wait for GC vs AC21

N

noipi1228

New Member
I would like to ask for your opinion regarding my situation. I have an approved LCA and I-140 (applied 12/2006 and recently approved 01/2008) and my I-485 application was received on July 2, 2007 which makes it more than 180 days old already. I am NOT happy working with sponsoring employer. Here are my questions:

1. Is there an effect to the 180-day rule if my I-140 was just recently approved?. I was able to apply my I-485 during the visa number bruhaha last June 2007 with my I-140 still pending then.

2. I am torn between 2 decisions; if I'll just wait for the GC to get approve since my 485 RD is within the current processing date of USCIS NSC and visa number is available for my PD (Sept. 2004) OR to take advantage of AC21 with a new employer without the approved GC. Which one would be best for me?

3. Is there a law that says how long an employee should stay with the sponsoring employer after GC is approved? Can I transfer to another company right away after GC is approved and just used AC21 to formalize things?

4. Is it possible for the sponsoring employer to revoke my approved GC after I transfer to a new employer? Will I be out-of-status if they do so?

Sorry for the barrage of questions but I really need your inputs regarding these issues. Any response will be greatly appreciated. :)
 
Answers below:
1. No - the 180 day rule applies to I-485 only ... if your I-140 is approved then you are good.
2. Choice is yours - please read here. For a September 2004 PD, you may have to wait longer as the cut off date was much earlier a month ago (my thoughts only).
3. All employment based GCs are for future employment. Therefore I would stick to my GC sponsorer for at least a few months after receiving the GC.
4. Never heard of ...
 
1. As long as the I-140 is approved, for AC21 it doesn't matter when it was approved (as long as your I-485 is at least 180 days old).
2. If you change jobs before GC approval, be prepared for an RFE or NOID if the employer attempts to revoke the I-140.
3. There is no law specifying a minimum amount of time to work for them after GC approval. But in case you ever apply for citizenship, you don't want to make it look bad by leaving very quickly.
4. They don't have the power to revoke your green card. They can file a complaint with the USCIS, and USCIS may choose to act on it if they think the complaint is valid, but employers rarely complain and if they do it is unlikely that USCIS will take them seriously (but still, you don't want to make things look bad by leaving one week after GC approval).
 
See, this is the interesting as well as confusing part for me.

If you leave your sponsoring employer shortly after receiving your GC, then you risk looking bad when applying for citizenship. However, it is okay to leave the sponsoring employer for another as long as you use AC21 and that will not look bad on the future citizenship process???

I am not sure if this is still the case, but back in the day I heard that the citizenship application actually asks you how long you were with your employer who sponsored you AFTER you received your GC. How is one supposed to answer that, that AC21 was used to move on with life?


Stoned!
 
StonedAnt said:
If you leave your sponsoring employer shortly after receiving your GC, then you risk looking bad when applying for citizenship. However, it is okay to leave the sponsoring employer for another as long as you use AC21 and that will not look bad on the future citizenship process???
Click to expand...
If you did AC21, you still should stay with the new "same or similar" job for a while after the GC.

Indeed it does seem strange that leaving 1 month after GC approval would look worse than 1 month before GC approval, but that is because the GC is based on the nebulous notion of "intent" to work for the sponsor. The timing of your actions can make your intent appear to be one way or the other.

For example, suppose you will get a big bonus if you are employed with the company until December 31. If you leave or they terminate you, you don't get the bonus.

Scenario A: They lay you off in July. No bonus for you.
Scenario B: They lay you off on December 24. No bonus for you.
Scenario C: You leave in November. No bonus for you.
Scenario D: You get the bonus and leave on Jan 8.

B looks worse than A, even though in B they kept you employed for a longer time. In B it looks as if the intent was to deprive you of your bonus. You might even succeed in suing them to get some or all of the bonus.

From the employer's perspective, D looks worse than C, even though in D you stayed a longer time with them. If in the future you ask for a reference or try to get rehired there, D decreases your chances of a favorable response.

So, because of this nebulous "intent" and the subjective means of judging it, leaving very quickly after GC approval can make them think you were planning to leave all along and were just waiting to get the card so you can run away. Of course, the longer you worked for them after filing the I-485, the better your defense will be against that line of attack ... if you worked for them for 2 years while your I-485 was pending, but left 1 month after the GC, you can point out that under AC21 you had the opportunity to leave for the last 18 months of those 2 pending years, but chose not to.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you guys for your inputs.

I forgot to mention that I've been working for the sponsoring employer since Nov of 2001. They applied my LC on 2004 and up to this moment I am still waiting for the GC to be approved. Do you think this is one of the reasons why they came up with AC21? USCIS knows that the GC process is very slow and AC21 is their way to protect the employee applicants.

If I take advantage of AC21 now and then USCIS approves my GC say within a month, is my GC still valid by then?
 
noipi1228 said:
Thank you guys for your inputs.

I forgot to mention that I've been working for the sponsoring employer since Nov of 2001. They applied my LC on 2004 and up to this moment I am still waiting for the GC to be approved. Do you think this is one of the reasons why they came up with AC21? USCIS knows that the GC process is very slow and AC21 is their way to protect the employee applicants.
Click to expand...
It was Congress who recognized that USCIS was very slow and passed that law to protect employees. Left up to USCIS, there would still be zero portability.
If I take advantage of AC21 now and then USCIS approves my GC say within a month, is my GC still valid by then?
Click to expand...
Why would it not be valid?
 
Would be nice if the question asked was how long did one work for the sponsoring employer in general rather than how long after receiving GC.

Hopeful thinking...:)


Stoned!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top