I-485, 180 days rule

W

whats_in_name

Banned
I am in a situation which I am sure is very familiar to many of you or your friends in the current job market situation. I am hoping to get some advise from you all.

I am currently in the I-485 stage, my ND : 01/25/03, received EAD and FP is done.

I am with my GC sponsoring consulting company for the last three years now, very nice supporting people and also I have a very good relationship with them. Unfortunately, my current client project is coming to an end in mid of May. I have been searching for new projects and I don't see any sub-contracting openings. I am getting either direct full time employment with the client companies or with the vendor to the clients. No one is ready to do a sub-contracting with my consulting company.

What do you think I should do ? How does the 180 days rule work ? Is the 180 days rule really acceptable to INS ?

Thanks in advance
 
Dear friend,

You can change jobs as long as your I-485 is not adjudicated within 180 days (180 calendar days from Notice date) .
Based on the processing speed at INS vermont, it is highly unlikely that your case will be adjudicated before 180 days. However, most people (like me for example) do not take chances and actually wait for 180 days before changing employers . It is your call.
If your employer does not pay salary on the bench , you have a good case for leaving him , He does not expect you to survive in the US of A on air alone does he ?
I was in the same situation. I left my employer 8 months after filing I-485 and was lucky to find a much better paying job (with the vendor) within a month. You are right, In this economy most
vendors do not want to work with 3rd parties and H1b's. I feel this is wrong because we are in this country legally just like anybody else.

Thanks, Speedking.

Standard Disclaimer:
All this is purely personal opinion, I am not an immigration attorney. You should contact your immigration attorney for all legal advice.
 
Hi Whats...


You are in much safer position than most of the laid off guys. Don't worry. Your 180 days clock starts ticking from RD Date (When INS received your papers by mail) and not from ND. From your post I think that will be even earlier may be in Dec 2002. So after 180 days from RD ie probably anywhere in June, you are safe to switch jobs. Start looking for ones from now you should be okay...

You must have valid EAD and your I-140 must have been approved.

And once you get a similar job get an employment letter with similar description as described by your previous employer and with the help of new company's attorney, you can submit letter explaining your switch as per AC21 rule (no specific forms are reqd)


Good Luck
 
Thank you very much guys.

I am getting the message from you guys that I should wait for 180 days before I change the job. That is what also I want to do.

sbctsublc -- Actually my RD date is 01/25 and ND is 02/07. July 25th I will be completing 180 days. So, I guess I can plan to take up other employments starting from 1st August. Unfortunately, what is happening now is that I am already getting offers but unfortunately I can not accept them because of this 180 days rule. I even requested for a contract to hire deal but they don't want to do it that way.

Now, you brought up a different quetion. Do I have to change the lawyer after changing the job or I can stay with my current lawyer, because as I said before my employer will support me whatever I decide ??

Thanks a lot guys

win
 
Thanks, sbctsublc

Desperately, waiting for that 180 days mark !!

One more question:

My labor was done in VA where my consulting company is but I have been working in NJ at client site much before my labor was approved. If I decide to change the employer after 180 days and work for a new employer based in NJ/NY. Will it affect my GC because of change in the state for the employer ??

Thanks Again

win
 
Change of state does not matter

read rv_ma post in the forum. also I guess ksv post.
also, My call is that one does not need to have the 140 approved before looking for another job, if they have the ead card in hand. of course if 140 gets denied for some reason, then one loses the basis for the ead card. changing jobs with an approved 140 is always safer. I do not now what happens if employer revokes 140 after aperson has changed jobs.
moreover, its difficult to have 485 cases touched before 180 days since they are still in dec 2001 right now.
but its your call between staying without a job now or getting one. I would in the meanwhile also get a letter from current employer about your good work etc etc.
My views of course :)
 
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hi whatsinaname,
it is good that you are getting offers already. especially in this economy. have you thought in terms of starting work before your jul 25 d-day. officially start work on jul 25 and get paid for pre-jul25 work as a sign up or some other bonus. even if they cannot pay u can u could opt for comp-off. i mean letting go of a job offer is not recommended. i think it going to get progressively difficult as layoffs keep mounting some more. just an idea.
 
I have a question that may be related to the I-485 - 180 days issue.

Where does BCIS send out the I-485 approval letter to? Do they send it to the lawyer or to the individual filing??
 
The original approval notice will be sent to your lawyer and you will get curtesy copy.(Your lawyer supposed to send the original to you). For stamping purpose, the curtesy copy is good enough. The plastic card will be sent to the address you mentioned in the I-485 application.

Bob
 
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