To continue green card process (now in DOL labor certificate stage) after laid off

M

MorningJogger

New Member
hi, folks

my question is on the feasibility to continue my green card application process after being laid off. i do understand in theory it is feasible, but i still have certain points unclear if talking about in practice.

i just got laid off and now my status is F-1 visa pending. i began green card application while in the company, now the labor certificate is waiting for DOL, federal department of labor's approval (transferred there from SCEA in September 2002) in california. the company expressed that they are willing to help after the layoff.

1. is it possible to continue green card process even i am in a F-1 visa (now is "F-1 pending") status? i understand we have to specify the current visa status when filing I-140 form.

2. if yes, is it required that i will have to return to the company to work once green card is approved? or, is there any workaround way?

3. suppose the company files I-140 and 485 (altogether) for me, will they have to specify that i used to be an employee but now a student instead? also, will this information affect the green card approval? i really doubt an officier looking at this information would approve the green card.

4. overall, if continuing green card process is feasible in theory, how about the success possibility in practice?

the company (my former employer) is a start-up of small size.

i have such questions because my H-1B's 6 years run almost out, and i do want to keep the green card progress since in california it's so slow now.

thank you very much for your time and comments, appreciated.

jogger
 
Your situation is pretty tricky.

In my opinion, the LC can continue as long as your company is willing. However, when it comes to the 140/485 stage, then you may be in trouble.

The problem here is F-1 is an non-immigrant visa. You can't apply for green card in this status. A solution will be to switch to H-1B which is a dual intent visa. If you can't do that, you probably need to cancel your F-1 and go home to apply for 140/CP.

If your GC get approved this way, you are required to join the employer. I don't know how INS is gonna check because I never came across a case where the applicant didn't work for the employer prior to GC approval.

I think there is a new law that allows you to extend your H1 beyond 6 years if your LC is pending over a year. Maybe you can take a look into that.

If you do pursue this route, please update us with your progress.

Good luck!
 
hi, Yee Man Chan

thank you for the reply.

i agree with you, F-1 visa is troublesome talking about this tricky continuing green card process. transferring to H-1B could avoid many hassles that F-1 could bring, even working for a different company on H-1B while continuing green card process through the previous company is much better. so, i'd better find another job after this layoff of last week.

as for the employment committment once green card is approved, my thoughts are not to worry about it for now, as there would be variations.

for example, if green card not approved after I-485 filed for 180 days, the applicant can work for a different employer; then, this committment does not exist. my lawyer also told me she is aware of cases that people apply for green card through one company while actually working for another one.

yeah, after labor certificate pending for over one year, H-1B visa can be extended. right now, i have one year and nine months left over on H-1B, so not that urgent about H-1B extension at this moment. however, this not much H-1B time left makes my job seeking even much tougher, i think.

anyways, i plan to talk to lawyer again to see her comments. any comments from you guys are welcome. meanwhile, i will keep you guys posted on how things go.

later,
jogger.
 
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