Anyone share the same dilema?

J

joelly

Registered Users (C)
I get my gc on 7/5/2007.

I am fed up with my current employer and long for a change. I want to just quit this job now and take up a temp work so I can focus to finish my cpa exam. I have done to the last part of the exam.

My dilema is this: My lawyer said it is wise to wait for 6 months. In her opinion, if I quit now, then during citizenship process, uscis will ask questions my act of quitting earlier than reasonable.

Is there anyone out there who quit their job after 2 months of getting greencard and still get their citizenship?

Thank you so much in advance.
 
Joelly,
There is no hard and fast rule.
If you want to be conservative and play it safe, then I've heard people say 6 months - 1 year stay with your employer.

There is again no hard and fast rule. It depends on if you want to play it safe for citizenship later on.
 
Thank Miss Molina and Crosshair for your reply. I will keep them in mind as I'm making a decision.

Is there anyone else would like to comment and give me somekind of advice? Thanks in advance!!!
 
I changed my job after one month after getting my Green Card. Recently, I got my citizenship and I didn't face any problem.
 
It is also hard to predict, five years down the road, how USCIS is going to handle this kind of situations. Nowadays, it seems that most people in your situation are doing fine after leaving their employers soon after obtaining green card (however, many go to work on similar jobs and therefore are under the umbrella of AC21). However, that 6 months to one year buys you extra peace of mind. It's up to you. Chances are you'll be fine five years down the road when you apply for naturalization. Of course this is not legal advice, just an opinion.
 
Huracan,

I appreciate your opinion. Although its not legal advice, it is a good advice.

I'm glad to know that some people doesn't have any problem even if they don't stay 6 months in the same job.

I hope I won't have any problem at all.

Thank you all for spending time to read and write to me.

If there is anyone else who wants to share their experience, please do so and I appreciate the sharing. Thank you!!!!!!
 
joelly said:
I get my gc on 7/5/2007.

I am fed up with my current employer and long for a change. I want to just quit this job now and take up a temp work so I can focus to finish my cpa exam. I have done to the last part of the exam.

My dilema is this: My lawyer said it is wise to wait for 6 months. In her opinion, if I quit now, then during citizenship process, uscis will ask questions my act of quitting earlier than reasonable.

Is there anyone out there who quit their job after 2 months of getting greencard and still get their citizenship?

Thank you so much in advance.
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Joelly - congratulations on getting your Green Card. Yes, many people either are or were in the same boat as you at some point. I received my GC back in 2002 and the prevailing rule of thumb back then was that it is best to wait six months before changing jobs. AC21 may have changed the rules of the game a bit, but I do believe that it still comes down to your INTENT when you actually received your GC.

I have heard low estimates of as little as 2-3 months (based on a legal standard known as the 30-60-90 day rule), in which the USCIS uses a legal precedent to judge your intent at the time you received your immigration benefit (in your case a GC) by judging your behaviors in the months after you received the benefit. I have also read Rajiv's opinion, which is that 1 year is a reasonable length of time (this is by far the most conservative estimate I have ever heard).

I changed after 10 months, following a poor performance review that had more to do with the general state of the economy than my performance. I had a feeling that they were getting ready to cut people, so I jumped ship - which is probably what my employer was hoping for. Before I changed, I consulted an immigration attorney who told me that it was fine to change after that length of time. I haven't gone through the N-400 process yet, so I can't say if it will or will not be a problem. As you can see, others have changed with much less time with their sponsoring employer and never had a problem. In fact, I don't recall hearing of any cases where citizenship was denied based on a quick job change, although I am sure it has happened.

My advice, for what it is worth, is to try and stick it out for a few months. I think if you can make it to 6 months then this will erase any doubts about your intent when you got the GC. However, every situation is different so if you have a good reason to leave that came up after you got the GC, and you can document it (just as I did with my poor performance review) then it may change things for you a little bit. One thing you can do is to develop a timeline for yourself. After 1-2 months you can start polishing your resume, and after 3-4 months you can start looking for a job. Assuming that it takes a few weeks or months to find your dream job, you will probably not be ready to switch until after 6 months anyway. As well, you can always get a job but negotiate a later start date by indicating that you are "finishing up some business" with your existing employer. Best of luck in whatever you decide.
 
People's citizenship experience now is not indicative of how USCIS will react 5+ years from now.

When lots of people start to push the limits of a grey area of the law, the authorities take notice and eventually clamp down on it. Look at what happened with labor substitution.

Ask yourself what position you want to be in 5 years from now when the USCIS might have become aggravated by lots of people leaving their employer right after the GC.
 
I agree with Jackolantern. If you can stick out for 6+ months, stick it out. You need to make that choice.
 
Not exactly related to the original post but how do I demonstrate intent to the USCIS if I was laid off. My intent was to continue working for the employer forever but it was the employer who laid me off.
 
immigrateful said:
Not exactly related to the original post but how do I demonstrate intent to the USCIS if I was laid off. My intent was to continue working for the employer forever but it was the employer who laid me off.
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Bring proof that you were laid off, and hope for the best. You were laid off after getting the GC, not before, correct? You are not supposed to be without a job (or job offer) at the time of adjudication.
 
I got my green card on September 5, 2001 and was laid off on September 28, 2001 because of the poor economy. I obtained a letter from the employer stating that they had to let me go because of poor economic conditions and this letter was dated September 28, 2001.

This was never brought up as an issue during my naturalization interview. Of course I did have the original copy of the letter given by my employer in 2001 as a supporting evidence that my intent was to be with the employer and the reason for separation was because the employer let me go.
 
Jackolantern said:
Bring proof that you were laid off, and hope for the best. You were laid off after getting the GC, not before, correct? You are not supposed to be without a job (or job offer) at the time of adjudication.
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Actually, I was laid off before my I-485 was adjudicated AND I was unemployed at the time (or on the day) the I-485 was approved. I never got a RFE. Per my understanding the memo outlining the need to be in a job (or have a valid job offer) came out in 2005. My I-485 was adjudicated in 2002.
 
immigrateful said:
Actually, I was laid off before my I-485 was adjudicated AND I was unemployed at the time (or on the day) the I-485 was approved. I never got a RFE. Per my understanding the memo outlining the need to be in a job (or have a valid job offer) came out in 2005. My I-485 was adjudicated in 2002.
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Even if it came out in 2005, you'd still be applying for citizenship after 2005 and they could hassle you over it.

You might want to wait until you've completed 6 or 7 years so they will be less inclined to ask about anything surrounding your circumstances at the time of I-485 adjudication. Generally they focus on what happened during the 5 years prior to your application.
 
burbs1 said:
I got my green card on September 5, 2001 and was laid off on September 28, 2001 because of the poor economy. I obtained a letter from the employer stating that they had to let me go because of poor economic conditions and this letter was dated September 28, 2001.

This was never brought up as an issue during my naturalization interview. Of course I did have the original copy of the letter given by my employer in 2001 as a supporting evidence that my intent was to be with the employer and the reason for separation was because the employer let me go.
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As a 9/11 casualty you'd definitely have a solid stance if they wanted to make an issue out of it.
 
I don't mean to hijack this thread but my original question about intent still persists. Anyone knows if being laid off automatically means my intent did not change?

Jackolantern said:
Even if it came out in 2005, you'd still be applying for citizenship after 2005 and they could hassle you over it.
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Oh yes, I am almost certain they will hassle over it.

You might want to wait until you've completed 6 or 7 years so they will be less inclined to ask about anything surrounding your circumstances at the time of I-485 adjudication. Generally they focus on what happened during the 5 years prior to your application.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure waiting will help. The IO is supposed to ask questions about your employment at the time the I-485 was adjudicated. Actually they are specifically instructed to query about that if the petitioning employer is not listed on the N-400. It's just that sometimes the IOs might choose to ignore this or some of them might not be very well versed with the process.
 
The N-400 only asks for the employers in the past 5 years. If you have been a permanent resident for 7 or 8 years and the last 5 years doesn't include the sponsoring employer, that isn't supposed to raise any eyebrows.

Of course, they are free to ask about anything whenever and whatever. What has already happened is done and you can't change the past. If you are seriously worried about it, don't bother to apply... just renew the green card when the 10 years are up. Or get advice from a lawyer (and get a second opinion).
 
Immigrateful,
Ofcourse you can renew the GC in 10 years like Jackolantern says.
But there probably is a reason you want citizenship, correct?

If so, would you be able to wait for 2 more years?
 
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