Starting a Business after Green Card.

[us4good]

Hi,
I live in California and I work as a senior software Engineer. I obtained my Master in Software engineering in CA,started working for a US company, a month back got my employment based green card(Indian citizen) . I am planning to go for a career change(basically to work for myself). I planning to set up an Import business(Home textiles) in US and most of my import will be from India and South East Asia. Although my earnings, at least for the initial few years will not match what I am earning now as an employee, I am certain I will earn good enough money to pay my bills and taxes . If the business does well, I can provide work to people here.

Does starting this business, that has nothing to do line of that I was in when I applied for GC (Computer programmer/Software Engineer) , will affect my chances of getting US citizenship? If so what kind of issues? I can work may be for another 7-8 months with the present employer and then start my company. If starting this import business is going to make my US Citizenship chances very difficult, I might consider starting to work on my own as a Consultant(have got few contacts) which will be relevant to the work I was in when applied for GC , in that case will there be any issue to obtain citizenship. However if chances do exist, I prefer my Import business.

Please share your inputs.

 

[nkm-oct23]

Go ahead and do it. It will have no effect on your green card or citizenship application down the line.

 

[us4good]

Go ahead and do it. It will have no effect on your green card or citizenship application down the line.

Thank you for the reply. I brought this up because I read in other post that there is general unmentioned obligation on our part after getting GC to work at least for 6 months for employer who applied for my GC and to stay working in the same domain so that there are no difficulties in naturalization process . Doing other wise will risk unwanted questions and doubts during Naturalization process. Kindly explain.

 

[nkm-oct23]

There is no obligation on your part, problem would arise if you never planned to take up the job offered in I-140. Once you work for a few months for the I-140 approved job, you are out of any perceived obligation. If you do as you plan to (give it 6-8 months time), you should be perfectly OK.

Good luck!

 

[Jackolantern]

Nobody can absolutely say that quitting 1 month after GC approval to do something entirely different is 100% safe. Theoretically, doing that could be construed as having a preconceived intention to neither work for the sponsoring company nor in the same occupation, resulting in GC revocation or denial of citizenship.

Until there is a published court case or USCIS memo or regulation that clarifies it one way or the other, you should bear in mind that such a quick career change is taking a risk, and the longer you wait the lower the risk.

Also bear in mind that it's not only when applying for citizenship that you might run into trouble. At the port of entry on more than one occasion I've been asked (in a hostile manner) how I got my green card and when I left the sponsoring employer and what kind of work I'm doing now. I might have been in real problems if I told them I left 1 month after GC approval to do something entirely different. With your import business you may have to do frequent international travel and go to the immigration counter at the airport a lot more often than I do.


P.S. Be aware that on the citizenship application you have to list all international travel since becoming a permanent resident (except trips of under 24 hours), so remember from now to keep an accurate log, as having all the exact dates is very important if you have a large number of trips due to your business.

 

[nkm-oct23]

Nobody can absolutely say that quitting 1 month after GC approval to do something entirely different is 100% safe. Theoretically, doing that could be construed as having a preconceived intention to neither work for the sponsoring company nor in the same occupation, resulting in GC revocation or denial of citizenship.

Until there is a published court case or USCIS memo or regulation that clarifies it one way or the other, you should bear in mind that such a quick career change is taking a risk, and the longer you wait the lower the risk.

Also bear in mind that it's not only when applying for citizenship that you might run into trouble. At the port of entry on more than one occasion I've been asked (in a hostile manner) how I got my green card and when I left the sponsoring employer and what kind of work I'm doing now. I might have been in real problems if I told them I left 1 month after GC approval to do something entirely different. With your import business you may have to do frequent international travel and go to the immigration counter at the airport a lot more often than I do.


P.S. Be aware that on the citizenship application you have to list all international travel since becoming a permanent resident (except trips of under 24 hours), so remember from now to keep an accurate log, as having all the exact dates is very important if you have a large number of trips due to your business.

OP has been on a green card for 1 month and is planning to quit aftert 7-8 months.

 

[Jackolantern]

OP has been on a green card for 1 month and is planning to quit aftert 7-8 months.

OP wrote " I can work may be for another 7-8 months with the present employer", as if the 7-8 months is only if it's necessary to work that long to get a safety margin to survive the scrutiny of naturalization, not that it was the primary plan to work for that long. You seem to have been encouraging him/her to quit immediately.

 

[nkm-oct23]

OP wrote " I can work may be for another 7-8 months with the present employer", as if the 7-8 months is only if it's necessary to work that long to get a safety margin to survive the scrutiny of naturalization, not that it was the primary plan to work for that long. You seem to have been encouraging him/her to quit immediately.

I don't quite see in which of my posts I advised him/her to "quit immediately".

 

[us4good]

Nobody can absolutely say that quitting 1 month after GC approval to do something entirely different is 100% safe. Theoretically, doing that could be construed as having a preconceived intention to neither work for the sponsoring company nor in the same occupation, resulting in GC revocation or denial of citizenship.

Until there is a published court case or USCIS memo or regulation that clarifies it one way or the other, you should bear in mind that such a quick career change is taking a risk, and the longer you wait the lower the risk.

Also bear in mind that it's not only when applying for citizenship that you might run into trouble. At the port of entry on more than one occasion I've been asked (in a hostile manner) how I got my green card and when I left the sponsoring employer and what kind of work I'm doing now. I might have been in real problems if I told them I left 1 month after GC approval to do something entirely different. With your import business you may have to do frequent international travel and go to the immigration counter at the airport a lot more often than I do.


P.S. Be aware that on the citizenship application you have to list all international travel since becoming a permanent resident (except trips of under 24 hours), so remember from now to keep an accurate log, as having all the exact dates is very important if you have a large number of trips due to your business.

It is disappointing. I believed that with Green card I get to enjoy the same benefits a US citizen would enjoy except voting , working for positions that would require security clearance, even many of my friends who recently got their Green card were assuming so (thanks to many website that give superficial information about the benefits of a Green card). It is disappointing that working in any domain that has no relevance to the one I was in when I got my GC might put me in risk of losing GC status or obtaining my US citizenship, but seems like this is how the US immigration system work.

May be I should consider doing a business program at a University, that will help to justify on why I wanted to start my own business? Doing an MBA was part of plan but was only after starting the business and running it for few years. However if that is going to help me in justifying the change of career, I will consider doing it now?

Regarding quitting my job with current employer, my initial plan was to quit after 1 month but then considered working for additional 6 months when I learned about the risk involved in doing so and saw this suggestion in other post.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

It is disappointing. I believed that with Green card I get to enjoy the same benefits a US citizen would enjoy except voting , working for positions that would require security clearance, even many of my friends who recently got their Green card were assuming so (thanks to many website that give superficial information about the benefits of a Green card). It is disappointing that working in any domain that has no relevance to the one I was in when I got my GC might put me in risk of losing GC status or obtaining my US citizenship, but seems like this is how the US immigration system work.

You got your Green Card based on your employment and your intent to work there. You can change your mind, but an immediate change of mind calls your question of intent. If you married a girl, got a Green Card for her and she divorced you two weeks later, would you not question her intent? Would you believe her if she said she just "changed her mind"? Just saying.

May be I should consider doing a business program at a University, that will help to justify on why I wanted to start my own business? Doing an MBA was part of plan but was only after starting the business and running it for few years. However if that is going to help me in justifying the change of career, I will consider doing it now?

That sounds like a spectacular waste of time and money. Just work for the employer for a while, and save up some seed capital. Business are almost always under-capitalized, so the more you can save the more viable it will be.

 

[Jackolantern]

It is disappointing. I believed that with Green card I get to enjoy the same benefits a US citizen would enjoy except voting , working for positions that would require security clearance, even many of my friends who recently got their Green card were assuming so (thanks to many website that give superficial information about the benefits of a Green card).

In the eyes of the US government, you were given an employment-based green card so your employer can enjoy on a long-term basis the benefits of the specific skills you demonstrated in order to obtain the green card. The personal benefit to you is secondary.

 

[Hannah7]

In the eyes of the US government, you were given an employment-based green card so your employer can enjoy on a long-term basis the benefits of the specific skills you demonstrated in order to obtain the green card. The personal benefit to you is secondary.

I do agree with both of you. He was given GC to work for his employer, but also he was given GC to be free. I still believe the U.S. is free country and GC gives one certain privileges (and restriction even).

My conclusion from this conversation is that it would be fishy if he left his sponsoring employer just couple days after he got it. But if he wants to do that couple months later, I can see no reason why he coudln't. If he truly believes that import business is now better for him, why should anyone in "the free-est country on planet Earth" want to tell him not to do it?

-----

I am not lawyer, I am just layman trying to use and find common sense. But if we have to think about GC like "I have to be worried about what a government will think when I pursue dreams I want to pursuit", what is the point of having the GC in the first place? Is there US government for us or are there we for the US government?

 

[Jackolantern]

I do agree with both of you. He was given GC to work for his employer, but also he was given GC to be free. I still believe the U.S. is free country and GC gives one certain privileges (and restriction even).

My conclusion from this conversation is that it would be fishy if he left his sponsoring employer just couple days after he got it. But if he wants to do that couple months later, I can see no reason why he coudln't. If he truly believes that import business is now better for him, why should anyone in "the free-est country on planet Earth" want to tell him not to do it?

It isn't the freest country on earth for noncitizens. Not at all.

Noncitizens are allowed to stay in the US under certain terms and conditions, with those terms and conditions primarily for the benefit of a US employer, relative, school, or the government. Even family-based immigration is primarily for the US citizen relative, not the immigrant. And green card holders are not free to stay outside the US as long and as often as they want and still keep their status.

 

[venumssi]

Immigration Attorney nyc,Forest Hills

Hi,

Don't Worry, It's a good idea if you have a Green Card.You can start your own business at your place.

Hi,
I live in California and I work as a senior software Engineer. I obtained my Master in Software engineering in CA,started working for a US company, a month back got my employment based green card(Indian citizen) . I am planning to go for a career change(basically to work for myself). I planning to set up an Import business(Home textiles) in US and most of my import will be from India and South East Asia. Although my earnings, at least for the initial few years will not match what I am earning now as an employee, I am certain I will earn good enough money to pay my bills and taxes . If the business does well, I can provide work to people here.

Does starting this business, that has nothing to do line of that I was in when I applied for GC (Computer programmer/Software Engineer) , will affect my chances of getting US citizenship? If so what kind of issues? I can work may be for another 7-8 months with the present employer and then start my company. If starting this import business is going to make my US Citizenship chances very difficult, I might consider starting to work on my own as a Consultant(have got few contacts) which will be relevant to the work I was in when applied for GC , in that case will there be any issue to obtain citizenship. However if chances do exist, I prefer my Import business.

Please share your inputs.