Leaving employer while an I-140 is pending
I am in a situation where my current employer has filed PERM and as per the timelines there are high chances that it will be approved till January. And as per immigration team in the current company says it could take a week or two to file for I-140. I am going to pay for premium processing. But at the same time, I have accepted an offer from another company and the start date is 31st January. I am sure that I-140 would not get approved till then. Can I pay for premium processing, leave after they file the I-140 and before it gets approved? Will it go through?
PS: As per company's policies they don't revoke I-140 of the employees if they leave before 6 months.
Theoretically, an I-140 does not require you to be continued to be employed by the petitioning employer. You could leave after applying, but if there is an RFE, the employer would not be motivated to respond to it. As a practical matter, there is a second difficulty as well.
Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments and blog on immigration.com
I have a lot of experience with the immigration lawyers. This time with Rajiv's office is a WAY different (better) experience:
* immaculate filing preparation - this is not some sloppy paralegal preparing your docs with bunch of misspellings and inaccuracies;
* excellent communication - forget your voice-mails with no responses or the your attorney's email black-hole. Rajiv's teams are fast in response and their answers are clear and focused on what you need to know.
* deadline oriented - with Rajiv S. Khanna's office you KNOW the answer of all your when,where,why and hows....If they commit to date - that is your filing date.You never get nonsense excuses.
* respect - all we know that immigration process is not straigth forward and trivial process. Some times things can get bumpy and you may loose your patience. At this time you need moral support and respect no less then a legal help. Rajiv's team is there for you - your best friend and guide. Actually you become at some point member of the team.
* professional awareness - here I'm going to say just one thing and if you read this you'll understand what I'm talking about. This is the first attorney company that I'm working with and I DO NOT have the feeling that I'm more up to date with the immigration law changes and updates then my attorney.
I know at a time I sound like commercial ad, so let me put some names to my words.
My awes goes to the Mathew and Aruna team. Thank you for the excellent job done so far.
And here is my time-line:
PERM: FD: 8/11/2005 AD: 9/12/2005
EAD AD 10/4/2006
AP AD 10/4/2006
I140 AD 8/5/2006
I485 .. soon...