1. If PERM position changes, there should be some coordination between your attorney and your employer.
A reader asks:
My current position is QA, and I want to transfer internally to SDE position, and the work location remains unchanged. PERM is still in the advertising stage. Some people say that in my case, I will most likely have to go through the PERM process again because my job title and job content have changed. But some people say that I can ask my lawyer to submit a PERM according to the original title, get the PD first, and then submit a PERM with the current title. I wonder if this is feasible. Or can I communicate with the boss of the new group, although the position has changed, the job content should remain the same as before. Do I need to resubmit the PERM in this case? I didn’t dare ask the lawyer, mainly because I was worried that they would notify my current boss. If the group is not transferred, I will be embarrassed.
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
In this situation, there should be some coordination between your attorney and your employer. If it is in the best interests of your company to keep you on as an employee, then your boss should make all efforts to ensure that your employment there will work for your immigration solution. Therefore, if there is a promotion or a transfer of your job, your attorney should know and work with your employer to make it work for you.
As you are aware, if your job changes at your company now, your ETA 9141 prevailing wage is no longer valid and you will need to put in a new prevailing wage with your current position. Advertising your current position and submitting an ETA 9089 with your old position would be fraud unless your company planned to employ you in your old position upon your receipt of permanent residence. The best advice here would be to get the parties to cooperate with one another, with your input as well, and figure out how to make the company’s needs align with your immigration needs.
2. Leaving your job before I-485 approved, your future N-400 application may face challenges
A reader asks:
180 days after I submitted my I-485, I resigned from my previous company, but before I joined the next company, I received a notification that my green card was approved. The new company said that if I submitted an I-485J, the immigration office would not accept it, and told me that there was no problem. May I ask how to deal with this situation? Will it affect the renewal of my green card or naturalization in the future?
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
Generally leaving your job that was the basis of your I-485 application soon after or before your I-485 is approved will attract more scrutiny on your green card renewal applications and your N-400 applications. So while you have the green card, your future applications may face challenges because USCIS officers may question whether your PERM labor certification jobs were fraudulent and your PERM employer did not truly intend to employ you in the stated job on your I-140 petition. To mitigate the risks in the future, you could take the following steps. First, you should maintain all documentation of your change of job. This includes your resignation documentation from your PERM employer; and your job offer with your new company including position title and description, salary, and start date. While USCIS will not accept your new I-485J application at this time, you should maintain documentation that your new position would have been one in which an I-485J was approvable—your new position is in a “same or similar” job occupation as the one that you left—and that you just were unable to submit the I-485J due to the timing of the I-485 approval. You should bring any and all of this evidence to an N-400 interview. Second, you may wish to submit your N-400 at a later date than the 5 year green card anniversary since the N-400 form only asks you to disclose your employment history for the previous five years. Third, you may decide to keep your permanent residence card and not apply for naturalization.
3. Standard processing for EB-1A I-140 petitions takes 13 -14 months.
A reader asks:
My major is computer artificial intelligence, with more than 10,000 citations in various journals, and many more editorial review and award-winning papers. In March this year, I applied for EB-1A and submitted I-140. The immigration office also received it and gave me receipt, and then nothing happened. I have been waiting until now, and I have seen others get approved in a few days or one or two months. May I ask, what is my situation?
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
It appears that the others you heard about who were approved within a couple of months or a few days were either very fortunate in their processing times, or applied for premium processing. Standard processing for EB-1A I-140 petitions are taking 13 months at the Nebraska Service Center, and 14 months at the Texas Service Center. Therefore, it appears that your I-140 petition is still being adjudicated within standard processing times. If you wish to speed up your adjudication, you may apply for premium processing, which costs $2,500 and will guarantee further action on your case (approval, denial, or request for further evidence) within 15 calendar days. The merits of your case do not appear to have much bearing on the speed of your adjudication here. Best of luck to you.
4. NIW and O-1 can be submitted with premium processing at the same time
A reader asks:
I want to apply for an O-1 visa and prepare to apply for a national interest waiver. May I ask, can I submit NIW and O-1 applications both at the same time, and then pay an accelerated processing fee to accelerate both applications at the same time?
Arthur Lee Esq. answers:
Yes it is possible to submit both with premium processing at the same time assuming that you are willing to pay the expenses. To premium process the O-1 petition, you may submit Form I-907 premium processing request to the service center with a payment of $2,805 to ensure that you receive further action from USCIS (decision or request for further evidence) within 15 calendar days. For the EB-2 NIW, you may submit Form I-907 premium processing request with the appropriate service center along with payment of $2,805 to ensure that you receive further action with USCIS (decision or request for further evidence) within 45 calendar days. Good luck to you.