Dr. William:

I came to the U.S. from China to work for its parent company in San Francisco with L-1A visa. My employer in China is a subsidiary of the current employer in San Francisco. I then filed EB-1C of I-140 and I-485 as a multinational corporate manager which is currently pending. My I-140 has yet to be adjudicated. Can I change job to another employer in New York City?

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Answer:

To change job, your current job in San Francisco and the new job in New York City should be in a similar occupational classification. Under the current USCIS AC-21 policy, you are permitted to take a new employment with an unrelated company in the U.S. even though the I-140 you filed required the relationship between a foreign company in China and your current employer in the U.S., if the two jobs belong to a same or similar occupational classification. 

However, there are a few things you should follow through such that your pending I-140/I-485 is not affected by your porting to a new employer. Most importantly, since your I-140 is still pending, you should be assured that at the time of filing of the I-140 petition and you job changing, you were eligible for the multinational corporate manager petition, including your manager record for one year or longer in China and your manager position in San Francisco, and the corporate relationship of either parent-child or brother-sister between the company in China and the U.S. The USCIS will adjudicate this issue when your visa number becomes available and they adjudicate your I-485. If there was a flaw in the petition, they will deny such I-140 petition and simultaneously deny your I-485 application. 

Also, your new employer in New York city will not be able to file another L-1A nonimmigrant petition for you since you are not eligible for such nonimmigrant status. Thus, unless you have a valid EAD, you will not be able to work for the new employer. You should never start working for the new employer until you get an EAD. 

 

 

 

 

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