Has anyone changed employer within <6 months after I-140 approved & I-485 pending? How was transitioning process like?
Priority date: July 2018 I-140 & I-485 submission date: November 2018 Biometric submission: December 2018 I-140 approved: December 2018 I-485 case has been transferred to local field office end of January. Country: Rest of the world H-1B expiration date: March 2020
TC or GTFO
I did this in 2016, and my ex-employer didn't care.
I think based on your timeline that you are within weeks of getting your greencard and if I were you I'd stay and get it. I think you will get the interview notice any day. However one issue though is that AFTER you get GC you need to work for the employer that sponsored you for six months. Many people overlook that in several forms and at the interview you are claiming you intend to work for this company. If it becomes clear you never had any such intention then you lied to the immigration officer, which is immigration fraud for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit. They can actually revoke your greencard and deport you. The rule of thumb is that if you work there for 6 months that is enough to fulfill your commitment. So.... If you really want to move talk to the company that is hiring you about it and make sure that they will: 1. Commit to switch your i485 to the new company 2. If i140 is revoked start the whole process over understanding this could result in an employment gap in 2020 The risk here is NOT huge because first Amazon does not revoke i140s, and second since you are rest of world even if the h1b expired the gap in your employment would be pretty short. You CAN wait outside the country to get your greencard but it's likely the lawyers would be able to get you waiting inside the country.
“However one issue though is that AFTER you get GC you need to work for the employer that sponsored you for six months” <— please cite the source. Per my understanding you can quit any day after getting GC. I know people have quit less than 6 months after GC, hell I have friends who quit less than 3 mo the after GC. So, I call it BS.
Your understanding is wrong. They might not be detected right away because USCIS isn't monitoring you after GC, but they have committed immigration fraud. It's usually detected at naturalization when USCIS then does look at you tax returns you submit with n400 and discovers the lie. Here is an example of somebody talking about got their n400 got denied for not working for the sponsor, this guy even had a medical reason, but USCIS still called it fraud: https://forums.immigration.com/threads/n-400-application-denied.317603/
Is I-140 still usable if I-485 wasn’t pending for 6 months? I though one can only keep I-140 if I-485 is pending more than 6 months.
OP - lots of good posts on Blind about this, anyhow..don't change employers within 6 months of I-140 approval cuz your employer though not legally mandated to, but still can withdraw your I-140 (it's kinda like a suggested guideline but often employers don't follow this). Long story short: not worth the risk. Also, you added a bunch of dates to the post but you might wanna add your I-140 approval date too.
Updated the dates. I don’t think my current employer will withdraw my 140 but what happens if they do?
Stay...