Employee Advisory Opinion
Here in the heart of Silicon Valley, we often hear from foreign national employee seeking immigration advice about changing employers or about leaving their current employer to start their own company. Employees want to know about “porting” on their H-1B, or how they can maintain their green card priority date if they change employers. Can they change employers prior to the October 1st start date of their H-1B? What happens if their employer in the middle of the PERM recruitment process gets acquired? Sometimes an employee would prefer not to disclose certain personal information to their employer; information that is actually required to complete the green card process.
An employee cannot simply ask their company’s Human Resources department about what happens with their H-1B if they change employers, and many employees who try to contact the law firm that handled their H-1B or green card will be told that the law firm represents their employer only, and therefore cannot advise them.
This office provides consultations for employees. We will review your current immigration situation, listen to what you would like to do, and then provide a written advisory opinion discussing your options specific to your particular situation. Please call to schedule an employee advisory consultation.