient or do we need to show any pay stubs (or w-2) during citizenship process?

6) Can I take re-entry permit and develop my business from India for a year and come back to the US after 1 year?

Thanks for your help in advance

[poorslumdog]

Originally Posted by wantMyGC

Hello Attorney,

My family and I fortunately got the green cards this week after a long wait. But the company where I have been working since
2001 is not doing well due to cash flow issues. Note that I never changed company since I came to the US in 2001. I have not been paid salary for the last few months. I am the last employee of the company and seems like this company may go bankrupt soon.

Luckily my wife works as Independent Contractor (Not a full time employee) and I have a part time business which are supporting my family for the last few months. My business is related to finance and investments which is different from the GC approved job profile.

Can you please help me by answering following questions.

1) What are the precautions I should take to protect my green card?

2) Can I leave the present company and start my business by forming an LLC?

3) My business is online based so I can work from my birth country India for a few months. Can I visit India for a few months until my business is fully developed?

4) Since my business is different from the GC approved job profile, will it cause any difficulty during citizenship process?

5) A friend on the forum told that it may be required to work in your labor certified job (even with diff employer) for 6 months. Can I go to India for 6 or 7 months by taking leave from the same company ( i.e without leaving the company) ? I can manage with my part time business income during this time. In this case, just working for the same job profile is sufficient or do we need to show any pay stubs (or w-2) during citizenship process?

6) Can I take re-entry permit and develop my business from India for a year and come back to the US after 1 year?

Thanks for your help in advance

If you are out of the country for six months...you will lose your GC. Dont do that mistake.

[ImmigrationAnswerMan]

poorslumdog:

1) File for a Travel Permit. It is preferable that PR's keep their trips abroad under 6 months if they can. If not then it is best for PRs to keep their trips under one year. PRs should not stay abroad for more than a year without a travel permit and should not let their travel permit expire while they are abroad if they do travel abroad for more than one year.

2) Where someone gets their PR through employment, they should work for the employer for at least a few months after receiving their green card. This is because part of the process for applying for the PR was that they stated that they intended to work for the employer. However, where the person intended to continue employment with the petitioner, but there was a change in circumstances that caused the person to not continue working with the employer, this should be OK. However the person should be ready to explain to USCIS why they did not continue with the employer even though they intended to at the time they were granted their PR.

3) PRs can travel abroad. However, they need to be able to continue to show their intent to reside in the US. Employment abroad can be used by CBP or USCIS to question this intent. However if the person is working abroad for their US employer, it should not be an issue.

4, 5 & 6) See answers above.

** This information is of a general nature and should not be relied upon without first consulting with an immigration law attorney. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.

[wantMyGC]

Thanks ImmigrationAnswerMan for your inputs.

1) What if I stay with the same employer for the next 6 months, then take a re-entry permit on family issues and go to India for about 18 months?

2) I heard this (#1) will break continuity, what if I stay 5 years in the US after I come back (#1), will it cause any issues in the naturalization process?

[ImmigrationAnswerMan]

1) Any time someone takes a trip outside the US for longer than a year they are taking some risk that CBP will determine that they have abandoned their permanent residence. It would probably be OK, but there is no guarantee. If someone is taking a trip for longer than one year they must get a travel permit.

2) Anyone who travels abroad on a trip lasting more than a year must reside in the US 4 years and a day from they date they return to the US before they are eligible to apply for naturalization (2 years and a day if applying as the spouse of a US citizen). This is true even if you have a Travel Permit. However if they have been living in the US for 365 days without leaving the US after getting the green card then they may be eligible to apply to maintain their residence in the US even through trips abroad that last longer than 365 days.

** This information is of a general nature and should not be relied upon without first consulting an immigration law attorney. This information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.