This is the Info posted by a lawyer :
Question of Obligation of 485-Approved-Alien to Work for the Employer
As more people will get 485 approvals, people question what their obligations are under the law.
Without doubt, Green Card does not mean one will become a permanent slave to the employer. Then what is their obligation?
There is no hard and fast rule on the question. It is basically the issue of "intent" of the employer and alien employee.
For instance, if the employer sponsored green card with no intention to keep him/her indefinitely, employer was commiting "fraud."
The same is true if the alien employee applies for green card with no intention to work for the employer indefinitely. It all boils down to question of "real intent" which is a "state of mind" that can be established by either a direct evidence or circumstantial evidence.
If one starts going into the open market to look for a permanent job with another employer and intends to move to the second employer as soon as the green card is granted through the current employer, it should be a classific example of fraud. Should the INS obtain such evidence, the INS may start cancellation proceeding. Additionally, if one quits the job as soon as one gets the green card approval, it will be construed as reflection of the state of mind of the alien that he/she did not have any intention to work for the employer. There are two relevant analogies on the required period of employment. DOL defines permanent employment as the one that lasts for a year or longer. On the other hand, in the nonimmigrant context, both the INS and the DOS adopt so-called the rule of presumption of misrepresentation in case an alien enters the U.S. on a certain type of visa and within 60 days attempts to change the status to other nonimmigrant visa or immigrant status. However, when it comes to presumption of certain state of mind, no court will accept one year period of time as the basis of determining one's state of mind. It is a close call, but unless there is a clear and direct evidence that the alien had such state of mind, it should be much less period than one year and definitely more than two or three months.
If an alien loses the job as soon as he/she gets the green card because of the factors which are beyond their control, the alien will be in good shape. For instance, if the alien is terminated by the employer within one week for whatever reasons, he/she will be in good shape. If the company shuts down in a few days, the alien will be in good shape, even though there is a question of employer having committed a misrepresentation as to the issue of continuing existence of permanent job at the time of INS approving the green card.
Please do not assume that even if one commits such a wrongdoing, one will permanently escape the net. In various occasions in the future, including naturalization application or immigrant petition for family members, it may haunt and throw another opportunity for the INS to review his/her immigration history. Wise persons will not form a "preconceived intent" to use the employer for the sole purpose of obtaining green card and immediately abandone that employer as soon as his/her scheme is achieved. Please remember that inasmuch as such state of mind was not formed at the time of obtaining the green card, but certain circumstanstances have developed afterwards, one is in good shape. Time of intent and time of act will be critically important when such legal tangle develops.
