Switching companies after I140 approval

[unluckygcguy]

Dear friends,

I am currently employed with Company A working onsite with the client Company B as a contract-to-hire.

My GC process is with Company A, with I140 approved in Nov 2005. My priority date is Aug 2001 and I am EB3 India.
Since the dates are not moving at all, I have convinced my client (Company B) to file PERM for me.

I am looking to switch companies and have a few questions in this regard...

1) Should the job description on PERM being filed by company B match with my current job description on the labor I have?
2) When company B is ready to file the I140 for me (after approval of PERM), do I need to be an employee of company B? (ie, should I be an employee of the company when it files the I-140)
3) If the answer to Question 2 is "Yes", then can I join by doing a H1 for Company B? I am on 7th year H1
4) At what stage can I request for porting the priority date from my current I-140 to the new one?
5) Since my current employer (Company A) is a consulting/staffing company, I am worried that if I leave company A, my labor will get substituted and I may lose my place in the line. When is it safe for me to join Company B ( my current client and the one that will shortly file PERM for me)? Only after the approval of its I140 petition?
6) Lets say that the PERM and the I140 process takes 6-8 months (bureacracy, advertising time, etc), -- now in the meanwhile, the priority dates for EB3 India move past Aug 2001 -- then would I need to file the I485 with Company A(my current employer)? Then what happens to the GC process I have going on with Company B. Can I still switch to Company B in due course and start a fresh I485 with company B? Is there any issues you see?
7) Now, does the fact that my current GC process is based on a pre-approved labor petition(for an employee who had left company A earlier) make the situation any more complicated for me?

Thanks in advance for your patience in reading through my questions and I am looking forward to your advice!

 

[cableching]

Dear friends,

I am currently employed with Company A working onsite with the client Company B as a contract-to-hire.

My GC process is with Company A, with I140 approved in Nov 2005. My priority date is Aug 2001 and I am EB3 India.
Since the dates are not moving at all, I have convinced my client (Company B) to file PERM for me.

I am looking to switch companies and have a few questions in this regard...

1) Should the job description on PERM being filed by company B match with my current job description on the labor I have?
2) When company B is ready to file the I140 for me (after approval of PERM), do I need to be an employee of company B? (ie, should I be an employee of the company when it files the I-140)
3) If the answer to Question 2 is "Yes", then can I join by doing a H1 for Company B? I am on 7th year H1
4) At what stage can I request for porting the priority date from my current I-140 to the new one?
5) Since my current employer (Company A) is a consulting/staffing company, I am worried that if I leave company A, my labor will get substituted and I may lose my place in the line. When is it safe for me to join Company B ( my current client and the one that will shortly file PERM for me)? Only after the approval of its I140 petition?
6) Lets say that the PERM and the I140 process takes 6-8 months (bureacracy, advertising time, etc), -- now in the meanwhile, the priority dates for EB3 India move past Aug 2001 -- then would I need to file the I485 with Company A(my current employer)? Then what happens to the GC process I have going on with Company B. Can I still switch to Company B in due course and start a fresh I485 with company B? Is there any issues you see?
7) Now, does the fact that my current GC process is based on a pre-approved labor petition(for an employee who had left company A earlier) make the situation any more complicated for me?

Thanks in advance for your patience in reading through my questions and I am looking forward to your advice!

1. No

2. Not necessarily. If your current employer does not revoke the I-140, if you leave the job, you may join the Company B. Better not to join untill I-140 gets approved or preferably until I-485 gets approved.

3. You can get 3 year extension based on your approved I-140.

4. When filing for new I-140.

5. See the answer for (2)

6. If the dates become current for you, then file I-485 through the current employer. As I-485 is not taking very long these days it is better to wait till it gets approved and work for 6 to 12 months with the current employer. If it gets delayed beyond, say 10 months, then you can move to the emploer B and file for AC21.

7. It might complicate things if you leave the current compnay and they revoke the I-140 before you new I-140 is approved and/or I485 is approved.

If possible, get the PERM Labor and I-140 filed through the new employer and join the company once the I-140 is approved and I-485 is apllied or better weait till your I-485 is approved and join the new employer.

But nothing is sure in immigration. At the end it all depends on our luck.