Need advice from attorney: how long should wait??

[matt87]

Hi,

First, I appreciate this site a lot! Not too many people truly understand the pain of immigrants. Together, we can make some differences..

My friend got his approval 9 weeks ago... He has been waiting with the same employer for 5+ years! He just got a very good opportunity, and he is eager to move. He also got the actual card already. Lots of people (including the FAQ of immigration.com) said he should wait 6+ months, maybe 1 year to be safe.

I know this is an old question, and probably no definite answer. But, my friend has been serving the same employer for 5 more years already, he missed lots of good opportunities already! He is a super smart guy with excellent personality. According to the spirit of AC-21, does he really need to wait again? Come on, how many 5 years we have in our life.. What will be the worst scenario if he moved to the new employer only after 9 weeks from the approval, RFE, revoke? Can any attorney answer this question?

Thanks,
-Matt

[matt87]

Joe: thanks for reply! You are absolutely right in some sense. However, this whole GC process really takes way toooooo long, it's fair to say it is more than a torture.

Anyway, personally, I do not believe there is anybody lost GC because of leaving the employer too soon, the bottom line is he already served the employer for years. Any comment?

Thanks,
-Matt

[matt87]

Immigration judge? Does he belong to INS or not?

[matt87]

Joe: you are truly knowledgable.. thanks again!


BTW, here is a seperate question: how long it will take for a green card holder to sponsor his/her parents in general? what's the typical procedure?

thanks & regards!

[matt87]

Some people's category is E26, others are E27? Any difference?

[matt87]

Thanks again for your answer.

Obviously, we still have no answer to question #1, how long we "should" stay with orig sponsor, it seems no one knows for sure.

Anyway, life is hard. Wish everyone good luck!!!

[frapuccino]

I also grappled with the same dilemma, and I guess many people do too.

Anyway, after spending a few nights thinking about it and many discussions with friends, one suggested that I call the USCIS National Customer Service Center (1-800-375-5283), and I did.

I spoke with a nice lady, and asked her whether I could change job right away after I got my approval or whether there is a period of time that I should wait. She reiterated the facts that I presented (it seems that she's looking for guidelines regarding those specific facts), and said that based on the facts that I presented, I don't have to wait, and I could change job right away!!!

She did specifically ask whether I have had H1B visa previously (I did), so I guess that factor might affect the answer.

I was sooooo relieved after hearing her answer , and I hope that this helps people that are in the same situation as me. I would also advise you to call them, so you could explain your own situation and get the answer directly from them.

[Rjain2]

Hi Frapuccino,

The concerns that are frequently raised are that either the GC sponsor may get upset and complain to the CIS or the candidate may face a tough time getting citizenship approval. If you feel that these risks are mitigated by having “oral assurances” from an USCIS operator then you may go ahead and explore better employment opportunities. I suspect that if you call USCIS again and talk to a different person you may get a different response. **** is giving similar advice...

Thus, the conservative route is to stay the course with the sponsor from 6-12 months post GC approval but everyone has different risk-tolerances and some may decide to do it earlier – especially if one has a great career opportunity that is too good to refuse!!

What are others thought on this perennial topic?

Rjain.

[matt87]

Thanks for the input.. I agree with frapuccino.

I belive a person works for same company(sponsor) for multiple years (for example, 5+ years) should be fine. Come on, how many 5 years we have in life??! Plus, these are the best years in our life! Otherwise, based on what we can argue that working with same sponsor 6-12 months after GC is good enough? After all, the judement rule must be reasonable in some sense.

As one friend said, life is already hard enough, why make it even harder?

[vm1214]

Hi Joe,
Your knowledge is tremendously great. I read few postings also so I know the thumb rule but even though I have no intention of leaving the company the question I have is if you find your employer is cheating on the billing money without my knowledge then how should I fight ??
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[vm1214]

I don't have a paper signed contract but a verbal communication between me and the employer while starting my career with him as 70-30 of the billing amount but that rule never applied except the first project, so I have raised that question ?

Thanks

[matt87]

Thanks for more input.

However, given the fact that for different employee/employer, total time from applying for GC till get final approval can be dramatically different (someone may get it within 1.5 years; else may need 4+ years to get it) --- it depends on the area, attorney, whether or not there are RFE, etc... Logically, it's hard to justify the "6-12 month rule". In the end, most laws or rules in modern society should have some kind of logical, reasonable base. Anyway, it's a matter of personal decision.

Good luck & best wishes.

Matt

[frapuccino]

Oh well, nothing is ever that straightforward with USCIS, is it?

There are valid arguments on both sides, and as long as USCIS doesn't issue a clear guidance/law about it, I think we'll always see the debate on the topic.

I agree that the safest bet is to stay for another 6-12 months with your employer. In fact, while I am willing to take a risk on my own after weighing all the facts, if somebody asks me for an advise, I will most likely advise them to go with the conservative approach. I wouldn't want to be responsible for them getting deported

In my case, I have consulted with my attorney, and she said it was okay to move. In my opinion she is a good attorney, and she's pretty conservative throughout all the other aspects of my case, so I think she wouldn't give me that answer unless she's convinced that it's the right one. However, I was still not sure since I read different opinions about it, that's why I called the USCIS, hoping that they are the authoritative source.

****, you mentioned about cases where people got deported after following their advise. Could you give me the link to the threads/articles that talk about it? I would like to know what kind of cases that they could screw up the answer on. Thanks!

[vm1214]

Originally Posted by ****

Lesson #1: Always put everything in writing.

{ I agree it 100 % but the situation was like that if I stress it out at that time then getting H1 would have been big hurdle as I had only 15 days left to file new H1 and my employer wanted to be free from both sides (his and my side) to stay or leave.}

[sri3440]

I was told in some chat group, either Murthy or so, 3- 6 mos is ok, but never leave your former employer in a bad taste. the only downside is citizen ship. if you are planning to become a citizen, you better stay with the old employer for 1 -2 years.

Again, the above was told by personal experiences.