Hello,
I worked as a software engineer for a reputable company in the US for more than 4 years. This company sponsored my green card. I got this green card more than 1 year ago and I am still working full time for the sponsoring employer.
However prior to getting green card approved (about 1.5 years ago) I became a partner at a software company. I worked about 10 hours a week and it did not collide with my work for sponsoring employer.
As it happens the company I started picked up and is in a position to offer me a full time position. Would I have an immigration problem if I change jobs?
As you know according to INS - when getting the green card you need to have intention to work indefinitely for the sponsoring employer. If you started the company prior to getting green card - a perception could be created that you never really wanted to work for the sponsoring employer indefinitely.
But then you could also argue - that more than 1 year has passed and you still work for the sponsoring employer. So at the time of starting the company you wanted to make some extra bucks and you could not have known that the company you started will be able to support you full time. As a result you do not commit fraud by changing jobs now that significant time has passed.
Also after so much time my position with the sponsoring employer has changed. I am still doing things similar but in a different group and for a different product. And at this time I am not satisfied with the things I am doing currently as I need to grow constantly in my career. The sponsoring employer is a very good employer to work for - but I feel that by joining the company I started I could grow more in my career right now.
The other issue is that in general I am an ambitious person. When I finished high school I started a company in Europe that has revenues well over 5 mln dollars.
As a result people percieve me that it could make sense that I would want to go work for a reputable company, get very good experience and then start a company. This way I could come about as a person who does not want to work indefinitely for the same job and for the same employer. Is that a problem?
Personally I think if I change companies I do not commit fraud at all. Although I am an ambitious person - at the time of getting the green card I wanted to work for the sponsoring employer and I did not know that the company I started would pick up so quickly. I thought that even if the company picks up so quick - it might not be necessary for me to join or I might find a different opportunity altogether. So even if sb is percieved that he is the type of a person that could start a successful company does not mean that at the time of getting a green card - he did not want to work for the sponsoring employer.
Can you comment on this case?
Thanks a lot!
I worked as a software engineer for a reputable company in the US for more than 4 years. This company sponsored my green card. I got this green card more than 1 year ago and I am still working full time for the sponsoring employer.
However prior to getting green card approved (about 1.5 years ago) I became a partner at a software company. I worked about 10 hours a week and it did not collide with my work for sponsoring employer.
As it happens the company I started picked up and is in a position to offer me a full time position. Would I have an immigration problem if I change jobs?
As you know according to INS - when getting the green card you need to have intention to work indefinitely for the sponsoring employer. If you started the company prior to getting green card - a perception could be created that you never really wanted to work for the sponsoring employer indefinitely.
But then you could also argue - that more than 1 year has passed and you still work for the sponsoring employer. So at the time of starting the company you wanted to make some extra bucks and you could not have known that the company you started will be able to support you full time. As a result you do not commit fraud by changing jobs now that significant time has passed.
Also after so much time my position with the sponsoring employer has changed. I am still doing things similar but in a different group and for a different product. And at this time I am not satisfied with the things I am doing currently as I need to grow constantly in my career. The sponsoring employer is a very good employer to work for - but I feel that by joining the company I started I could grow more in my career right now.
The other issue is that in general I am an ambitious person. When I finished high school I started a company in Europe that has revenues well over 5 mln dollars.
As a result people percieve me that it could make sense that I would want to go work for a reputable company, get very good experience and then start a company. This way I could come about as a person who does not want to work indefinitely for the same job and for the same employer. Is that a problem?
Personally I think if I change companies I do not commit fraud at all. Although I am an ambitious person - at the time of getting the green card I wanted to work for the sponsoring employer and I did not know that the company I started would pick up so quickly. I thought that even if the company picks up so quick - it might not be necessary for me to join or I might find a different opportunity altogether. So even if sb is percieved that he is the type of a person that could start a successful company does not mean that at the time of getting a green card - he did not want to work for the sponsoring employer.
Can you comment on this case?
Thanks a lot!