PERM approved, I140 to be filed, when can I switch jobs

[cipher20]

Hello,

        My PERM filed by my employer just got approved. It was filed in Aug 2014. They will be filing for my I140 soon. I am currently in my 6th year of H1B which ends in Sept '15.

 

I wanted to know when can I switch jobs after my I140 is approved in order to use the AC21 portability rule (to avoid loosing my priority date) or avoid any consequences if my current employer revokes the I140. I read some articles on it , but I am not clear. It seems I can change after 180 days after I140 is approved. I wanted to make sure are the 180 days to be counted from the date of I140 approval or from the I140 filing date?

 

Any other quirks I need to keep in mind when switching jobs?

 

 

Thank you

 

[ashuneel]

You can  switch jobs after I140 is approved if you want to retain PD.

The 180 days refers to job  change after filing I-485 so dont worry about it for now.

Your first priority is to get I-140 approved because you cannot work after sept' 15 if it is pending.

[cipher20]

Hi Ashuneel,

                       Thanks for replying. Its good to know I can switch anytime after an approved I-140 and I am planning to get it done with premium processing. However since you mentioned about pending I-140. Even if I do not go for premium processing and my I-140 is still pending in september, my understanding is I can keep getting 1 year extensions (for a max of total 10 H1 B years). I believe if my PERM certification was still pending in Sept ' 15 (in my case it is certified ), and if it has been pending for less than 365 days in Sept ' 15 then I would not be able to get extensions on H1 immediately.

[ashuneel]

If you do not go for premium processing and I-140 is still pending in september, you cannot keep getting 1 year extensions. It has to be either approved or pending fo 365 days.

 Asssuming they filed on April1 2015 and it is pending, you need to leave the country at the end of September( what ever date your 6 yrs are up). You can come back  with with approved I-140 or pending after April 1 2016. you will need  new H-1b petition and visa  to return when you leave the country.

 I would strongly suggest premium processing as I -140 processing is taking 6- 9 months currently.