HELP: When to start working with the GC sponsored company??

[rk4gc]

Gurus,

NOTE: I searched this forum and I-485 forum to find an answer to my question and could not find any suitable post/answer. So I'm here. If its some topic thats already beaten to death please pardon me and point me to those posts.

Here goes the question.

Don't know where to post this question. My I-485 is approved couple of days ago, yet to receive approval notice. Mine is a future employment GC. I wonder when do I have to start working with the GC sponsoring company?

Is there any regulation or common practice ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rk4gc]

You have to start working for the sponsoring company as soon as you become a PR. That is as soon as the I-485 is approved.
In practice, most people work for the sponsoring company already.
The job had to be open for you during the whole process, and it has to be open for you now and you have to start working in that job now. Otherwise, it would be immigration fraud.

Thanks JoeF,

In my case its future employment GC and I'm not yet working with the sponsoring company. The job is open during the process and its still open, the question is

When can I join?

Do you mean I can start working with the sponsoring company without approval notice and with out the stamp on the Passport, just using the email and the status on the web ?

My current company sure is going to ask for a two weeks notice. As you know CIS does not give a prior notice before approving I-485 , and mine is a random approval and approved unexpectedly early. So I still have to give notice to my company. Also I want to wait until I've my approval notice in hand to give the notice. I got email on 30th July, approved on July 29th. I may receive approval notice between 4th-6h. So at the earliest I can give notice on 4th. That means I can join my sponsoring company only in the third week of August. Is that OK?

thanks for the help.

 

[rk4gc]

thanks unitednations,

since my case is already approved, I think I cannot use AC21.

 

[hadron]

Don't make a science out of it.

I assume you are on H1b or EAD.

Wait for the paper approval notice, go for PP stamping, give your current employer the required notice and start the job you got sponsored for once you are available.

As previously noted, the only time the fact if and when you worked for the sponsoring employer comes up might be during citizenship interview. At that point, all that counts is the bizarre 'intent' theory of the CIS. Switching your job to the sponsoring employer as soon as logistically feasible would probably suffice to demonstrate this 'intent' (and staying with them for whatever period you deem appropriate, 6-12mo beeing the numbers that are beeing kicked around, but that is a whole new discussion)

(This is my personal uninformed opinion. Get an informed i.e. attorney's opinion if you want to be sure.)

 

[rk4gc]

I assume you are on H1b or EAD.

Wait for the paper approval notice, go for PP stamping, give your current employer the required notice and start the job you got sponsored for once you are available.

As previously noted, the only time the fact if and when you worked for the sponsoring employer comes up might be during citizenship interview. At that point, all that counts is the bizarre 'intent' theory of the CIS. Switching your job to the sponsoring employer as soon as logistically feasible would probably suffice to demonstrate this 'intent' (and staying with them for whatever period you deem appropriate, 6-12mo beeing the numbers that are beeing kicked around, but that is a whole new discussion)

(This is my personal uninformed opinion. Get an informed i.e. attorney's opinion if you want to be sure.)

Thanks hadron,
that gives breather, but anyway I'm going to talk to attorney.

 

[hadron]

Bizarre

> It in fact is quite bizzare. Nobody can really determine intent
> (it is in the mind only),

The INS/BCIS/USCIS is a truly bizarre institution. If you asked a consulting company to design an institution to:

- inflict maximal harm on companies trying to hire qualified foreign employees
- create maximal amount of buerocratic complication
- import a maximum number of 'up to no good' high-school graduates, unable to read or write the language customary in this country and ill-equipped to fend for themselves in this society.
- create a maximal amount of inequality between residents of different states
- minimize the accountability of individual employees
- dissuade the brightest from other countries from coming here

The INS is what they would come up with.

If they would't drag their feet on approving LC's I140s and AOS, there wouldn't be a need for EAD's AP's and other crutches.
Finally, some minimal amount of reason (multi-year EAD's, concurrent approvals) seems to take a precarious foothold in the institution, but so far there is only limited hope.

Bottom line:
Congratulations to rk4GC, I think you are in the clear and the anxiety about when to switch is probably unfounded. Forget about theoretical discussions whether AC21 applies or not, switch to the company that was nice enough to sponsor you, work for them for a year and enjoy the new freedom you have found. (You have been one of the lucky ones who got their 485 without a RFE, at this point there is not too much left to go wrong.)

(AGAIN, I AM NOT A LAWYER. THIS IS MY UNINFORMED OPINION ONLY, TALK TO A GOOD ONE, THERE ARE MANY INCOMPETENT MORONS OUT THERE) sorry about the yelling

 

[rk4gc]

Well, ask your lawyer. I would say that anything other than a logistical delay can cause problems. Why didn't you work for the sponsoring company already, anyway?

Yes, I'm going to talk to my lawyer any way, want to do some home work before talking to lawyer.

Its a long story. I opted for the future sponsoring company while my current company was in turmoil due to economic downturn. I almost left to join the sponsoring company. At the same time my current company was acquired by another company and my manager asked me to continue as the acquired company wanted the team intact for the product. Once I learned that I can continue working with current company because GC is for future job, I continued here and decided to join the sponsoring company after the GC.