Green card sponsorship for H-1B
#1
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Green card sponsorship for H-1B
I’ve been here on an H-1B for just under a year now. Before my company hired me they said they would sponsor a green card after a year of employment, but now they tell me company policy is to only sponsor people in certain senior positions, which I wouldn’t reach until another 4 years in. This means I’ll only have 1 year left on my H-1B, which seems to be cutting it very close. All the rumors/news articles about changing green card rules make me nervous too, so I’d rather get one before any rules change adversely.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Would it be advisable to find a different job preemptively? If so, is it normal to request green card sponsorship in writing before signing the employment agreement this time, as apparently promises cannot be trusted? How hard is it to find an employer that sponsor a green card, and why are companies so reluctant to do it? The costs of a green card application are negligible compared to salary.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Would it be advisable to find a different job preemptively? If so, is it normal to request green card sponsorship in writing before signing the employment agreement this time, as apparently promises cannot be trusted? How hard is it to find an employer that sponsor a green card, and why are companies so reluctant to do it? The costs of a green card application are negligible compared to salary.
#2
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
Once you have the green card, you are no longer tied to the company and can leave at will, despite the fact that have footed the bill. Hence the reluctance.
#3
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Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
I get that, but without a green card I’ll have to leave too. The bill is also very small compared to the annual bonus they pay. Hell, even the sign on bonus for incoming college grads is $15k these days, and those folks can leave after a year too. It must be something aside from money that makes them so reluctant and misleading about it.
#5
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Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
So it’s fine to apply for green card sponsorship in the last year of H1B? Doesn’t PERM take at least 9 months before the application can even be made? What if H-1B ends before the application has been made?
#6
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Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
Of course this could all change in the next few years.
I would push back on your company, get them to get the ball rolling now as originally promised.
(Also, get any new 'promises' in writing).
#7
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
You may want to consult with an attorney experienced in employment based immigration law.
#9
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
I’ve been here on an H-1B for just under a year now. Before my company hired me they said they would sponsor a green card after a year of employment, but now they tell me company policy is to only sponsor people in certain senior positions, which I wouldn’t reach until another 4 years in. This means I’ll only have 1 year left on my H-1B,
#10
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
That's not technically the case, if you did that it can be considered mispresentation to gain an immigration benefit, so there is this 2 year rule. In practice enforcement seems to be next to nil, but you can get a spiteful ex-employer report you to ICE. One of my relatives was in this situation, his employer was taken over so they wanted to move him to a new office but he was in this 2 year period so they basically kept his office in the old building as his official "work location" for about a year.
#11
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Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
If they've got to move you to a different position, then your H-1B would probably no longer be valid and green cards granted for EB reasons usually (depends on the EB category) require you to stay in the same job at the same location on the same salary for 2 years. Which creates quite the HR dilemma.
#12
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
That's not technically the case, if you did that it can be considered mispresentation to gain an immigration benefit, so there is this 2 year rule. In practice enforcement seems to be next to nil, but you can get a spiteful ex-employer report you to ICE. One of my relatives was in this situation, his employer was taken over so they wanted to move him to a new office but he was in this 2 year period so they basically kept his office in the old building as his official "work location" for about a year.
There are fact situation which might create problems -- say, H-1b as software engineer, followed by labor cert/I-140 for similar, LPR obtained and the person then opens up a restaurant. That might be problematical and will come up at naturalization more often than not. But lets take the applicant, same facts, but quits the day after obtaining LPR to take a job in the same occupation at a 50% increase in salary.
#13
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
It's not wrong, it's misrepresentation to gain an immigration benefit, you've just outlined yourself an example. All you seem to be disagreeing with is the degree of misrepresentation. If you get an I-140 approved for a specific job as outlined in great detail in your DOL certification and then don't do it, that's misrepresentation.
And if it were a 50% decrease?
And it's not the case that it only come up at naturalization, say you take your example and the person does it and the employer reports it, then what?
So if you then change the circumstances of the job, it's misrepresentation.
But lets take the applicant, same facts, but quits the day after obtaining LPR to take a job in the same occupation at a 50% increase in salary.
And it's not the case that it only come up at naturalization, say you take your example and the person does it and the employer reports it, then what?
To obtain a labor certification, a U.S. employer must demonstrate to DOL, through a test of the labor market, that there are no able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers who are available to fill the proffered position in the geographic area where the job opportunity is located.
#14
Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
The reason I remember it is because my relative actually ended up in that position, they did move his office further than ordinary commuting distance so they had to keep him at the original office, at least technically. But he ended up leaving the country anyway, so it became moot.
The USCIS guidance says: "To obtain a labor certification, a U.S. employer must demonstrate to DOL, through a test of the labor market, that there are no able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers who are available to fill the proffered position in the geographic area where the job opportunity is located."
So if you change your job, that is misrepresentation.
The best summary of the issue I can find is this website: https://www.immihelp.com/greencard/e...-employer.html
So if I'm making it up then they're making it up too because I had to know that in order to Google it.
"Please note that normal changes in salary are not considered job change".
Mr Folinsky's point. So I think we are largely singing from the same hymn sheet.
#15
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Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B
I don't think this 2 year rule has actually been litigated but I may be wrong on that point. If the I-485 is pending for six months, then you can switch jobs to a "similar" one, per AC21. I don't understand why having an approved 485 would extend this by 18 months.