Want to go to school (full time) after GC is approved. How long do I have to work?

S

StillHope

Registered Users (C)
I am a little bit tired of coding and not optimistic about my future as a developer. Got admitted to a decent school for Ph D program this fall. My question is how long I have to work (not just stay with my current employer) after GC is approved?

Here is my situation:
1.) Category: EB2
2.) RD/ND: Dec, 2001
3.) RFE: Not yet

I hope my GC will be approved before late August, which is the deadline that the school asked me to enroll. I understand that for safety concerns, we'd better stay with the current employer for at least 6 months. Some of my friends didn't do that, and they seem not to have any problems right now. However, my situation is different from theirs in that I will not work for any employers at all.

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
you can leave the very next week if you're quitting to go back to school full time. i think the only time INS raises a question if people quit immediately to take another job, but even them it is arguable. because someone else may offer me a 20% raise.

In a democracy based on capitalism, there are no laws to prevent us from switching jobs for better pay. Provided we ask our current employer for that raise first just to cover our backs.
 
whoa, hold your horses, dawg...

capitalism/democracy aside, employment-based GC is predicated on an offer of permanent employment by your sponsoring u.s. employer. if you fly the coop the moment you get your GC, the BCIS will see this as "immigration fraud" five years down the line when you come up for GC renewal or citizenship.

on the other hand, "permanent" does not mean "perpetual". you can certainly leave your sponsoring employer, but after a respectable time interval. here's what rajiv khanna, the owner of this website has had to say in reply to an FAQ on this subject:

Q. What is the indication of "permanency" while working with my employer after getting my GC?.

A. The basic premise (or theory) behind permanent residence through offer of employment is that an employee is accepting a job on a "permanent" bases.

Normally, I would say working for one year or more with the same employer after getting your GC is PROBABLY enough indication of permanency. Less than 4-5 months is perhaps evidence to the contrary But REMEMBER, this is just my own guess. Technically speaking, the moment you decide that you will leave after a certain period of time, "permanent" intent is gone.
 
Pork, you are dead on about the employee atleast showing an "intent" to stay with the sponsoring employer after getting the GC since that is the premise the petition is based on in the first place! However a timeframe of six months normally works out to be "safe" enough. To prove immigration fraud BCIS has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your intention was dubious.

However, if you are laid off all bets are off. I don't think immigration fraud can be proved then since your intent all along was to work for your employer but since employment is "at will" and you get canned that cannot be attributed as your fault.

So the long and short is don't quit, get canned (if you have to leave!)

gcfasttrack
 
GCfasttrack

you are right, in this case, intent is everything. i seem to recall reading about people being advised to hang on to their pink slips if they do get laid off too soon after their GC approval, as what the pink slip says will figure for them in five years' time. also, mr. khanna has clearly mentioned in his GC FAQ that if you get yourself canned due to professional incompetence or personal misconduct, then you have bought yourself a problem for five years on.

so the trick is to get yourself canned and make it look like they canned you for no fault of yours! ;)
 
ok, so let me understand this.........if i get my GC, go to my employer say a month later with another legitimate job offer that is offering me 20k more and my employer refuses to match it. So not only am I not allowed to quit but I cannot even have myself fired by say, coming in late constantly or calling in sick etc. because the INS will have a problem with it five years down the road? Even though I have received a better job and it is my employer who isn't offering me the pay raise that I can get elsewhere.

It seems more like indentured servitude than employment based green card to me!! btw, does any senior member or naturalized citizen know what are the criteria of getting a citizenship? I thought it had nothing to do with your current job or why you quit your previous job? I have never heard of anyone who got denied their citizenship after 5 years and I'd hate to be the first one. :>
 
> I have never heard of anyone who got denied their citizenship after 5 years and I'd hate to be the first one

that's 'cuz most folks exercise elementary foresight and minimal patience, and last out another six months or a year with their sponsoring employers.

i'll just copy and paste rajiv khanna's comments in reply to three questions in the green card FAQ on this forum's parent website (www.immigration.com); you're welcome to make your own inferences. (his responses are a bit reminiscent of jeff forworthy's "you may be a redneck..." routine :) ):

Q72 After getting stamped in the passport for employment based immigration, how long is an employee required to work with the employer who sponsored the employee for immigration.

A72 There is NO prescribed time limit. There are a couple of considerations that must be borne in mind. The basis for getting a GC are that you took up a "permanent" position. If you leave too soon, INS may claim that you did not intend to take the job up on a "permanent" basis.

Q73 Please discuss the consequences, immediately after obtaining immigration (meaning within a day or two).

A73 a. If the employee voluntarily quits/leaves the employer. You may have a problem.

b. If the employer fires the employee for performance related reasons. You may have a problem.

c. If the employer fires the employee because of the personality problems. You may have a problem.

d. If the employer lays-off the employee for economic reasons (lack of adequate business or resources). You may have a problem.

e. If the employer lays-off the employee to avoid payment of the agreed or the promised salary (as stated on the Labor Certification or the Job Ad.) You may have a problem.

Q74 Can a Permanent Resident Visa be revoked for any of the above stated reasons?

A74 Yes

cheers!
 
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holy shoot! thanks for the message porkchop. this puts my logic and my longterm plans out of whack. I was getting ready to start my own offshore business right after i get my greencard but looks like I'll have to tow the corporate line at least till then end of the year, i gotta tell you that indeed sucks.
 
those are just courtesies that INS expects

you to follow. first of all, there is no rule written anywhere. Secondly, INS lacks resources to check on approved cases.
We can always think and make our own rules, but you are free to quit the day after your stamping and be on your own. Again there is no rule anywhere.....
 
I have another comment for those who have been patiently waiting for the approval (pretty much everyone of us including myself), shouldn't this be a good indication of "permanent intent" given that we have being spending extra 12-15+ or even 18+ months waiting for our immigration approval without changing different employer?

If one has not switched his/her job, to me, it seems a pretty good indication that he/she has been loyal and been sticking with the "permanent" intent.
 
Permanent intent also implies that we will work for the sponsoring employer "permanently" once the I485 has been adjudicated. You're right, it is like indentured servitude in some aspects. Interestingly AC21 allows one to change jobs subject to 180 days waiting, before the PR is approved! I wish they changed it so you would have no further obligations once you were approved.

A friend who went through the same thing was advised by his lawyer to wait at least 6 months before quitting which he followed. He went back to grad school to get his masters. I think it's a matter of how much risk you're willing to take. Personally, after going through everything I'm not going to take much once my I485 is approved (fingers crossed).

regards,
sadiq

p.s. don't know if your company allows it, but some placed allow an unpaid leave of absence to further ones education; not many these days though
 
i agree about the risk factor, i guess each person has their own threshold. My old employer downsized me 2 days after my 6 month completion of my receipt date. I have been working under a new employer utilizing ac-21 for roughly a year but they are in poor financial condition and may go under anytime. Am I cursed or what!

But according to Rajiv Khanna, even if somehow I get my greencard say a week before the company files for chapter 11, I may still have a problem with INS. It seems a very depressing lose lose scenario that even after you get your GC, the external factors can still cause you harm.
 
deputydawg,

Don't get disheartened bud. The six month rule after GC is a "rule of thumb" at best. If you look through the citizenship forum under "Life after the greencard" you will see posts which indicate that the question of changing jobs etc never even came up in the naturalization process and obviously that is probably the only place where you could have potential issues in the first place! The idea is to try and stick with the employer for six months and if that is not possible properly document the reason for leaving (bankruptcy, layoff etc) incase it does come up during the naturalization process.

gcfasttrack
 
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