National Interest Waiver: An ongoing obligation

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NIW_Engineer

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,
After my I-485 approval today, I'm so glad to be posting questions on this side of the board!

I wanted to share this important and interesting article from another immigration law firm, that I've linked to at the bottom of this post.

They place emphasis on being careful while switching jobs prior to 485 approval. This is well-known, I guess. I'm concerned, however, with switching after 485 approval. I suspect this could be troublesome when applying for citizenship later on, when they take a closer look at your whole process. Am I still confined to jobs with the description and SOC code I used in the NIW based I-140? Can't I accept promotions, managerial positions, etc.?

I filed my NIW I-140/485 last year, while a post-doc at a national lab and stayed the whole time. I got the 485 approved today and have a job lined up with a private company starting in three months, when my post-doc appointment expires.

I appreciate any feedback.


Article on NIW and job change
http://www.fanuslaw.com/Article.cfm?articleID=789
 
My opinion only

I also got my PR based on NIW. although I'm not planning on changing jobs right now to something different than what I was approved for, I see no reason why, after the PR we can just do whatever the heck we want! I haven't seen anywhere on the USCIS anythign saying that "after PR approval based on NIW you are only allowed to work on your specific field, etc". On the back of you card it says "the person shown on this card is allowed to work and live in the US", period! As long as it is a legal work, you are fine! After all, the whole point of being a PR is the freedom that comes with it! Also, I don't see why working in something else would jeopardize citizenship. I think only if you commit a crime you may jeopardize your citizenship. On a final note, I think UCSIS is already busy enough trying to process the pending applications to worry if NIW PRs are working or not on their field. Relax! :D Again, this is ONLY my opinion!
 
Hi Fgsilva,

I don't know about having as much liberty as you think. This is from that article I posted about above:

As an NIW beneficiary, you have obligated yourself to continue to pursue work in your field of expertise as discussed in the NIW petition. Once your petition is approved this obligation does not cease. If you are an NIW beneficiary considering changing positions or moving to another field, please consult with your attorney to make sure that this new position will not risk your status as an NIW beneficiary. Careful consideration and planning now will take you far in avoiding problems down the road.

I guess one is certainly free to move around to other things or upwards within the same employer, but I think if you get an adjudicator during your citizenship process that woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day... s/he might try to screw you by exploring this issue.
 
If you read carefully, Once your petition is approved this obligation does not cease., the pertition means I140, not I485.

There are two other sentences to confirm it.

The short answer is that the beneficiary is fully expected to continue to work in their position or in other similar position in the same field AND continue to contribute to the national interest after they receive their NIW at least until their green card is received.

Moving to a non-national interest position prior toI-485 approval carries with it the risk that USCIS will revoke an I-140 approval once the service realizes that you are no longer employed in an area of substantial national interest.

About when you can change fields or employer after getting the GC, I guess Rajiv's opinion still applies. You can check another thread, which is about GC under extraordinary ability: http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=238339
 
The original poster asked the question "Can't I accept promotions, managerial positions, etc.?"

I asked the same question to my attorney when I was on an O-1 visa, and their answer was yes. (I was promoted to VP of my company, and I even received a congratulatory letter from the then Governor of California!)

My attorney's stance was that the USCIS is reasonable in their expectations that people DO sometimes advance in the career, and they should be able to take advantage of such promotions and benefits at work. Especially in the EB1/NIW categories, where excellence is a requisite component of the whole process, that it would be foolish to think that people at that level wouldn't be offered the opportunities for advancement in their field.

My experiences and comments do not apply to completely changing fields however. (However, in my case, I self-petitioned, so pretty much am free to do as I please, although I still work in my area of expertise.)
 
wik said:
...(However, in my case, I self-petitioned, so pretty much am free to do as I please, although I still work in my area of expertise.)
Click to expand...

Thanks all for your replies. I self-petitioned as well, but I think I'm tied not to an employer but to a "field". So, I'm not talking about quitting engineering/science and opening a restaurant, but taking on job offers I currently have that require a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering but whose job description are still not very similar to what I put in the I-140.
 
I feel that as long as you are working legally and that your NIW was approved without fraud, meaning your really had qualified for NIW at that time. If one cannot change job and fields even after GC then what is the purpose. Naturalization doesnt say that if you changed field you would be penalized. Finally you are taking a job that matches your qualification and not something like restaurant. While I still beleive there shouldnt be anything wrong if you ever needed to do that.
 
NIW-Nov 04 said:
I feel that as long as you are working legally and that your NIW was approved without fraud, meaning your really had qualified for NIW at that time. If one cannot change job and fields even after GC then what is the purpose. Naturalization doesnt say that if you changed field you would be penalized. Finally you are taking a job that matches your qualification and not something like restaurant. While I still beleive there shouldnt be anything wrong if you ever needed to do that.
Click to expand...

I fully agree with that! Total change like 'restaurant' might (or might not) cause problems at naturalization - so such things it is better to do after naturalization! But a job matching your qualifications and especially a promotion should be fine...
 
Hey all,

I posed this question to Rajiv in the conference call of 03-22-2007, that is: how risky is it to get another job after getting the GC in a field unrelated to that used in the I-140 NIW petition but still requiring a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering?

The answer was that it there is some risk, but if I am unable to continue that job and must move on to another job whose required qualifications I match, then this would be understandable by any immigration officer. This is exactly the case, I have a post-doc appointment soon to expire and there is no possibility of continuing as staff member at my national lab. So I'm OK!
 
Niw_engineer,

Now how do you proove to immigration officer that "your post-doc appointment was ending soon/expire and there was no possibility of continuing as staff member". Wouldnt the office need proof? Thanks for information.

Best,
 
NIW-Nov 04 said:
Niw_engineer,

Now how do you proove to immigration officer that "your post-doc appointment was ending soon/expire and there was no possibility of continuing as staff member". Wouldnt the office need proof? Thanks for information.

Best,
Click to expand...

Good question. I thought about it myself yesterday after the call. Well, post-doc appointments are usually limited term, i.e., they have a clearly defined end date. So, it should be easy to obtain a letter saying that you worked for X lab from date A to date B as a post-doc. I'm thinking of asking my supervisor to sign a letter I'll type saying that, despite his best intentions to hire me as a permanent staff member after finishing my post-doc, they couldn't do it because of budgetary constraints.

Now, I guess if you must leave a job in different circumstances (non-amicable departure) it would be harder to obtain written documents, but if you can show that whatever job you took also requires your qualifications then it should be OK. You'll just have to explain verbally (if asked) that you had to move on for whatever reason and there was this other job offer and you had to take it to feed your family.
 
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