Dr. William:

My self-petitioned and NIW based I-140 has been approved, and my I-485 has been pending for more than 6 months. May I quit my current job and work as an independent contractor after the I-140 approval?

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Answer:

For NIW petition, you are required to show that the new employment is in the "same or similar" field, and it is still in the "U.S. National Interest". Working as an independent contractor may cause a problem to prove these requirements.

Also, if you can establish a relation with a company or work for that company, you still need to establish that you intend to work full time and on a permanent basis in that field of work. There may be an issue to show financial situation in such cases. Furthermore, there is no clear opinion on this subject in the USCIS AC21 portability rule.