Left sponsoring company before getting GC

D

deshipublic

Member
I left my sponsoring company before getting my GC. I didnt have any intention but the company was doing bad and they ask me to find something else. My lawyer at that time said since my Greencard processing was taking so long and I was at the end of approval, its ok to leave my sponsoring employer and find another job withini 30 days or so. Which I did, thank God. After working at the new job for about a year I got my GC approved.

Would that cause any problem during my citizenship interview? Do they even ask about current or past employment at the citizenship interview?

Thanks for your help in advance.
 
Is your job similar to your previous job (but with different job title)? If so, it is called AC-21 and you will be fine.

Not all IO will ask you about past employment and current employment. Good luck! :)
 
Re

You should be fine as long as you are in the same job classification mentioned in your green card processing. I was in the same situation as you. Filed 485 and switched jobs a year later. The officer who interviewed me found that I changed my jobs as I mentioned the date of hire of my current employer in N400 application, which was before my 485 was approved. The officer asked me if I informed USCIS about the change as she did not find any evidence of it. I told that I called USCIS to notify my address change and employment change. She then asked me if the jobs were similar and went back to supervisor for some clarification. The officer later came back and approved my N400 application.
The documents that i took were W2 for the 2 companies for the year that i changed the jobs.
It will be good if you can get an employment letter from your current employer to match the job classification in your green card labour certification.
I was supprised to see the amount of documentation the officer had, which included my F1 visa, H1-B visas, resumes that i sent for green card and H1B, labour certification approval.
The officers are not that knowledgable about the nature of your job. In my case it was mentioned that i was computer analyst in my green card labour. In my N400, i mentioned that my current job is IT architect. The officer thought that i was some kind of civil architect. I had to tell that I am still computer analyst and my company calls me IT architect. Then the officer asked me about the current salary, which is 35% more than what was mentioned in labour. Had to tell the officer that I received 3 promotions.
In short if you have all the documentation that proves that you were working in a similar job classification, you should be fine.
 
I am in a similar situation, I was laid off about 4 week after filing 485. And in my case I never informed INS about the change, I found another job within a month with H-1 transfer and the job is in similar field. Initially my lawyer adviced not to file right after 5 years, I waited from seven years so that part of employment history is not written in N400. Gurus(Bobsmith) out there any advice for me as to how to defend my case incase they ask about my employment history. I am currenlty at FP stage of the process.
 
They dont ask you about your past employment at all. They just ask you where you are currently working. In which case, tell them the name of the company and what you do in max : Two sentences.

You'll be absolutely fine :D, Wishing you all the very best. So dont worry :)
 
Thanks. I asked some of my friends and they said they never ask you about past employment or why I left the sponsoring employer etc etc. I Hope thats true. I'm nervous now!
 
Adding my 2 cents. I know you are concerned...but wanted to give you more info to digest and think about. Yes, USCIS has the right to ask and examine GC case and initiate an action if it determines that there is enough ground (fraud, irregularity) for denying N-400 and/or revoking GC status.

A rule of thumb (not a statutory regulation), a safest approach is to work for sponsoring employer 6 month following obtaining PR status unless the employer itself initiated termination due to layoff, bankruptcy, etc.
I think your case is different as you voluntarily left your sponsoring employer without notifying USCIS. So if they start digging into this, you may want to be prepared to defend yourself. E.g. You may want to collect documents showing sponsoring company’s difficulties or email/letters in which they asked you to search for a new employment or showed hardship. Also, a position with a new employer is sufficiently same/similar per AC-21 rules.

Depending on your risk –acceptance level, you may forget all about this and assume USCIS will not ask..
 
hmcis said:
Thanks. I asked some of my friends and they said they never ask you about past employment or why I left the sponsoring employer etc etc. I Hope thats true. I'm nervous now!
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It's not always true. For most people they don't ask, but for others they do.

However, even if you are asked about it, in your case you have nothing to worry about if the job you changed into was "same or similar" to the originally sponsored job, as the AC21 law explicitly authorizes such job changes before GC approval.
 
My job description changed from 'Business Analyst' to 'Technology Specialist' , so I think I am somewhat safe in that area. But They asked me to go find something else a year before by GC was approved. That is I joined the new company with EAD in 2003 and my GC was approved in 2004 through the previous company. I did fine change of address etc. and My then lawyer did tell me at that time that I am safe under AC21.

But the question is , incase the Immigration officer asks to show proof, I wouldnt have any. It was all verbal. And who keeps emails, employment letters etc. from 6 years ago!
 
hmcis said:
But the question is , incase the Immigration officer asks to show proof, I wouldnt have any. It was all verbal. And who keeps emails, employment letters etc. from 6 years ago!
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The discussions surrounding why you left may have been verbal, but given that AC21 is applicable, the reason you left doesn't really matter anyway. However, the list of job duties probably was not verbal; the company should have a written job description of each position (even if they didn't give it to you). If you're worried about the interviewer asking for proof, you could try to get an experience letter from the second company saying what your job duties were.
 
In my case, I was laid off because of an impending merger with another company. I have my termination papers which says they had to let me go because of corporate restructure, but thing is it happened so early after filing I-485. But they said they are not going to revoke I-140, and finally I got GC without any RFE.

I want to prepare for the interview expecting the worst. So I will take that termination letter and last few pay stubs from the sponsoring employer, is there anything else I need to take, my new position after filing I-485 is very similar, I can take the new offer letter too.
 
hmcis, hattrick,

You have nothing to worry about, especially if it's been more than 5 years after I-485 approval. Be honest but do not give too much details during the interview.
 
hattrick said:
I want to prepare for the interview expecting the worst. So I will take that termination letter and last few pay stubs from the sponsoring employer, is there anything else I need to take, my new position after filing I-485 is very similar, I can take the new offer letter too.
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Carry what you have, but only show what you specifically are asked for. If only they ask for proof of the new job offer, don't show the termination letter, and vice versa.
 
post your experience after interview

hmcis, hattrick,

Please post your experience after interview. Good Luck for your interview.
 
when I left my sponsoring company in 2003, and joined another comapny within 30 days, my approval was way over due, I think, if I am not mistaken, my I 485 application was was sent in Sepemtember 2001 and did not get the GC approval even in 2003! So, after I joined the 2nd company, and worked there for one year, teh GC was approved in september 2004! So I think the "more than 180 days" clause applies to me and I should be safe in (unwillingly) leaving sponsoring company and joing another company befoe my GC was approved.

But wouldnt the interviewing officer figure that out? Becauase if I have to explain this to him, I may mess up things, hopefully he/she wouldnt ask me such question like "Why did you leave your job with the sponsoring company in 2003 and got GC in 2004 while working for another company"? Because these IO are usually hardheaded and short tempeterd. I am literally scared of them! :)
 
hmcis said:
when I left my sponsoring company in 2003, and joined another comapny within 30 days, my approval was way over due, I think, if I am not mistaken, my I 485 application was was sent in Sepemtember 2001 and did not get the GC approval even in 2003! So, after I joined the 2nd company, and worked there for one year, teh GC was approved in september 2004! QUOTE]

Not sure, what do you mean by your approval was overdue.. There is no such a law or statue for overdue unless you have initiated a formal action against USCIS for delaying your case. The delay in process alone does not automaticly provide any relief unless there is formal complain/action/appeal for which a relief was granted by Judge.

I am not AC-21 expert, my understanding is that you have to notify USCIS about your job change.
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There is no requirement to notify USCIS about the job change but it is recommended. There are numerous people on this forum who was in the same situation and got citizenship approved without questions with or without submitting papers (including me).
I think unless your sponsoring employer has a red flag and USCIS suspects fraudelent activity you have nothing to worry about. Also make sure your work duties are the same or similar.
 
all these contradictory opinios are driving me nut! Probably its a good idea to stay away from this forum. I have received a lot of useful information from this forum, don't get me wrong, and I appreciate all the good advice, comments etc. but it just makes me even more confused when I read contradictory opinions. Its not you , its me! LOL

will I keep coming back to this forum? YES ofcourse! This forum is AWESOME! Will I take it too seriously? Definitely NOT!

Again its not you, its ME! :)
 
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