Leaving employer while an I-140 is pending

Question details

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.

 

ANSWER

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. Could your intention to continue to work at the employer be called into question because you had a preconceived intention to leave? That does not appear to be a major issue with the USCIS, but you never know.

FAQ Transcript

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

Immigration Law

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