Job Change - Title and Job type | H1B

[Hemz 0]

Hi,
I am non-immigrant from India, residing in US since 2013 march.

 

I am on H1B with an employer A, my greencard is being processed under EB2 category and I have my I-140 approved with immigrant petition priority date - 21.Aug.2015. My current employer A is the one who is my sponsor for Greencard currently. My current H1B petition is valid until 10.Mar.2023. My title for current job with employer A is "Principal Big Data Engineer" which is for an Individual Contributor. 

I have a new job opportunity through employer B, who is offering me a Director Position, the title is expected to be along the lines of "Director-Data Science and Analytics". This will be a management role, but I will be responsible for technology, and I will have handson technical responsibilities in the Engineering, Data Science and Analytics domain. 

 

There are probably more questions to better understand the whole scope but for starters, I am sharing few questions below:
- The impact on my H1B Visa and Greencard if I decide to take up job with employer B for this Director role.
- Am I allowed to take up Director/Management roles when working under H1B?
- What impact will the title or job description have on my H1B/Greencard status?
- What options, risks and impacts should I be aware of in taking up job with employer B?
- Are there any compensation aspects in terms of base pay, bonus, equity that I need to be aware of given my H1B/Greencard status?
- Does my priority date get impacted at all with this job change?
- How can I ensure I am not risking my stay or jeopardizing my H1B/Greencard application?
- What process do I need to ask my employer B to follow, to ensure my H1B and Greencard is transferred to employer B without any adverse impact?
 

[wagecuck3 31]

Your new employer can sponsor you for H-1B status if the job is in a "specialty occupation", which means that it requires specialized knowledge that is, for the most part, possessed only by people with at least a bachelor's degree. Your contemplated role probably requires a degree in computer science, statistics, or a related field, therefore it should qualify for H-1B status. The new employer will have to file an H-1B transfer petition for you. It will be cap exempt. If you want to minimize the risk of losing status, then you should join Employer B only after the H-1B petition is approved. If you want to pursue a green card through Employer B, they will have to file a new PERM & I-140 for you. You will retain the old priority date. The risks in working for Employer B in H-1B status are the same as the risks in continuing to work for Employer A in H-1B status. Employer B must offer you at least the prevailing wage for your occupation in order to get your H-1B petition and PERM approved.

[Hemz 0]

Thank you so much wagecuck3. Very helpful and answers a lot of my questions. Can I ask for a little more advice on this topic with regards to "Specialty occupation" and Comparison between current and contemplated role?

 

My H1B filing with current employer A is in "Engineering" domain and my role today is of an Individual Contributor, while the contemplated role with employer B is in "Data Science and Statistics" domain and my role will switch to "Management" while contributing and managing a team under this domain for employer B. So, I am curious to understand:

1. Will my change in domains "Engineering" to "Data Science and Statistics" cause any challenges? while I believe both fall under specialty occupation and also I just got my masters in the Data Science and statistics domain.

2. Will my move from Individual contributor with employer A to Managerial ("Director") with employer B, cause any challenges? or something I must be aware of while filing PERM and I-140 with employer B?

 

Regards,

Hemanth Bangalore

[wagecuck3 31]

I already answered these questions.

[arken 4,197]

Unlike family based petitions, employment based petitions are best handled by employer lawyer or your lawyer for smooth processing.

 

For H1b: your change in duties and responsibilities does not matter. If your new position is eligible for h1b, then h1b transfer will be of no problem.

 

For pending EB based petition: If your i140 is approved and i485 has been pending for more than 180 days, you don't need to go for new PERM and new i140. All you need to file is i485J with the new job offer letter. Your existing PD will be retained. However the duties and responsibilities should be of similar fashion if not exact. A good employment immigration lawyer should be able to tell you if your new position somewhat matches with old for job portability. If not your employer has to start a new petition but i140 PD may be retained for new i140 later on.

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by arken

[Hemz 0]

thanks so much @arken, very helpful as I plan this through