When did you tell your employer you're moving?

[Rchi 1]

Hi everyone! Just thought I'd get some input from others in the same boat as me. My k1 interview is scheduled for nov 28. I'm hoping to move by the first week of January.

Wondering when it's somewhat a safe bet to tell your employer that you're moving? I know there's no right or wrong answer...except for the standard 2 weeks when resigning from any job...but any thoughts would be great.

Do people usually wait till you have the visa in hand? Or perhaps just till after you're approved at the interview? Any input would be fantastic!

[Bec_Dipu 103]

I would recommend waiting until you have the visa in hand. Regardless of how well prepared you are and how much information you have provided, you may still be denied or issues a 221(g) for more evidence or placed in AP for a background check.

If one of these issues happen, you will not know how long it will take to get resolved.

Case in point: my fiance and I attended his interview on August 3, 2011 and we are still in AP for a background check 2.5 months later.

Unless you can afford to be unemployed for an undetermined amount of time, I would not turn in the notice without the visa in hand. Even if they tell you that you are approved at the interview, I would still wait until you receive it because there have been a few stories where people were told they were approved and then a few days later they were notified that they were put in AP.

[Flames9_RN 358]

look out for #1. Wait till you know for sure you have the visa!!

[Chris921 13]

i told them the same day as i was told i was approved, only because i had a good rapport with my boss and knew i could extend it if anything else happened (he even offered me a job if i returned home)

[Rchi 1]

Oh boy. I didn't realize that it was still iffy even after they "approve" you at the interview. I do have a great rapport with my Manager and I just don't want to leave her in difficult situation being low in resources at short notice. ?

Apologies for my ignorance, but in this situation what does AP stand for?

Ideally I want to let my employer one month in advance...but I guess that may be difficult unless I postpone my POE date.

[Bec_Dipu 103]

AP is Administrative Processing. It happens a lot in India. There have been a couple of cases in India in the past year where someone was approved at the interview and then placed in AP a few days later. They usually tell you this at the interview, but just play it safe and wait.

If you are placed in mandatory AP, you will not be told why and you will not be provided with a timeline of when it will be over. If you are given a 221(g) form, it will request specific actions or information from you. You still won't be given a timeline, but most of that seems to be reviewed within a month of your fulfilling the request.

[Rchi 1]

Thanks Bec_Dipu! You've given me some great additional information. Good luck to you....hope the waiting is over soon!!

Just when I thought there was a more finite end in sight to this process...

[SapphireDreams 71]

I gave my employer 6 weeks notice and already had my visa in hand (I got my visa in March, but waited until June to move to save more money and get ready for the move).

[hikergirl 277]

I have already told my employer that I am getting married next summer and then looking at releasing the summer after, once the paperwork is through. Because I was part of their succession planning (promotions, etc) this has allowed them to take me out and not look at me as a possibility. It all depends on your employer and where you are in their food chain and your rapport with them. My boss has said already that they'll be flexible with my paperwork so that I can depart Canada when I'd like to.

[Rchi 1]

Oh wow! That's a very responsible thing to do...and surely helps them a lot.

My employer has been providing great opportunities for growth...and I'm leading a number of key initiatives right now. I'd love to tell them, but everyone (friends/family) who knows about the process we're going thru is telling me not to count my chickens before they hatch.

Really grateful to hear how others are handling this...

[Rchi 1]

Does anyone know the law on working for a Canadian company from the US after POE before EAD comes thru?

I'm wondering if I could do consulting from home once I move to the States to transition from my current role in Canada.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Does anyone know the law on working for a Canadian company from the US after POE before EAD comes thru?

I'm wondering if I could do consulting from home once I move to the States to transition from my current role in Canada.

USCIS cannot restrict your ability to work for a Canadian employer - they are restricting your ability to work legally for a US employer....this is a hot topic on occasion in the Canadian Forum. Some of us have continued to contract with our former Cdn employers while working from home after we move to the US. It's really up to your employer if they're flexible enough. They should understand that during that time you will NOT be able to travel back to Canada for work until you get your AP from USCIS.

I personally gave my employer about 4 weeks notice once I knew I was approved. They had known all year about my plan to move so it was not a big surprise. I was lucky enough to work for a great company and boss who was very flexible and very happy for me and my engagement/life plans

[dukeandduchess 141]

I guess it depends on your job and your relationship with your boss. When I started the K1 process I mentioned that I would be moving to the US. They asked me to agree to stay (at least) until the end of the year because christmas is our busiest time of the year and I'm a store manager. I agreed. I plan to give them a month's notice, but I've already told them I got the visa approved.

[Bec_Dipu 103]

Whatever you do, if you plan to work in the US, you may want to keep on good terms so that you can use your employer as a reference and maybe even get a letter of reference before you leave. Also, if your employer is international or has US customers/connections, you may be able to use those as references too. Don't burn any bridges

[pocheros 101]

Hi everyone! Just thought I'd get some input from others in the same boat as me. My k1 interview is scheduled for nov 28. I'm hoping to move by the first week of January.

Wondering when it's somewhat a safe bet to tell your employer that you're moving? I know there's no right or wrong answer...except for the standard 2 weeks when resigning from any job...but any thoughts would be great.

Do people usually wait till you have the visa in hand? Or perhaps just till after you're approved at the interview? Any input would be fantastic!

Just want to note that it's not uncommon for people to wait awhile for their visa to arrive in the mail. There's a poll about it right here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/302129-waiting-for-our-passports-from-montreal/ Even if you're not in AP it can be a little tricky to predict when you'll actually receive your visa. Fortunately, a substantial number of people receive their visa quickly but there's no guarantee.

There is also the (rare, but sometimes it happens) possibility that when you receive your visa, the brown folder that comes with it is damaged or the information on the visa was incorrect (name is spelled wrong- it happens, they spelled my fiance's name wrong!). This is important because the brown folder is marked DO NOT OPEN and if it's been opened you won't make it through your POE (the border patrol officer is supposed to open it.) Montreal will fix it for you, but of course this will add more waiting time

As soon as I filed the petition for my visa I let my boss know that I would be leaving sometime within a year. When I received my interview date, I asked my boss if I could quit "conditionally," that is quit IF my visa was approved. He agreed and I set my quit date to one week after my interview (but I let him know earlier so he had about a month's notice.) My job was pretty casual and my boss was a sweetheart so it wasn't a big deal Plus I was living with family who didn't charge me rent for the last couple of months I lived there and I didn't have a lot of financial obligations, so my situation was very flexible even if I was going to be unemployed for some time before making my POE.

I also gave my boss a nicely done up letter of resignation thanking him for the employment opportunity, and he prepared my record of employment and a letter of recommendation for me before I left.

I would suggest giving your boss a heads up and then handing in your notice when you have your visa physically in your hand, since although it's unlikely there is a possibility you'll face the aforementioned hurdles. It also depends on how many financial obligations you have. Again, in my case I'm a young person* without a car or a mortgage or anything important, so all I had to worry about was eating, and if I only had $20 to live on a week while sitting on my butt waiting for my visa to arrive it was okay. If you have more obligations you'll want to keep your job until you know for sure that you can make your POE with an intact visa.

*Not to say that anyone here is old But I'm practically a teenager, so >_>

Edited October 18, 2011 by pocheros