Changing jobs between receiving EAD and green card interview (AOS from TN to Resident)

[BodRac 0]

This posting actually has 3 separate questions all closely related to each other, so I hope anyone who can provide help with one of them may be able to give input on the other 2.

Quick background:

As you can see in the timeline in my signature, I married a USC late in 2014, submitted the AOS application in March 2015, my TN visa expired in May, and I received the EAD in June. So, my current status is whatever name the limbo between TN expiration and green card issuance has.

I am currently employed by the same company that requested the TN for me but my contract expires in 3 weeks and will not be renewed. I am expecting a job offer from a different employer within the next few weeks, and my questions are related to what I need to do to be able to accept such offer.

Question #1: Do I need USCIS approval to switch employers given my current status?

My question arises from a note found in the I-797 Notice of EAD approval, which says that I can request to change employers if my "I-485 application has been pending for at least 180 days and underlying Form I-140 is approved or is still pending." My I-485 will be pending for 180 days in about 30 days, but I do not have an underlying I-140, since my AOS is through an I-130, so I am not sure if I still need to request approval or even notify USCIS of the change in employers.

Question #2: For employment-related intents and purposes, is having an EAD equivalent to resident status?

My new job offer will be at a local government agency. Unlike the federal government, there is no citizenship requirement, but they also do not sponsor work visas and they usually only hire residents/citizens. Is there any chance they could refuse to hire me because currently I only have temporary work authorization (through June 2016) and not residency?

Question #3: If my potential new employer refuses to hire me under my current status, would this be grounds to request an expedited green card interview so I can get the temporary green card?

I know I could have requested an expedited EAD issuance if I had a job offer that depended on having the EAD on hand, but I already have the EAD and I have not seen anywhere that I could do the same if the employer wants to see a green card. Any thoughts?

Bonus Question: It has been over 5 months since I submitted the AOS application and nearly 3 months since I received the EAD, but I still have not received a date for the residency interview. Should I be worried? Should I call USCIS to ask about the status of the interview?

[Starkilla09 366]

1. No you don't need any USCIS approval to work again as an adjustment of status applicant. Just use your new unrestricted C9 EAD and work in any field whatsoever you please. The I-140 is for employment based adjustment of status which carries certain conditions not yours so forget about it, not applicable to you.

2. Though not officially a permanent resident, your C9 adjustment of status EAD confers benefits to work in any setting which also applies to permanent residents and citizens in many settings and employers are not allowed to discriminate because you have but an EAD. However there're certain jobs available only to U.S citizens such as government contract jobs which even permanent residents can't do. Also jobs like U.S postal office allows only permanent residents with unrestricted 10 year cards or citizens to apply.

3. No like I said before it's unlawful for your employer to discriminate against you for having an EAD because it's an official government valid document for work and also has a section on the form I-9 unless it's a job restricted only to citizens. Also you can't expedite your green card interview only in very limited situations like being a military spouse.

4. Most USCIS field offices nationwide have had backlogs since last year so interviews are taking longer to schedule within 3 to as long as 7 or even 8 months depending on your local field office so if you haven't had one yet then you're in line. You can check you local field office processing time to have a clue as uscis.gov.

This posting actually has 3 separate questions all closely related to each other, so I hope anyone who can provide help with one of them may be able to give input on the other 2.

Quick background:

As you can see in the timeline in my signature, I married a USC late in 2014, submitted the AOS application in March 2015, my TN visa expired in May, and I received the EAD in June. So, my current status is whatever name the limbo between TN expiration and green card issuance has.

I am currently employed by the same company that requested the TN for me but my contract expires in 3 weeks and will not be renewed. I am expecting a job offer from a different employer within the next few weeks, and my questions are related to what I need to do to be able to accept such offer.

Question #1: Do I need USCIS approval to switch employers given my current status?

My question arises from a note found in the I-797 Notice of EAD approval, which says that I can request to change employers if my "I-485 application has been pending for at least 180 days and underlying Form I-140 is approved or is still pending." My I-485 will be pending for 180 days in about 30 days, but I do not have an underlying I-140, since my AOS is through an I-130, so I am not sure if I still need to request approval or even notify USCIS of the change in employers.

Question #2: For employment-related intents and purposes, is having an EAD equivalent to resident status?

My new job offer will be at a local government agency. Unlike the federal government, there is no citizenship requirement, but they also do not sponsor work visas and they usually only hire residents/citizens. Is there any chance they could refuse to hire me because currently I only have temporary work authorization (through June 2016) and not residency?

Question #3: If my potential new employer refuses to hire me under my current status, would this be grounds to request an expedited green card interview so I can get the temporary green card?

I know I could have requested an expedited EAD issuance if I had a job offer that depended on having the EAD on hand, but I already have the EAD and I have not seen anywhere that I could do the same if the employer wants to see a green card. Any thoughts?

Bonus Question: It has been over 5 months since I submitted the AOS application and nearly 3 months since I received the EAD, but I still have not received a date for the residency interview. Should I be worried? Should I call USCIS to ask about the status of the interview?