Changing company after getting Green Card

[ivuser]

Changing company after getting Green Card

I would like to discuss this important topic about changing company after getting Green Card (GC).

I do understand this topic was discussed in the past and lot of our members may have enough information about the topic. The reason why we need this new thread is to consolidate various immigration lawyers’ opinion in this matter, so that our members could take informed decision.

Question is how long one should work for the same company, through which they are getting the Green Card?

My Opinion:
Do not change job at least for 1 year. The law does not specify the duration for which you should work for the company through which you got the GC.
The official rule is that you must not have any preconceived intention to leave the job when you get your Green Card.

I am going to update various top lawyers opinion in the next section.

[ivuser]

Murthy Law firm
Attorney : Shela Murthy
Page URL : http://www.murthy.com/485faq.html#13
Content:
Question 13 .
Can I leave my sponsoring employer once I get my green card? TOP

One may switch employers during the I-485 process if (a) the I-485 has been pending for over 180 days and is not yet adjudicated and (b) the offer of new employment is in the same or similar job. While the USCIS may use the description of the job duties from the DOT or the O*NET to determine similarity in jobs, they have verbally agreed that they may be willing to consider a broader definition in the future. Besides job title and description, the salary from the new employer would at least need to satisfy concerns regarding the public charge provisions and should be as closed to the amount listed on the labor certification as possible.

Clearly, the law before AC21 was passed in October 2000 required that a person continue working with the employer that sponsored the green card for at least 6 months to 1 year after obtaining the green card. Although AC21 allows the changing of employers if the I-485 is not adjudicated within 180 days, there is no change in the law with respect to the intention of the employer to offer and the employee to undertake "permanent," full-time work with the sponsoring employer for the job advertised. Keep in mind that a green card job offer is legally considered a future job offer. Therefore, the employee must have a good-faith intention to work for the employer after the green card is approved, and the employer must have a good-faith intention to employ the employee after the green card is approved. Even if one worked for the sponsoring employer for several years while pursuing the green card process, that would not count as future intent. Generally, 6 months to 1 year after obtaining the green card is a safe time period to change employment. Failure to stay at the sponsoring employer may result in problems at the naturalization stage!

[ivuser]

CMCN
Page URL : http://www.cmcn.ab.ca/gettinggreencard.php
Content :
Job switch after getting Green Card!?

Question:
My question is: Can a person switch the job once (s)he gets his Immigration Stamp? If not then what is the period of time for changing the job after immigration stamp. Note that he is currently on H1B and waiting for Immigration Interview.


Answer:

The official rule (which IMHO has not changed with the passage of AC21) is that you must not have any preconceived intention to leave the job when you get your Green Card. (Your friend clearly does :-( ) In general, working for the company for one year after getting the GC is normally considered sufficient.
If he can't stand the thought of a whole other year at the company, then he should withdraw his consular processing and switch to adjustment of status within the US. 180 days after his AOS is filed, he can take advantage of AC21 and switch jobs, providing he remains in the same field. Of course, the downside is that it'll be an extra year or more before he actually gets his GC.

I doubt such a "rule" would be enforceable after AC21 for people getting greencard thru the lengthy I-485 process. It makes no sense that someone in the I-485 for more than 180 can change job while still getting the greencard, while someone with the greencard can't change jobs after waiting for so long on the I-485. A federal judge would certainly dismiss such case.

I wouldn't speak so soon. We already have an analogous situation with marriage: if you divorce three years and six months into a marriage, do you get to keep your Green Card? Not if the processing took between 18 months and two years. If it was more than two years, you are home and dry because you got a full GC; but if you get your GC even one day before your second wedding anniversary, it's conditional on you staying married for another full two years (with a few exceptions for domestic violence etc.)

So although I agree the situation is iniquitous, we already have a close analogue enshrined and clear in law. Could it survive a challenge under the 14th Amendment? Maybe not, but nobody (to my knowledge) has ever tried.

[ivuser]

Immigration Portal
Page URL : http://boards.immigrationportal.com/...d.php?t=176490

To access, got to immigrationportal.com then access the following threads.

ImmigrationPortal Forums > After The Green Card And US Citizenship > Life After The Green Card ->
Leaving Employer Soon After Gc....

Important note:
The thread has lot of individual’s opinion. Any opinion form source other than Lawyers, has chance of error and some of them are misleading. The thread has to be studied carefully.

There are other threads related to the same topic in the section "Life After The Green Card"

[krishna.ahd]

Let me get the Green Card First , say probably within decade , then we will talk about this

[satishku_2000]

Originally Posted by krishna.ahd

Let me get the Green Card First , say probably within decade , then we will talk about this

I cant say better than you

[485Mbe4001]

When i get my GC in 2023, this will help me a lot

[invincibleasian]

In my opinion this a useless thread!

[vivache]

Well this is a 'nice to know' thread ..
not useful for me .. but still nice to know.

[pappu]

ivuser, thanks for posting your research. It will help members who want to think ahead after greencard stage or want to know about the defination of 'permanent job' for greencard when it is applied.

[krishna.ahd]

In this current scenario , by the time anybody get to file 485 , he/she would have spent considarable time with the same employer with no promotion and pay hike. The thought of to spend another 1 year after green card leaves everyone shivering and hence was my earlier post

[Rinsha]

What happens if you get laid off by your employer right after you get the green card? That's different than voluntarily leaving your employer, isn't it?

[krishna.ahd]

Originally Posted by Rinsha

What happens if you get laid off by your employer right after you get the green card? That's different than voluntarily leaving your employer, isn't it?

I guess you are still eligible for unemployment benefits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[centaur]

Exactly. Whats the relevance of this thread here, I fail to understand.

Originally Posted by 485Mbe4001

When i get my GC in 2023, this will help me a lot

[ivuser]

Based on one of the core member's request, I did the research and shared the information with IV members, so that when you get the GC, you could make informed decision.
Please be optimistic. You getting GC should not be a question of “if”, it should be a question of “when and how soon”.

REQUEST ::
Please support IV and make it happen soon.