I-140 Approved - Is it safe to change jobs

[mpind]

Hi ,

I am thinking of changing job . Following is my situation.

I-140 approved with priority date of July 2010.

My 6th year H1B is ending by Aug 2012 .

I got a 3 year extension based on my approved I-140 which is valid till November 2014.

Questions

1. Is it safe to switch jobs with the scenario above.

2. If yes how much time I will have to again apply for GC process

3. Will I retain my old priority date when i apply for new GC under new employer

4. With the current movement(its stuck in 2007) in the dates , does anybody see priority dates moving till end of 2010 by this year end ?

5. Please suggest the options for me. My current employer is in bad shape and not doing well.

Thanks

Mohan

[Orig4]

Hi Newbie,

I am not an expert on this topic, but I've done extensive study of similar cases on Murth.com and following answers should be cross checked :

1. Is it safe to switch jobs with the scenario above.

Since you have a valid H1 for next two years, you should be fine

2. If yes how much time I will have to again apply for GC process

It is much safer if you can have your new labor filed an year before the expiry of your H1

3. Will I retain my old priority date when i apply for new GC under new employer

Yes

4. With the current movement(its stuck in 2007) in the dates , does anybody see priority dates moving till end of 2010 by this year end ?

See the latest bulletin on Murthy.com. Doesn't look like it is going to move beyond 2007 until 2nd quarter of 2013

I have one question for you though. I would really appreciate if you can take a minute and reply this one.

You wrote:

My 6th year H1B is ending by Aug 2012 .

I got a 3 year extension based on my approved I-140 which is valid till November 2014.

My Q: So when did you file for your H1 extension - need the exact month and year !?

I thought it is not possible to apply for a new H1 before 6 months from the expiry of current H1 !?

[mpind]

Hi Newbie,

I am not an expert on this topic, but I've done extensive study of similar cases on Murth.com and following answers should be cross checked :

1. Is it safe to switch jobs with the scenario above.

Since you have a valid H1 for next two years, you should be fine

2. If yes how much time I will have to again apply for GC process

It is much safer if you can have your new labor filed an year before the expiry of your H1

3. Will I retain my old priority date when i apply for new GC under new employer

Yes

4. With the current movement(its stuck in 2007) in the dates , does anybody see priority dates moving till end of 2010 by this year end ?

See the latest bulletin on Murthy.com. Doesn't look like it is going to move beyond 2007 until 2nd quarter of 2013

I have one question for you though. I would really appreciate if you can take a minute and reply this one.

You wrote:

My 6th year H1B is ending by Aug 2012 .

I got a 3 year extension based on my approved I-140 which is valid till November 2014.

My Q: So when did you file for your H1 extension - need the exact month and year !?

I thought it is not possible to apply for a new H1 before 6 months from the expiry of current H1 !?

When I joined my current company , I had the H1 transfer and my H1 was expiring on on Nov 2011. So by mid 2011 my lawyers asked me to apply for the extension . By that time I already got my 1-140 approved. When they applied for the extension I got the extension from

Nov 2011 to Nov 2014.

I am thinking if I join another company now then I will get extension till 2015 based on my current 1-140.

Let me know if my assumptions are correct .

Thank you for the information above

[kala403]

Even though you can retain your PD date, but ain't the new company have to do the recruiting, PERM etc from the beginning? What about if you get an audit, RFE etc? I see this as a risk.

[mpind]

Even though you can retain your PD date, but ain't the new company have to do the recruiting, PERM etc from the beginning? What about if you get an audit, RFE etc? I see this as a risk.

what kind of audit or RFE I can expect if I change my company and re-apply for GC ? Please help, I really appreciate your feedback

[kala403]

I was saying in general there is always a possibility of audit/RFE. Also the audit rate is higher now than previous years. Audit could have happened to your first PERM case as well. I am not saying more chance of audit because you are applying for 2nd time. I was just saying there is always a chance of audit/RFE.

[geethb]

Nowadays , roughly 1/3 EB2 cases are audited. This is from a reliable source. The cases are randomly audited and then need to wait for roughly 8 months (from the date of application), to wait for a result

Audit is more common that it used to be

[ray1305]

I know this a old topic, which is answered. I have a question. I am plannig to change the employer. My 140 is approved in Jan 2013. What if I donot have a copy of the approved 140 with me? Can I use the case # instead? My employer did not send me a copy and as per their policy they do not share the approved 140 with the employee. Are there any other ways to obtain the copy of the 140.

Thanks