destone

Hello All!

If both the I-140 and I-485 are pending for 6 months (but neither are approved yet), can I take advantage of the job portability principle?

Or, does that strictly applies if the I-485 is pending for 6 months and the I-140 was already approved by then?

Thanks!

neill

"Consistent with prior policy, the beneficiary of a pending I-140 will be able to port to new employment after his or her adjustment of status application has been pending for 180 days or more, as long as the pending I-140 petition was approvable when filed and remained approvable for 180 days after the filing of the adjustment application."
This not from USCIS though.

Mjdee86

Slightly off-topic, but what are the current processing times for a full EB-2?

I understand that there's 1. PERM, 2. I-140 and 3. I-485. That a new PERM can take about 6 months (unless you're audited, which can add about a year-18 months), you can do the I-140 with premium processing in about 2 weeks, and then the I-485 takes about another 8 months if your priority date is current, and there's no RFEs.

Is that about right?

And can you change job while your EB-2 documents are in (for example, get your new employer to file a fresh H1-B for you) without prejudicing your EB-2 application?

Thanks all.

retzie

I have no reason to think that normal processing times apply right now. Try trackitt. But there is also talk of future Executive Orders affecting the PERM process, so it is basically impossible to predict at this point.

You make that sound a lot easier than it is. You would be subject to the job portability mentioned by the OP, which you can read about here. And it only applies if you have reached the I-485 stage and have been waiting for 180+ days. So, no, having your EB-2 documents in is not enough.

neill

Probably the first thing to understand that an immigrant application and nonimmigrant status do not need to have anything to do with one another. Your future job which is your basis for immigration could be completely different from the job you hold for H-1B status, i.e. the I-140 petitioner may not necessarily be your current employer. However, in order to continue to qualify for immigration after an approved I-140, you are supposed to take up that future job upon receiving your GC, and will be asked about it at your GC interview, and also be asked to file an I-485J to confirm that. The workaround to this is that you are allowed to change jobs (usually to same or similar occupation) and retain the original I-140 after it (and I-485) being pending for over 180 days, because the original I-140 cannot be revoked by the original sponsor. In this case, you would have to file an I-485J confirming the job change ("Request for job portability").