H1-B time remaining and labor cert application status

[hss10]

Hello,

I have a question regarding the timeline of my visa status in the US. I am presently employed fulltime with an H1-B. My 6 years of H-time run out in Nov 2007. I have cleared my PERM L/C in Sept 2005. I have not yet filed the I-140 petition because lately, I have been considering going back to business school for an MBA program and thus, back on F-1 status.
Even if I were to start the MBA program in Fall 2006 (August 2006), I will have about 15 months of H-time remaining when I graduate. Will that be enough to restart my green card process from scratch?
Realistically, I think the earliest I would start business school is Fall 2007 (August 2007), leaving me with just a few months of H-time - surely not enough to restart the green card process.
Do you recommend I file the I-140 now, get it approved, and then quit my job, hoping that my employer does not withdraw the I-140 application? Will that help me in any way when I restart employment after graduation? Are my PERM and I-140 approvals portable between different employers?

Any guidance you can give me, will be sincerely appreciated.

 

[gc_bronco]

For one 6 year calculation only includes the number of days you were in the US on H-1 or H-4 visa. So subtract all the days you were outside the US.

15 months is very tight indeed. As soon as you join a new company, they will have to start your GC processing for it takes 3 months before filing PERM which will have to be done 12 months before your limit runs out. So it is touch and go.

Once you get your I-140, you can take the priority date with you even if you switch jobs. But I think that portability is valid only if you move to a very similar job. In your case after MBA you might be looking at a very different job profile . So the I-140 might not be portable.