Rajiv's Blog

Friend Curious George, here are your answers:

Qo1. At the time of filing my labor (July 2003) and even after having my green card for almost 5 months, there was never an intent to leave my employer. It just so happened that this offer came on the horizon. Would leaving the company now (5 months after getting the green card) have any negative impact?
Ans. In my opinion, no impact. Just to be safe for naturalization, keep some evidence of your intent to stay.

Qo2. If AC21 allows people to change jobs before getting the green card, why would there be a restriction in changing jobs after getting the green card? It seems a little illogical that as long as your application is not approved, it is okay to leave, but not so after getting the approval.
Ans. I agree. AC21 should considerably dilute this requirement of "permanence." Unfortunately, the government is usually 10-15 years behind reality. Look at the Wall Street.

Qo3. My wife's green card (dependent) is still pending because of the backlog. Would my job change affect her process?
Ans. I do not believe there should be any affect.

Thanks Jefkorn. Except for my very poor English in the conference, the answer is correct.

Oh, I thought the questions were already answered by above info. Let me comment specifically:

I would appreciate if you could answer some questions related to all time favorite "How soon to leave employer after receiving employment based GC?".

1. A person received GC and had worked for the sponsoring employer for close to 4 years, before receiving the GC. Little over three months after receiving the GC, the employee asks for raise and tries to negotiate his/her contract, the employer doesn't agree. Can employee leave his/her employer without jeopardizing his/her future citizenship application?

2. If the person described in #1 above leaves the employer, should he/she just resign and should he/she keep some kind of proof of failed communication with employer of salary negotiations which led to employee's resignation? Will this proof be any useful in future to show why the employee left the sponsoring employer?

I believe that the person in the above case is fairly safe to leave. It is a good idea to keep some record of the failed communications/negotiations.

How to record the reason for leaving the employer?
You are the best. I would think that written/ email would be better record. What if the communication was oral on the phone?

I assume that just making a note of the time and day of the call and summary of the conversation would suffice.

Again thanks a lot for your responses.

You assume correctly. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, detailed contemporaneous notes are good evidence.

Waheed, all the above discussion and AC21 topics on my blog deal with the issues you are presenting.

Hi,

I am in a seemingly difficult situation. My prospective employer started the process of green card sponsoring for me about an year prior to my effective employment date. Me and my wife were on H1B visa during that time, working for another employer. My green card got approved about 2.5 months prior to my start date of employment along with my wife (I applied for her as my wife). When I interviewed for this position, both my wife and me were hoping to receive employment here as she also interviewed with the same employer. The employer verbally promised us 2 jobs as she was called for interview with me when she was 39 weeks pregnant. They made her interview with 10 different people, promising job. We both are physicians and have a 15 month old baby. My job is of such nature that it is highly demanding because of so few people in my subspeciality. I signed the contract about a year prior to the employment date. When I started inquiring for my wife's job about 6 months prior to my employment, the new employer started stating they it has no jobs available for my wife. I kept on inquiring later. About a month prior to my employment start date, the employer offered an unsuitable position for my wife which she denied.

We both moved to the new place and I started the employment. My wife and my 13 month old son came with me to a new place. My wife left her previous job so that both of us can be together. Due to the unavailability of a job for her here, my wife is going to another place which is 5 hrs away (driving) from my current employer's city along with our baby to start her employment.

Now, I am in a big trouble because not only I have to live separate with my wife but also with my 15 month old baby. At this age, as everyone knows, a toddler baby needs a father. It will affect his growing brain if I am not with me. My question is, can I leave this employer now or how long should I wait before I voluntarily terminate this job? We are planning to find 2 jobs together in a suitable place. If I leave now, will that be a deviation from the intention to be permanently employed here at this place?

Thank you for your response.