Unemployment for CR1 beneficiary

[Marie-Eve 3]

I KNOW this topic must have been covered dozens of times on the forums, but I cant for the life of me find the answer to my question right now... please bear with me and feel free to point me out to the right thread if more appropriate than answering here

I am the beneficiary of a CR1. I got in the USofA in early July, got my green card in the mail almost immediately and started my new job - that I had been fortunate enough to find before even moving to the States - mid-august. It is very possible that sometimes next year my husband will have to move for taking a new job, which in turn would mean I would quit my job too. My question is three fold:

- As a green card holder with a spousal sponsor, am I eligible to unemployment benefits?

- If so, how many weeks must I work before being eligible? The move would probably happen after about a year of full time employment.

- Would "following a spouse" be a valid reason to be eligible for unemployment benefits even if I quit voluntarily?

Thank you for any information!

God bless you all!

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Others can weigh in, but from my perspective, this is more of a question concerning your state's unemployment requirements instead of an immigration question. If I were you, I would start by researching all the unemployment requirements of your state. In some states, you are only eligible to draw unemployment if you are laid off or fired. If you quit you may not qualify. Another thing to consider is that some states require you to maintain residence in the state to draw unemployment. So if you move to another state, you may not qualify. And even if a state does not have residency requirements, you still might have to travel back to the state for routine unemployment audits to check on the progress of your job search.

Oh, another thing... it's not just the state that your eligibility is dependent on. If your employer objects to you drawing unemployment, you might not qualify. This especially applies if you quit your job and the state is okay with it. Your employer might file an objection to the claim which could hold up or deny your claim. I was a former Human Resources Director and we had this very situation arise with a former employee who quit and made a claim. We chose not to file an objection to the claim but it was well within our rights to do so.

Good luck!

[NikLR 13,227]

~~moved to moving here and your new life in the USA as this isn't a question about the IR1/CR1 process~~

[aaron2020 11,651]

I KNOW this topic must have been covered dozens of times on the forums, but I cant for the life of me find the answer to my question right now... please bear with me and feel free to point me out to the right thread if more appropriate than answering here

I am the beneficiary of a CR1. I got in the USofA in early July, got my green card in the mail almost immediately and started my new job - that I had been fortunate enough to find before even moving to the States - mid-august. It is very possible that sometimes next year my husband will have to move for taking a new job, which in turn would mean I would quit my job too. My question is three fold:

- As a green card holder with a spousal sponsor, am I eligible to unemployment benefits? Green card holders are eligible for unemployment benefits when they pay into it.

- If so, how many weeks must I work before being eligible? The move would probably happen after about a year of full time employment. 26 weeks max for federal. Will depend on your state.

- Would "following a spouse" be a valid reason to be eligible for unemployment benefits even if I quit voluntarily? No. You can not receive unemployment benefits if you voluntarily give up a job.

Thank you for any information!

God bless you all!

You can not give up a job and get unemployment benefits.

Google "unemployment benefits voluntarily quit," and you will find that you can not receive unemployment benefits after quitting your job to move to another state to follow your spouse.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

**edit** - sorry I guess you were't asking about that after I reread your post.

US unemployment - believe it's administered state by state so each is different, it is not a government benefit like in Canada and nothing is taken off each paycheck like back in Canada. It can actually be fairly difficult to get paid unemployment since the company will actually be paying for it for you. Depending on your type of employment, employers can go to court to argue having to pay it. My daughter was in retail and her claim was denied although she'd worked there for a while.

If it's military relo you will find some loop holes or if you have a good relationship with your company they may consider saying they've laid you off - but again - they're having to pay it, there aren't many scenarios where they WANT to pay more then they have to.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I think you're asking if you're eligible for Canadian Unemployment, yes, you might be but I think your time to apply for CANADIAN EI has passed, head over to the Canadian forum and take a look at the pinned topic for EI. Following your spouse is a valid reason but again if you haven't applied by now, I think you may have difficulties with your claim.

I KNOW this topic must have been covered dozens of times on the forums, but I cant for the life of me find the answer to my question right now... please bear with me and feel free to point me out to the right thread if more appropriate than answering here

I am the beneficiary of a CR1. I got in the USofA in early July, got my green card in the mail almost immediately and started my new job - that I had been fortunate enough to find before even moving to the States - mid-august. It is very possible that sometimes next year my husband will have to move for taking a new job, which in turn would mean I would quit my job too. My question is three fold:

- As a green card holder with a spousal sponsor, am I eligible to unemployment benefits?

- If so, how many weeks must I work before being eligible? The move would probably happen after about a year of full time employment.

- Would "following a spouse" be a valid reason to be eligible for unemployment benefits even if I quit voluntarily?

Thank you for any information!

God bless you all!

Edited November 25, 2015 by Udella&Wiz

[newacct 688]

You can not give up a job and get unemployment benefits.

Google "unemployment benefits voluntarily quit," and you will find that you can not receive unemployment benefits after quitting your job to move to another state to follow your spouse.

This is not completely true. You can get unemployment if you voluntarily quit and there was "good cause". The standards vary by state but in some states it can include situations where moving is critical to maintaining the family unity.

[Ortolan 381]

From the South Dakota Department of Labor website (http://www.dlr.sd.gov/ui/uibenefitseligibility.aspx):

"If you were laid off for lack of work, it is easy to determine that you are unemployed or underemployed through no fault of your own. If you left your job for some other reason, the Unemployment Insurance Division will try to get information from both you and your employer before deciding if you are eligible...."

and later on in the info: "However, there are provisions in South Dakota Unemployment Insurance Laws which may allow payment even when you quit your job. An example is leaving on the advice of a doctor because the work is a hazard to your health." I doubt if leaving because your husband got a job in a different state would be a valid reason, but it doesn't hurt to try.