When to quit one's job

[jeanieCZ 228]

On 7/13/2019 at 5:38 PM, MariekeH said:

Communicate with your employer and explain the situation to them.

I signed a 3-month contract with my employer before I even had the NOA2. I simply explained that I could not commit to 6 months or a year, because I was planning to move to the US. We later extended the contract with another 3 months (by that time I did have the NOA2). It took 3 weeks after my interview before I received my visa, apparently I interviewed at a busy time. I discussed the schedule with my employer, used vacation time and worked some overtime, so I was able to fly out a few weeks before the end of my contract. 

If you don't have a relationship with your employer where you feel you can be open about your plans to move, then maybe the 2 month resignation period isn't such a big deal. I know several people who just quit and left. Not a nice way to end things, but you'll be out of the country anyway, so what could they do to you?

I already did explain this to my superior, but the thing is I work in healthcare where there is a lot of shortage so I don't think my boss will let me go sooner than they legally have to. To quit and just leave is not an option for me, I am not about to burn the bridges behind me. 

[jeanieCZ 228]

On 7/12/2019 at 8:05 PM, missileman said:

2 month cancellation period?  .......or else?   Actually, it could take weeks or longer to receive your visa after the interview........ 

Or else? That's just the way it is, a part of my contract

[Lil bear 4,189]

5 minutes ago, jeaniecz said:

Thank you for the answers, everyone!

 

As some of you mentioned, of course I do think about the benefits of leaving sooner vs. leaving later, the financial part of the whole undertaking is quite important, too. I'm not looking forward to losing my independence as it is, so the savings are an important part for sure. 

 

I am not looking to leave this country hastily and I certainly want to wrap everything up neatly, including my employment. I still have some matters that will need to be taken care of before I go, so I plan to use my saved up vacation days for this, plus I want to spend some quality time with my family before I move halfway round the world away. 

I think I will wait till I have the interview date and decide then. 

 

I know nobody knows the exact processing times, but is it foolish to hope I will be in the US at the end of this year?

Only advice I have is 

Don’t do anything until you have your passport back in hand and have  verified that the visa details are all correct. 

In a few years waiting the extra couple of months will be insignificant .. quoting too soon and then dealing with some unavoidable unforeseen delay due to a processing glitch can be very very costly.

 

 

[jeanieCZ 228]

On 7/12/2019 at 8:20 PM, DaveAndAnastasia said:

The safest thing to do would be to wait until you have your visa, and put in your notice then. If you've got some unused vacation time, you might schedule that for the end of your two-month period.

 

If you trust your employer to work with you, I think you probably could let them know you're going to be moving to be with your fiance(e), and arrange for your last day to be, say, the Friday after you get your visa. I don't know how cancellation periods work in the Netherlands, so that's just a guess.

So basically what it works like is this: after I submit my resignation, my employer is allowed to keep me employed for 2 full following calender months--> i.e. if I let them know I want to quit on 23rd July, I will have to work the entire August and September. They might let me go sooner, but that is entirely up to them. 

[Lil bear 4,189]

Just now, jeaniecz said:

So basically what it works like is this: after I submit my resignation, my employer is allowed to keep me employed for 2 full following calender months--> i.e. if I let them know I want to quit on 23rd July, I will have to work the entire August and September. They might let me go sooner, but that is entirely up to them. 

Yep that’s how it works. It’s worth waiting to be safe 

[jeanieCZ 228]

On 7/13/2019 at 4:43 PM, carmel34 said:

My husband waited until he had his visa in his hands before giving a required 40 day notice to his employer that he would be leaving.  So even though he got his visa on June 19 he won't be moving here to California until August 19.  He wanted a little time after stopping work to wrap up his affairs and prepare for this big change in his life.  He's leaving everything behind.  It makes it hard to wait this long for his arrival but I also understand the employment laws and this two month wait is giving him the opportunity to take time to say farewells and prepare mentally for this big adjustment.  Good luck!

Indeed, the upcoming change, even if so wanted, is huge, so it cant hurt to take one's time to start adjusting. 

Wow, congratulations on your husband's visa! Now that you're just waiting for him to arrive in about a month it must feel like waiting for Christmas, doesn't it?

[jeanieCZ 228]

8 hours ago, Mrijex said:

Another Dutchie here  I have been in the US since March and entered on a K1. This was a difficult issue for me as well, because there's so many things that come into play: you want to be with your fiance ASAP, but you don't want to risk quitting your job and having your visa for some reason be on hold or denied and be left without income...

 

I had a 4 week cancellation policy at my job at the time. Everybody there knew I was planning to move to the US but I did not tell anybody that my visa was approved until after the interview. My passport came back within a week after visiting the consulate but that was in February, right now it may be busy because its summer/travel season? Either way I made the decision to not officially give my 4 week notice until the visa got approved. Yes, that meant I had to wait until a little bit after I had my visa in hand already to travel to my fiance, but it meant more to me to know for certain that the visa was approved before I quit my job, because the risk of being without income if it had been denied would not work for my situation. Also what is a couple of more weeks in the Netherlands if after that you get to move to the US to be with your partner indefinitely? That's how we looked at it. I also made sure I had a bunch of paid vacation days left over at the time of giving my 4 weeks which meant I actually only worked 2 of the last 4 weeks- and still got to leave relatively quickly and get paid for my time off. Maybe you have some paid vacation days left over too that you can use that way?

 

Good luck with your decision!

Certainly hamstering those vacation days I still have left  You're right, a few more weeks will not matter that much, I guess it's more important to me to have the peace of the mind knowing everything is going well. 

Congratulaitons on your move! I hope everything's been fine there in the US, good luck further!

[Marieke H 2,496]

30 minutes ago, jeaniecz said:

 

I know nobody knows the exact processing times, but is it foolish to hope I will be in the US at the end of this year?

As you already have your NOA2, I think it's not unreasonable to expect to be moving by the end of the year, if all goes well. You should be hearing from the consulate pretty soon, and then things will start moving faster. Good luck!

[jeanieCZ 228]

8 minutes ago, MariekeH said:

As you already have your NOA2, I think it's not unreasonable to expect to be moving by the end of the year, if all goes well. You should be hearing from the consulate pretty soon, and then things will start moving faster. Good luck!

I really hope so, it's quite stressful for me to be just "sitting" here waiting for the message from the embassy. Well, I'm glad I stumbled upon this forum, talking to people who can relate to what I am going through does help  

 Thanks