Please, advise on changing jobs after GC approval: beaten to death yet still unclear.

[huhrik]

Hello, I'm a female data analysts who worked at her current job for 2.5 years, filed for I-485 in September'10 (receipt date: Oct 6th,2010) and received my GC a few days ago (i.e. before 180 days since filing).

Now, here's the wrinkle. I'm expecting and my current job that was toxic for months before my pregnancy continues to be pure stress that certainly affects my health (high blood pressure, migraines, etc). Can I give a 3 week notice and leave within a month without jeopardizing my citizenship 5 years from now? I would most likely find a job with similar job description and start as soon as leave current workplace, if that matters.

Please, advise. Thank you!

 

[TheRealCanadian]

Maybe. Nothing has changed in the 10 years since AC21.

 

[baikal3]

Hello, I'm a female data analysts who worked at her current job for 2.5 years, filed for I-485 in September'10 (receipt date: Oct 6th,2010) and received my GC a few days ago (i.e. before 180 days since filing).

Now, here's the wrinkle. I'm expecting and my current job that was toxic for months before my pregnancy continues to be pure stress that certainly affects my health (high blood pressure, migraines, etc). Can I give a 3 week notice and leave within a month without jeopardizing my citizenship 5 years from now? I would most likely find a job with similar job description and start as soon as leave current workplace, if that matters.

Please, advise. Thank you!

You should read Rajiv's opinion on the topic:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?154533-Rajiv-s-opinion-on-changing-job-after-GC

Since you got your I-485 approved faster than in 180 days, the AC21 provisions allowing for a change of employer while I-485 is pending do not apply to you.

So, IMHO, if you quit your job (rather than if you are terminated by the employer who sponsored your I-140) just a few days after getting your GC, it will likely cause some problems later on when your naturalization application is considered.

To quote from murthy.com, http://www.murthy.com/485faq.html#13

"A green card job offer is legally considered a future full-time and permanent job offer. Therefore, the employee must have a good-faith intention to work for the employer after the green card is approved, and the employer must have a good-faith intention to employ the employee after the green card is approved. Even if one worked for the sponsoring employer for several years while pursuing the green card process, that would not count as future intent. Generally, 6 months to 1 year after obtaining the green card is a safe time period to change employment. Failure to stay at the sponsoring employer may result in problems at the naturalization stage."

 

[Jackolantern]

This topic will continue to remain unclear until there is a court ruling, USCIS memo or regulation, or legislation that clarifies it.

So until that clarifying event happens, any opinions on this are just speculation and guesses, even if they're somewhat educated guesses.

The "education" of those guesses is largely based on AC21 and the legislative debate that went to it. Basically, the apparent intent of Congress is that an employment-based applicant should not be tied to the particular job for more than 180 days after filing for adjustment of status, but the applicant is expected to remain in a similar occupation for a longer term. (of course, a court may see things differently so figuring out the intent of Congress is still speculation)

So if anybody is ever going to have their naturalization denied or lose their green card for changing jobs too soon, those who changed jobs in less than 180 days after filing the I-485 would be the most likely* group to have a problem. Your case is unusual in that employment-based AOS applications are seldom completed in less than 180 days. To pass the 180-day mark you would have to stay until April.

But if your motivation is to avoid stress in the short-term to protect your pregnancy, changing jobs might not be a good way to accomplish that. The first month or two of a new job is often very stressful; you don't know the people and procedures, and the technical material may also be very different and you still have deadlines to meet despite all your knowledge gaps and learning curve issues.

A better idea might be to apply for unpaid family leave. You are entitled to 12 weeks of it, and may be able to negotiate for more and/or extend it with paid vacation time. Then after the leave, return to the employer and see how things go; if it's still terrible you can start a new job search. Even if you quit soon after returning from leave, your end date with that employer would get extended far enough to minimize your risk when applying for naturalization. And the time off would reduce your stress more than if you took a new job.


*maybe another group would be even more likely to get in trouble -- those who never worked for the sponsor nor in another "same or similar" job after green card approval.

 

[baikal3]

This topic will continue to remain unclear until there is a court ruling, USCIS memo or regulation, or legislation that clarifies it.

So until that clarifying event happens, any opinions on this are just speculation and guesses, even if they're somewhat educated guesses.

The "education" of those guesses is largely based on AC21 and the legislative debate that went to it. Basically, the apparent intent of Congress is that an employment-based applicant should not be tied to the particular job for more than 180 days after filing for adjustment of status, but the applicant is expected to remain in a similar occupation for a longer term. (of course, a court may see things differently so figuring out the intent of Congress is still speculation)

So if anybody is ever going to have their naturalization denied or lose their green card for changing jobs too soon, those who changed jobs in less than 180 days after filing the I-485 would be the most likely* group to have a problem. Your case is unusual in that employment-based AOS applications are seldom completed in less than 180 days. To pass the 180-day mark you would have to stay until April.

But if your motivation is to avoid stress in the short-term to protect your pregnancy, changing jobs might not be a good way to accomplish that. The first month or two of a new job is often very stressful; you don't know the people and procedures, and the technical material may also be very different and you still have deadlines to meet despite all your knowledge gaps and learning curve issues.

A better idea might be to apply for unpaid family leave. You are entitled to 12 weeks of it, and may be able to negotiate for more and/or extend it with paid vacation time. Then after the leave, return to the employer and see how things go; if it's still terrible you can start a new job search. Even if you quit soon after returning from leave, your end date with that employer would get extended far enough to minimize your risk when applying for naturalization. And the time off would reduce your stress more than if you took a new job.


*maybe another group would be even more likely to get in trouble -- those who never worked for the sponsor nor in another "same or similar" job after green card approval.

You are correct, of course, that in the absence of explicit policy clarification by USCIS or a court ruling or a new act of Congress, the issue of changing jobs after GC remains unclear and any opinions are indeed just speculations and guesses. Moreover, after looking around some more, it appears that there is a significant degree of disagreement among the immigration lawyers about the issue. Some lawyers do indeed draw rather favorable implications from AC21, essentially reading its intent to mean that it is OK to change jobs in the same specialty/occupation after 180 of filing I-485 even if the person in question technically does not qualify for the AC21 relief (which is a rather more favorable reading of AC21 than expressed by Murthy). E.g. Ron Gotcher seems to express essentially this view here: http://www.immigration-information....obs-before-and-after-green-card-approval.html

However, I think that exactly because the issue remains unclear, there is still a significant risk that changing jobs too quickly after getting GC may cause problems down the road and one is best advised to exercise prudence and caution here. I agree with your suggestion to the OP that taking an unpaid family/maternity leave first (rather than quitting the job right away) is a good idea in the OP's case.

Given the current political situation, it does not seem very likely that if any clarification on this issue comes (except maybe from the courts) then it would be favorable to people who change jobs soon after getting GC.
The new Congress is much more anti-immigrant than the previous one, particularly in the House, so if there is a new law dealing with this issue, it seems unlikely to be favorable. Also, it looks quite possible that Obama will lose the 2012 election and that a Republican, presumably with much more anti-immigrant views, will be elected President; in this case the direction of USCIS will be significantly changed and new, more restrictive, policies may be implemented by the time the OP has to apply for naturalization. Of course, all of this is purely speculative, but still keeping in mind the current political realities is another consideration that would seem to counsel prudence in terms of changing jobs too soon after getting a GC.