Switching jobs

[anish5]

Hi Guru's,
We received both EAP/AP combo card and it says serves I-512 adavnce payroll with one year validity and alreayd book the flight ticket on May 16th for my family.

My question is after approval we receive one more EAD paper copy I-797 valid one year for both of us. but we dont recive any AP approved I-797 paper copy ? Is it mandatory to get the paper copy to travel out side of USA or combocard is enough ? When we saw online it says April 10th we mailed notice , can we receive or do I need concern anything here incase of POE issue? please advise!!!

Waiting for Expert answer to do further steps!!!

EAD Paper copy says I-766 need to have approval befor etravel abroad- I dont know what is this mean by?
I knew is EAD- I-765 ?

[krishnav]

Hi Anish5,

I think this seems to the trend. One of my friends recived his EAD and it said the same thing. He never received a spearate copy of approval for AP.
I think from what he said, USCIS is trying to do this for a while but just recently started it. Hope this helps.

Hi Guru's,
We received both EAP/AP combo card and it says serves I-512 adavnce payroll with one year validity and alreayd book the flight ticket on May 16th for my family.

My question is after approval we receive one more EAD paper copy I-797 valid one year for both of us. but we dont recive any AP approved I-797 paper copy ? Is it mandatory to get the paper copy to travel out side of USA or combocard is enough ? When we saw online it says April 10th we mailed notice , can we receive or do I need concern anything here incase of POE issue? please advise!!!

Waiting for Expert answer to do further steps!!!

EAD Paper copy says I-766 need to have approval befor etravel abroad- I dont know what is this mean by?
I knew is EAD- I-765 ?

[vizcard]

Hi Guru's,
We received both EAP/AP combo card and it says serves I-512 adavnce payroll with one year validity and alreayd book the flight ticket on May 16th for my family.

My question is after approval we receive one more EAD paper copy I-797 valid one year for both of us. but we dont recive any AP approved I-797 paper copy ? Is it mandatory to get the paper copy to travel out side of USA or combocard is enough ? When we saw online it says April 10th we mailed notice , can we receive or do I need concern anything here incase of POE issue? please advise!!!

Waiting for Expert answer to do further steps!!!

EAD Paper copy says I-766 need to have approval befor etravel abroad- I dont know what is this mean by?
I knew is EAD- I-765 ?

The combo card should be enough. I766 is the combo card.

[randomax]

It is pretty straightforward.

Without filing I485 with the current employer or without waiting for 6 months after filing with the current employer, if you change your job, you have to restart the PERM process. Your PD is retained if you work in a similar field. It is assumed your I140 is approved in this case. It is also assumed you have a copy of your approved I140 which will be needed for your new PERM application. The only danger here is that your new application may be denied for whatever unforeseen reasons or end up with RFEs and a substantial delay.

If you file 485 with your current employer, you must wait for 6 months before switching in order NOT TO do the whole PERM again. In this case, you should fill a form called AC21 to keep your current green card application alive. I am not sure if this process is automatic, and under what conditions, AC21 might end up in rejection.

I think there is very little chance for the June 2010 PD to become current before fall 2013. In any case, even if that PD were to become current now, if your new offer was substantially better than the current job, I would take it. Why? Because you would be getting a similar substantially better offer (theoretically in an utopian world) when you get your EAD anyway. If you are getting that offer sooner, why leave that chance? If you are working in a similar field, retention of the PD is usually not problematic. Of course it is assumed that you are confident enough that your new PERM will be approved without any issues.

Gents - i'm a newbie to this board and have found the info very helpful till now. I posted this in the "485 and CP-related topics" but have not gotten a reply yet. If anybody can address these questions, i'd be grateful. Alternatively, please point me to the right forum... thanks.

"Hi All - relative newbie here and had a question regarding switching jobs. My PD is june-2010 (Indian, EB2) and I have a potential job offer that I won't take up till April 2012. I have two questions:

1) Maintaining PD: I am fairly certain I can maintain my PD even if I switch jobs. My job profile is going to be fairly similar, but are there any caveats here? Is it more or less a given or are there situations where this does not happen?

2) becoming current: although I think its pretty unlikely but what happens if I become current before a new labor can be filed after I move. for example, I file for labor in june 2012 and i become current in may 2012?

3) how long after filing for 485 before i am no longer tied to my employer?

thanks very much for your thoughts. "

thank you.

This is a question I had posted a few months ago. Just had a couple of clarifications I was hoping the folks here can elaborate on. So I'm pretty certain at this point I will be switching to a similar job at another firm. As mentioned above, my LC and I-140 are approved with a June 2010 PD. Two questions on retaining the PD upon moving:

1) sportsfan mentioned above that I need "a cope of my approved I140". I have only been told by my lawyer that LC and I-140 were approved but never got a copy of the same. Is this standard procedure and what would be the best way of asking for a copy without raising eyebrows?

2) Is there any risk that my current employer (who I will most likely be quitting) will revoke my I-140 and I will lose my PD?

Thanks.

[gcq]

This is a question I had posted a few months ago. Just had a couple of clarifications I was hoping the folks here can elaborate on. So I'm pretty certain at this point I will be switching to a similar job at another firm. As mentioned above, my LC and I-140 are approved with a June 2010 PD. Two questions on retaining the PD upon moving:

1) sportsfan mentioned above that I need "a cope of my approved I140". I have only been told by my lawyer that LC and I-140 were approved but never got a copy of the same. Is this standard procedure and what would be the best way of asking for a copy without raising eyebrows?

2) Is there any risk that my current employer (who I will most likely be quitting) will revoke my I-140 and I will lose my PD?

Thanks.

If you can wait for a few months, you can get a copy of all your immigration records including LC and I-140 using the USCIS FOIA process.

[randomax]

this is very helpful. thank you.

So if I am moving, do I need any paper work for the lawyers to figure out what my previous PD was (I-140 information, as mentioned by the previous poster)? I don't have any paperwork from the lawyers for my current GC application.

It is pretty straightforward.

Without filing I485 with the current employer or without waiting for 6 months after filing with the current employer, if you change your job, you have to restart the PERM process. Your PD is retained if you work in a similar field. It is assumed your I140 is approved in this case. It is also assumed you have a copy of your approved I140 which will be needed for your new PERM application. The only danger here is that your new application may be denied for whatever unforeseen reasons or end up with RFEs and a substantial delay.

If you file 485 with your current employer, you must wait for 6 months before switching in order NOT TO do the whole PERM again. In this case, you should fill a form called AC21 to keep your current green card application alive. I am not sure if this process is automatic, and under what conditions, AC21 might end up in rejection.

I think there is very little chance for the June 2010 PD to become current before fall 2013. In any case, even if that PD were to become current now, if your new offer was substantially better than the current job, I would take it. Why? Because you would be getting a similar substantially better offer (theoretically in an utopian world) when you get your EAD anyway. If you are getting that offer sooner, why leave that chance? If you are working in a similar field, retention of the PD is usually not problematic. Of course it is assumed that you are confident enough that your new PERM will be approved without any issues.

Gents - i'm a newbie to this board and have found the info very helpful till now. I posted this in the "485 and CP-related topics" but have not gotten a reply yet. If anybody can address these questions, i'd be grateful. Alternatively, please point me to the right forum... thanks.

"Hi All - relative newbie here and had a question regarding switching jobs. My PD is june-2010 (Indian, EB2) and I have a potential job offer that I won't take up till April 2012. I have two questions:

1) Maintaining PD: I am fairly certain I can maintain my PD even if I switch jobs. My job profile is going to be fairly similar, but are there any caveats here? Is it more or less a given or are there situations where this does not happen?

2) becoming current: although I think its pretty unlikely but what happens if I become current before a new labor can be filed after I move. for example, I file for labor in june 2012 and i become current in may 2012?

3) how long after filing for 485 before i am no longer tied to my employer?

thanks very much for your thoughts. "

thank you.

Sorry to post something off-topic but I think this can help people who want to change their jobs and still want to retain their PD even if their I-140 is revoked by the previous employer. (unless it is revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation). I believe this will not only help the people who are porting from EB-3 to EB-2 but also people in EB-2 who also want to change the jobs.

Below is a link for the video from Immigration Lawyer Rajiv Khanna which throws some light on this. The document in the video was released by NSC after a Teleconference on 04/12/2012 and talks about the policy they (TSC and NSC) follow. This was also reported on Oh Law Firm Website by Attorney Mathew Oh few days ago also.

I am not sure if people were already aware of this before. At least, not me. I always thought that if you change your job and go to a new employer and if the old employer revokes your I-140 for any reason, than you lose your PD. I guess I was wrong.

There is one caveat though. If you are seeking H1B extension beyond 6 years than you can not do that on revoked I-140.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVVo...layer_embedded

This is what Oh Law Firm website said.

04/25/2012: I-140 Earlier Priority Date Recapture in the Context of Withdrawal of Approved Earlier I-140 by Earlier Employer

In order to tackle the insurmountable hurdle for EB-3 employment-based immigration, Indian and Chinese professionals have been seeking EB-2 labor certification and EB-2 I-140 petition through new employers and they have been agonizing to find answer to a question as to whether they could recapture the earlier priority date which was retained through the former employer but afterward revoked by withdrawal of the approved I-140 petition by the former employer. This issue is handled, from time to time, by adjudicators differently, leading to denial of recapture despite of the language in the USCIS regulation which gives a right for the alien beneficiary to retain earlier priority date unless the approved petition is revoked for fraud or misrepresentation. Under the immigration statute, the employer does not have any authority to revoke the government decision and only the agencies can revoke the decisions. The employers can withdraw the approved petitions and based on the withdrawal, the agencies can revoke the approved petitions. In such context, the agency is revoking the approved petition not, repeat not based on fraud or misrepresentation. Therefore, the retained priority date should not be affected in the latter context. In the AILA and Nebraska Service Center liaison minute of 04/12/2012 which has just been released, the Nebraska Service Center confirms that Texas and NSC centers adhere to retaining the earlier priority date unless the I-140 was revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation and not for withdrawal of the approved petition by the employer. The agency's liaison opinion is not a binding rule but at least reflects their practice. Good to know, but those who face such decision should seek legal counsel.

This raised a question in my mind. Suppose if I change my job and go from Employer A to Employer B and if Employer A revokes my I-140 (not for fraud or willful misrepresentation) than I understand that I would be able to retain my PD. But in order to do that, does the job description has to be similar with Employer B also?

I am asking this because one of my Physician friend is currently working as a General Internist and has a traditional Internal Medicine Practice (meaning seeing patients in his office and also going to hospital to see patients). He is wanting to change the job and work exclusively in the inpatient setting (seeing patients only in hospital, no more office hours). He has an approved LC and I-140 under EB2I with Employer A but the job description will be different if he goes to Employer B since he is going to have only inpatient duties. Should he change his job or not?

Thanks in advance.

[ksur23]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum although have followed posts in the past few months. My PD is Jan 2009, EB2I. I am a frustrated lad feeling boxed in the same the job for the past 5 years. I currently work for a health care company as an engineer. I have about 3 months left before the 180 days AOS. After 180 days I plan to use EAD to switch jobs to a healthcare management consulting company. Is this a huge departure? my title will change from 'quality engineer' to 'consultant' and field of work from quality engineering in health care to consulting with healthcare companies.

When my PD arrives it will probably be late in 2013, at the time I expect a request for EVL from USCIS, if I changed jobs under above conditions what are the chances of rejection?

btw - what is an estimate for PD 1/2009 - from reading the forum it seems like late fy2013 or even 2014, any chance of early 2013?

thanks a lot to those who respond, appreciate the time taken!

[vizcard]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum although have followed posts in the past few months. My PD is Jan 2009, EB2I. I am a frustrated lad feeling boxed in the same the job for the past 5 years. I currently work for a health care company as an engineer. I have about 3 months left before the 180 days AOS. After 180 days I plan to use EAD to switch jobs to a healthcare management consulting company. Is this a huge departure? my title will change from 'quality engineer' to 'consultant' and field of work from quality engineering in health care to consulting with healthcare companies.

When my PD arrives it will probably be late in 2013, at the time I expect a request for EVL from USCIS, if I changed jobs under above conditions what are the chances of rejection?

btw - what is an estimate for PD 1/2009 - from reading the forum it seems like late fy2013 or even 2014, any chance of early 2013?

thanks a lot to those who respond, appreciate the time taken!

When you say Heathcare company, are you talking a provider, payer, pharma or medical devices?

An "engineer" can have broad responsibilities - everything ranging from design of equipment (what I can true engineering), to design of processes (aruguably more consulting) and anything in between. If your current role is an "internal consulting" role, then the switch will be easier to explain. If you go from a true engineering role to a consulting role, that might be tough to explain and you might need to re-file.

I think this is case where you really need to look at the job description more than the title and obviously talk to a lawyer.

[ksur23]

Vizcard,

Thanks for the response. I am engineer in a med device company and I want to move to a consulting company that advises med device and lifescience companies. I guess what you are saying is it's a big risk to switch before getting gc but considering I am probably 16-20 months away from the dates reaching 1/2009 PD I wanted to see if I can take the risk.

Any gurus out there have an opinion on 1/2009 timeline estimate?

thanks.

[vizcard]

Vizcard,

Thanks for the response. I am engineer in a med device company and I want to move to a consulting company that advises med device and lifescience companies. I guess what you are saying is it's a big risk to switch before getting gc but considering I am probably 16-20 months away from the dates reaching 1/2009 PD I wanted to see if I can take the risk.

Any gurus out there have an opinion on 1/2009 timeline estimate?

thanks.

I'm not saying its risky. I was just trying to see what the best path forward is - AC21 or re-file. I think in either case, you should move if you think its good professionally. Not a guru but I expect 1/2009 to be current in Q4 2013 or Q1 2014.

I work in management consulting too (in New York) and do a fair bit of work with Pharma and Life Sciences companies in NJ / Philly and some in Boston. PM me if you want to exchange notes on that.

[imdeng]

Wow... no posts today yet. I will get the ball rolling with a personal question - please chime in if you have had experience in the area. My wife is planning to leave her current job (H1B) and join an employer with EAD since the new employer does not sponsor H1B. Does she need to do any specific paperwork to make the move from H1B to EAD other than the I-9 form when she starts at the new place? Whats her status when she is between the two jobs and whether the fact that she has not joined the second company as yet will be a problem in travelling and entering the country using AP?

BTW - during the process of leaving the company she came to know that despite excellent performance (best rating in the group), her raise and bonus was less than half of people with worse performance because the top management decided that since she is on H1B, she is "NOT A FLIGHT RISK" and hence does not need to be compensated in full. Now that we have EAD and are planning to move, the company is bending over backwards with all kinds of retaining offers. Just tells you the unfairness of the H1B system, especially in an industry that is not as H1B intensive as IT. BTW - this is at an AVP level in a Fortune 500 company - I can only imagine how people at lower management levels in smaller places are treated because they have no negotiating power because of being on H1B.

[sweta.shetty]

hello,
My friend has been offered a job by IT consulanting firm. He recently got his H1B extended in 7th year based on I-140 approval status. The new offer is for a better position in the same domain. But he is not certain whether a move with just I-140 is a good approach. His PD is JUly 2011 and as there is nothing to expect in coming years for EB2I, this seems like a too good offer to let it pass. The new firm has agreed to port his application. Will he face any problems when his 485 is processed?
Thank you for your inputs.

[veni001]

Wow... no posts today yet. I will get the ball rolling with a personal question - please chime in if you have had experience in the area. My wife is planning to leave her current job (H1B) and join an employer with EAD since the new employer does not sponsor H1B. Does she need to do any specific paperwork to make the move from H1B to EAD other than the I-9 form when she starts at the new place? Whats her status when she is between the two jobs and whether the fact that she has not joined the second company as yet will be a problem in traveling and entering the country using AP?

BTW - during the process of leaving the company she came to know that despite excellent performance (best rating in the group), her raise and bonus was less than half of people with worse performance because the top management decided that since she is on H1B, she is "NOT A FLIGHT RISK" and hence does not need to be compensated in full. Now that we have EAD and are planning to move, the company is bending over backwards with all kinds of retaining offers. Just tells you the unfairness of the H1B system, especially in an industry that is not as H1B intensive as IT. BTW - this is at an AVP level in a Fortune 500 company - I can only imagine how people at lower management levels in smaller places are treated because they have no negotiating power because of being on H1B.

imdeng,

I am assuming that your wife is derivative based on your 485 application. The moment she leave her H1 sponsoring employer her status will be AOS pending, unless she files COS to H4. I-9 with EAD info will suffice requirements for the new employer.

Irrespective of whether she will be working or not i am not expecting any issue at POE as long as she holds a valid AP to enter US.

P.S: Regarding your H1 comments, i totally agree. It's part of the game! Good luck.

[imdeng]

Thanks Veni for the response - much appreciated.

imdeng,

I am assuming that your wife is derivative based on your 485 application. The moment she leave her H1 sponsoring employer her status will be AOS pending, unless she files COS to H4. I-9 with EAD info will suffice requirements for the new employer.

Irrespective of whether she will be working or not i am not expecting any issue at POE as long as she holds a valid AP to enter US.

P.S: Regarding your H1 comments, i totally agree. It's part of the game! Good luck.

[qesehmk]

imdeng - we recently beat a similar topic to death - with no conclusion. Generally USCIS has turned a blind eye when an H1 person is no longer employed with teh sponsoring employer - even when the person didn't have EAD. So while technically she will lose H1 status in 10 days ... a lot of us have known cases where the person found another job 3-6-9 months later and transferred H1.

So if she can - have her transfer H1 as well.

Regarding bonus - thanks for sharing the story. That shows the injustice built in. And more than the temporal / one time loss - the question is what else you may be losing that is afffeting the career -vely. That's why I think this whole H1B slavery should be abolished and as Bill Gates said - if a company is willing to hire - let them hire.

Wow... no posts today yet. I will get the ball rolling with a personal question - please chime in if you have had experience in the area. My wife is planning to leave her current job (H1B) and join an employer with EAD since the new employer does not sponsor H1B. Does she need to do any specific paperwork to make the move from H1B to EAD other than the I-9 form when she starts at the new place? Whats her status when she is between the two jobs and whether the fact that she has not joined the second company as yet will be a problem in travelling and entering the country using AP?

BTW - during the process of leaving the company she came to know that despite excellent performance (best rating in the group), her raise and bonus was less than half of people with worse performance because the top management decided that since she is on H1B, she is "NOT A FLIGHT RISK" and hence does not need to be compensated in full. Now that we have EAD and are planning to move, the company is bending over backwards with all kinds of retaining offers. Just tells you the unfairness of the H1B system, especially in an industry that is not as H1B intensive as IT. BTW - this is at an AVP level in a Fortune 500 company - I can only imagine how people at lower management levels in smaller places are treated because they have no negotiating power because of being on H1B.