Get laid-off and will be hired soon

A

Angeline

New Member
Here is my story: I got laid-off this morning, and the HR told me that next Monday would be my last day. Dramatically, this afternoon, another company told me that they will give me offer next Monday as well. So basically, get laid-off and get offer at the same day.

My questions are:

1. In my case, do I need to apply to switch to B2, since there is such a short term in between? I assume I can apply a new TN in 10 days.

2. If I apply to switch to B2, I may go to the POE before I receive the B2 application receipt. It seems the application will not give me any help.

3. But if I don’t apply a B2, can I apply my new TN via I-129 petition? My concern is via this way, will they check my between job status?

Thanks
 
1--If you can get the new offer in hand and leave the country (en route to the POE to re-enter) on Monday, then you don't need to apply for a B2. But I mean Monday and not Tuesday. If you will still be in the country on Tuesday you should in theory have a B2 application on file. There is no grace period. Of course given that the time gap is likely to be short, they may not (probably won't) give you a hard time. There is no formal grace period of 10 days, just a rule of thumb that if the time gap is short they usually don't give people a hard time.

Ideally you should be acting within the next few hours, finding a delivery service that accepts packages on Saturday for delivery to USCIS on Monday to make sure the B2 application is on their desk by Monday.

2--Yes you may go to the POE before you get the receipt. After you get the new TN you'd send in a letter cancelling the B2 petition. Applying for the B2--and keeping documentation that you applied--just helps show that you remained in status or made a good faith effort to remain in status for those few days.

3--This question seems like a complete shift of gears (out of fast gear into slow gear to be honest) from the previous questions. The I-129 (even via premium processing) is much slower than a POE re-entry. You're not in a position where you would want to slow things down (since you've been laid off). So the only reason to go for the I-129 would be if you were nervous about your chances at the border--in which case you should try to address those concerns.

But to answer your question--if you don't apply for a B2 and there is a gap in status, yes, that can be a problem if they look into it in detail. Moreover, as you will be sitting in the US waiting for their decision, if they end up ruling against you, your gap in status will be much longer. Honestly I'd recommend either getting that B2 in immediately (preferred) or making your trip to the border within days.
 
1. Not quite what Cal said. If you get a job within the next couple of weeks, you had no need to get B2. If not, you should leave. The only reason to get B@ is if you do NOIT think you will get a job soon and don't feel like going to US. It doesn't; matter if you lodse your job and stay one or two weeks out of status. You I-94 is not expired, so you are not accumulating days of illegal presence. But, as cal said, if you want to stay in US and are't sure that you will get a job, then Monday would be the only day to file for B2. But if you decide not to file I-539 and the job falls through, no biggie, just get ready to leave in the next couple of weeks. While there is no grace period, there is no loss of grace period either, other than I-94 expiry.

2. Won't matter. You are not considered illegal, and are within the expected time.
3. Here is where the I-539 would have been important. It would keep you in status and could apply I-129 and stay in US. But as cal says, you are better of going to border anyways.
 
Well, as nelsona says, in practice the problematic situation would be if the job offer does fall through and it takes OP more than a couple of weeks to find alternative new employment. Not knowing the details I, of course, have no way of knowing how much of a sure thing the job offer expected on Monday is.
 
It would still not be "problematic". The poster would just leave sometime before I-94 expires. Filing timely I-539 avoids having to leave and allows for I-129 filing and approval without needing to go to border to activate. It also allows for those with no intention of looking/finding new US job the luxury of staying in US with nothing hanging over their heads.

But for those whose I-94 is not nearing expiry, and who are willing to make one, say, month-long job search and then leave, I-539 is a bit of a waste.
 
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You are contradicting yourself a bit at this point when it comes to how long someone can stay with an unexpired I-94 after losing their job. You seem to be saying, alternatively, until the I-94 expires, a "month long job search", or "a couple of weeks".

The I-94 might not be expiring until a year or more from now. That's usually enough time for a professional with recent experience to find a new job. A month or a couple of weeks is not so much time. Most experts say--and this has been my experience as well--that a job search typically takes at least a few months. To find a job in less than a month is possible but requires not only that you find your dream job almost immediately but that the company move faster than average in the interview process.
 
Yes, but our poster has found one in less than that.
There certainly is a lot of upside in filing an I-539, but very little downside for not filing. I wanted to counter the "no grace period" and having to act "in the next few hours "tone of your initial post. There is no need to have the new offer "in hand" on day of lay-off.
I've softened my position on filing I-539 considerably over the years, since it just doesn't seem to matter much.
I'm more focused on reminding people that they should NOT leave US until ready, with or without filing I-539.

If their I-94 was expiring in a month or so, I would be more strict about filing I539, but if there is lots of time left on I-94, they will most likely either find work or leave country relatively quickly anyways. I've never heard of a TN candidate with an unexpired I-94 show up at the border an be denied re-entry on the new TN (for the reason of being "too slow" to leave US).
 
I was cautioning against filing the I-539 late. In this particular situation I think actually 'better never than late' applies.
 
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