TL;DR: Should I wait for an additional month at the current company to finish 180 days, when I have a strong motivation to not to wait? Situation: Have approved I-140 but 180 days window not completed yet - would be around Aug end. Have got an offer from another employer. H1B transfer is expected to be completed by the end of July. Now, I know that the safest path is to wait till Aug end but my joining date will go in Sep. (Resignation in Aug End + 2 weeks notice period) My new employer might be ok with waiting. However, I want to join asap new company because: 1. Current manager is going on leave for a very long duration (>3 months) in Aug end - after my 180 days end date. He is counting on me for certain things. I feel like putting papers right after he goes on vacation might irritate his manager. If I resign before he leaves, he might get enough time to arrange for someone else for that work. 2. Super excited about the new opportunity. It is in early stages of conception and design phase. Would like to be there during that stage. 3. Financial loss - might lose out on some benefits in new company joining this late in the year, plus my new TC>>my current TC. So, every extra day I spend here is significant loss Considering all this, should I resign right after H1 transfer is completed? Whats the minimum time the company would take if they decide to withdraw? (Basically trying to decide if I at least save on some days) I do understand significance of 180 days window, especially when I am pretty close. But considering above reasons, am I thinking whether that risk is worth taking?
100% you should wait. Green card gives you freedom now and later and that's worth more than anything. Trust me I was there and glad I turned down a great offer just to wait for the GC
Thanks for your reply. So, your suggestion is wait till 180 days window closes even for putting the paper, right? Even when it pisses off my manager and his manager as i will be catching them off guard once the manager has left for a long vacation? (Not a rhetorical question, just trying to check if I understand correctly)
So, your number one goal is to make sure anything you do won't jeopardize your greencard process. You should wait the 180 days window before even letting them know you're leaving. Chances are they could be pissed and fire you immediately so you definitely need to guard against that. As for you boss, be sincere and try your best to minimize the disruption to your team and company. Be thoughtful about it. You're not trying to be a jerk, you're just looking out for yourself and advance your career. If you lose a few relationships, it's painful but if the new job makes your life happy, it's all worth it.
You will lose your priority date if you switch too soon. Your new priority date would be based on when the new company gets the paperwork done. But if you stay, you keep your priority date. So, your choice.
Hmm, I know. I was just wondering if I can save on some days considering the fact that even if the company decides to withdraw, they will take at least some days to process that.
If it's a single digit number of days, why take the risk?
Op, why do you think the company is going to spend additional money and time to withdraw your 140 ? Have they done that in the past?
It's kinda their responsibility to let the government know if you flake.
Companies withdraw h1b to let the government know. For 140, I have changed two employers in the past and neither of them withdrew it.
I'm in simular situation, except for my wait is a little longer (beginning of October). I strongly advice you to wait. If you move before the 180 days mark you almost certainly have to start entire GC process from scratch (PERM, I140, medical exam, I485). Think of all that shitty paperwork. Also with HR1044 and S386 having a realistic (although not likely) chance of being passed you might get screwed epically if you have to start from scratch at the beginning of a potentially much longer queue. just FYI: My employer was fine to wait an additional 2.5 months after their own lawyers adviced so when they started to process my h1b transfer. I'm sure yours will be fine to wait 1 month as well and if they're not I'd say you dodged a bullet.
So are you saying if you move after 180 days you don't need to do PERM ? My understanding was that the 180 days only helps in maintaining PD if the employer withdraws. It does not help in skipping GC steps with next employer.
oh sorry, I misread your post and thought you have an I485 (instead of i140) which is pending less than 180 days. You're right you have to do everything again even after 180 days of approved i140, but you'll keep your priority date. Once your I485 is pending for more than 180 days you can switch employers without starting process from scratch.