How soon can I change employers after my GC ?

M

maverick1976

Registered Users (C)
Not sure if this is the best place to post this message... but you guys have been the most accurate and thorough source of information for the past several months. I need to know if legally there is any clause that binds me to my employer once my I-485 has been approved.

Comments / feedback / suggestions , anyone ?
 
Yes in the ideal scenario you have to be with the company for 6 months else it is considered to be a fraud but you should be fine if your company does not report.
 
Jaggy,

Does this mean that the sponsering employer normally reports to BCIS in such cases? what would be the effect on the G.C in such scenario, does it gets revoked or something? do you know of such cases?

I have seen a friend of mine joining the client (contractor becoming a permanet employee) as soon he got his approval. He didn't even wait for his plastic card to arrive & I beleive many of us want to do the same, after this long waiting.

any thoughts !!!

Thanks!
 
I have learned from this forum that it can become a problem only
when one files for the citizenship. If one is prepared to stay on GC for
as long as one wants, it is no problem.
 
Thanks!

I'm more concerned about the USCIS reaction? I meant when they receive a request from an employer to deny the G.C stating that the the beneficiary left them voluntarily within 6 months. What action does USCIS takes in such situation?
 
Isnt the GC supposed to be for future employment? THerfore technically USCIS should have no issues if we switch to a better paying job since the new company is willing to employ you.

As far as citizenship is concerned, can anyone confirm, how this should be of any consequence in the citizenship process ?
 
Yes, GC is supposed to be for future permanent employment with the company which sponsored one's green card or agreed to file AC21.
so, one should not change company after the green card.

When one files for citizenship, one has to provide complete employment
history at least after the green card. If CIS determines that a
fraud has been comitted, then we can only imagine the consequences.
 
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lucky65 said:
Isnt the GC supposed to be for future employment? THerfore technically USCIS should have no issues if we switch to a better paying job since the new company is willing to employ you.

As far as citizenship is concerned, can anyone confirm, how this should be of any consequence in the citizenship process ?
Click to expand...

Check murthy.com chat transactions at http://www.murthy.com/chatlogs/chattran.html This issue comes quite often there.

Yes, the GC is for future employment but it's for the future employment by petitioning company. Petitioning company may change when I485 is pending according to AC21. However, AC21 doesn't apply after you get GC. During I485 stage, petitioning company and you claim that the position is permanent. If you leave too early, USCIS may say that position wasn't permanent in your case and you and petitioning company gave false information, which would make GC invalid and citizenship application may be denied.

As far as I understand, the likelyhood of USCIS checking employment history is minimal but personally I would not risk it. I'd rather "suffer" another six month now than sweat 5 years later.
 
ohioApp, you beat me on this one. ;)

I wasn't aware that employment history is a requirement when you apply for citizenship. Ouch. :(
 
However, there is no agreement on how long is "safe". People's opinion ranging from days to months. My lawyer says about a year. Best way seems to make your employer fired you :)
 
pysar

I agree 100% with your last statement. Given the option i would
not leave for least 6 months after gc, no matter how difficult it is to stay.
 
Guys,
I dont know why I get the feeling that somehow this country favours those "risk takers" that do what they have to do and when they have to do it, over those who tread the straight and narrow path cowering about future consequences. Make no mistake - I have belonged to the second group...so far...

As everyone would agree, 2 yrs ago no one would have dreamt of quitting their current employer (unless they were forced into it) even though AC21 clearly/unclearly stated that one could switch jobs, but at their own risk. Today I have yet to see a single case that was rejected due to any deemed non-compliance of AC21. All those who took the "risk" for better gains (which is but natural) not only got their GC but also got better jobs. Whereas guys who stayed with the same company fearing some real or imagined threats probably lost out.

There are numerous other examples related to substitute labour, Consular processing and "out of status" situations that prove the above point.

So without being overly philosophical, my point is why should one loose out on potential 6 months of better salary (if offer is 30-40% more, as seen in many posts) NOW when hopefully by the end of 5 years, USCIS/ US goverment will be lenient in their Citizenship rules so as to accomodate more resident aliens into "vote garnering" citizens THEN ! ;)
 
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lucky65

i admire your spirit. But, i am not with you on this one.
The comparison between AC21 and leaving job soon after getting GC is
not correct. AC21 is a law . Leaving job soon after getting GC is a fraud.
The degree of risk for the second option is much higher than the
first one. If AC21 applied to after GC, then i would say that this
risk could be worth taking.
 
As an added note, there are no known cases of citizenship being denied just because someone changed jobs soon after getting a green card. I have combed thru Board of Immigration Appeals decisions and have found none that explicitly cover such a situation.
 
Many of friends are citizens

nine out of ten got their new jobs within a month or so. Never had a problem. Some stayed with their employers, because they liked their salary, and perks.
It is a safe assumption, you should stay with your sponsored employer for couple of months atleast, again depends on employer.
 
Imho

I believe the issue here is intent.

From my understanding, when you make your I-485 application you must have the intent to work for your sponsoring employer perminantly. If you could be prooved not to have that intent when you signed the documents then it might be considered making a fraudulent statement. I think this is where the six month post approval timeframe came from. It was time enough for situations to have changed. All of these assumptions were created when it only took 6-12 months for a I-485 to be processed. The world has changed. Mine took 26 months for RD to APL. The six month thing was always only a rule of thumb anyway. I suspect they would be more 'understanding' now, especially if you stuck with your sponsoring employeer for the who I-485 period. I think that is a pretty clear demontsration of intent. If you had hopped around 3 or 4 times using AC21, then changed again straight after APL then perhaps that would be viewed in a different light. If that is you and you want to naturalize then you would be wise to consult a lawyer and come up with a strategy to manage this.

As for me since APL, the funny thing is that the time I used to waste during the day on immigrationportal.com is has been subsitututed with an almost equal amount of time being wasted on Monster.com
 
I would suggest you stick with your employer at least 6 months. My lawyer has advised me stay with the employer for 1 year. Murthy's web site also recommend staying one year after GC approval. This may or may not have any bearing on your Citizenship application. But why to take chance after waiting too long for the GC approval.
 
Questions Questions...no easy answers...

A friend of mine recently (Feb. 04) became a citizen (the interview and the oath ceremony). In his case he had gone to India to get consular processing for his Green Card. On his arrival here he presented his resignation letter and moved on. His company folks were very upset and in fact made a policy change to stop any GC processing for their employees. My friend spouse's application was process was stopped. She applied subsequently and obtained the GC later.

I am sure he would have to provide all the necessary information for the citizenship application process as required which would include the employment history as well.

I am posting this to highlight the different views on the subject matter wherein the application process has been handled in the recent past. The opinions vary very widely as can seen from responses from respected people such as Sheela Murthy or Rajiv Khanna (6 months / 1 year) to real life cases such as my friends.

Is there a correct answer? Will the authorities have the same answer 5 / 7 years down the road? No clue :confused:

As far as I am concerned, I am waiting for my 485 approval along with most of the folks on these forums.
 
Thanks for yr input Yannahalli. It reinforces my belief.

Simply put - Just do what you have to do with courage & conviction and leave the rest to the Almighty - So says Lord Krishna himself :cool:
 
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