Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Old Jun 5th 2018, 1:53 pm
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Default 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.
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Old Jun 5th 2018, 2:04 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by LA LA LA
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.
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.
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Old Jun 5th 2018, 2:20 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by Nutmegger
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.
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.
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Old Jun 5th 2018, 5:09 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Can they not renew your H1-B? My company only sponsored my green card once I'd maxed out on the number of years I could be here on an H1-B.
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Old Jun 5th 2018, 5:13 pm
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Default 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?
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Old Jun 5th 2018, 5:29 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by LA LA LA
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?
Ideally, you need to be at the I-485 stage with EAD in hand at the moment your H-1B expires. That's about 18 months from PWD (the very first step), or even more if audits occur. I believe you can get H-1B extensions if you are in receipt of an approved I-140 or the I-140 has been pending for 1+ year.
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).
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Old Jun 5th 2018, 8:51 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by LA LA LA
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?
If one starts the process to obtain lawful permanent residence status at least one year before expiry of the H-1b, the six year cap no longer applies.

You may want to consult with an attorney experienced in employment based immigration law.
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Old Jun 6th 2018, 2:16 am
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Remind them of the original agreement.
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Old Jun 8th 2018, 11:17 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by LA LA LA
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,
As Mr Folinsky mentioned, as soon as the I-140 is approved you can renew the H-1B so the time remaining for H-1B doesn't really matter, however my reason for commenting is the bit about "certain senior positions". Depending on what position you're in now and what position you would be in, you might only be eligible for permanent residency if you are in one of those positions, that might explain their policy. The question is whether your current position would qualify for say, EB-3. 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.
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Old Jun 8th 2018, 11:21 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by Nutmegger
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.
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.
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Old Jun 8th 2018, 11:50 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by Steve_
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.
You keep posting this but I haven't seen you actually back it up with a ruling or directive from the government? I don't believe that it's true at all.
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Old Jun 9th 2018, 2:08 am
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by Steve_
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.
Fascinating. Wrong, but fascinating.

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.
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Old Jun 12th 2018, 11:39 pm
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by S Folinsky
Fascinating. Wrong, but fascinating.
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.

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 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?

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 then change the circumstances of the job, it's misrepresentation.
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Old Jun 13th 2018, 12:00 am
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Default Re: Green card sponsorship for H-1B

Originally Posted by Olly_
You keep posting this but I haven't seen you actually back it up with a ruling or directive from the government? I don't believe that it's true at all.
You can not believe it all you want, as I recall it was some DOL guidance that they sent me years ago. It was along the lines of, permanent position for the purposes of the labour certification means at least 2 years, job title means one of the occupational codes in the dictionary of occupational titles and geographic area means within ordinary commuting distance, which was defined as something like 40 miles and there was reams of information on "prevailing wage", which you must be paid either at that or above. Change any of those and the labor certification is no longer valid, thus the basis for the I-140 approval is no longer valid.

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.
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Old Jun 13th 2018, 12:18 am
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Default 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.
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