If you have a Green Card there is nothing to protect(You're a permanent resident of the U.S.). If you are laid off then just find another job. There are no restrictions on a Green card except that you should spend most of your time(at least 6 months) in the U.S. a year.
How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
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Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#12Who has a H-1B and a green card? The title is not very good. Rest of the article seems on point though.
I think the phrasing is just to get the key phrase "green card" in there.
The actual question doesn't mention it, but in the answer she gets into the green card process.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#13This can pose a big problem for people who have made their homes in the U.S. for decades, diligently working, paying taxes, buying houses, and raising their children. It's perverse there is any visa that lets someone stay in the country for decades without offering them a path to permanent residency and citizenship.
I believe H-1B is a dual-intent visa, allowing application for a Green Card after a specified number of years. Green Card holders then become eligible for citizenship after another specified number of years. So if my understanding is correct, the US government agrees with you.
> Green Card holders then become eligible for citizenship after another specified number of years
In theory, yes. But there's a massive backlog, depending on your country of origin. I know somebody who graduated in the US and after 10+ years they gave up trying to obtain a green card in the US and instead applied for permanent residence in Canada -- within a year they had moved with their family. This is far from unique.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#14If you have a Green Card there is nothing to protect(You're a permanent resident of the U.S.). If you are laid off then just find another job. There are no restrictions on a Green card except that you should spend most of your time(at least 6 months) in the U.S. a year.
If you read the article, you can tell they are talking about people who have applied, but not yet received their green card. Citizens of some countries have a decade or longer wait to get processed.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#15So the recommended solution to losing your full time job and H-1B, is to get a part-time H-1B and a second job?!
Also a Green Card is not something you can lose/have to protect. I think the title should be updated to reflect "Green Card Application", which you absolutely can lose/have cancelled.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#16What is the exact reason for such a big backlog ?
My theory is that the backlog is mostly a double edged sword. If the backlog turned to zero today, the Universities would flood with applications from around the world and the number of I140s would increase exponentially in the next 10 years.
The backlog hence keeps expectations in check. I know plenty of friends on I140s who may not get a green card for the next decade. And yet they still plan on buying a home and starting a family in the Bay Area because now they are a prisoner of the lifestyle. Back in India they could live in the top 1% with the money they saved so far but they don’t want to go back ever.
Thus the US is basically keeping its universities funded by enough international students and as long as there are open opportunities in STEM they keep issuing H1Bs and I140s.
The question is whether the government cares at all to deal with backlogs or if they like the current situation. My guess would be the latter.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#17The short, unpopular, possibly illegal answer:
Get fucking married (to a US permanent resident or citizen)!
This is more common than you think. It was more common than I thought! USCIS is dumpster fire purgatory and any competent, results driven lawyer will tell you so.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#18What is the exact reason for such a big backlog ? My theory is that the backlog is mostly a double edged sword. If the backlog turned to zero today, the Universities would flood with applications from around the world and the number of I140s would increase exponentially in the next 10 years. The backlog hence keeps expectations in check. I know plenty of friends on I140s who may not get a green card for the next deca…
> What is the exact reason for such a big backlog ?
The two political parties can't agree on reforms for legal immigration. The current rules were written for a generation when the quantity and nature of immigration was very different.
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#19Citizenship should be performance based as opposed to based upon place of birth or being rich or lucky enough to obtain a piece of paper from some governmental body. It honestly shocks and disturbs me that this isn't a commonsense principle in 2022.
> Citizenship should be performance based as opposed to based upon place of birth
Wait, what? I thought you were going to suggest that people should be free to live/work wherever, which I agree with in principle, but also think it's not a change that can be made overnight. You seem to be suggesting that everybody has to earn the right to live in a particular country, even if they were born there. If that was universal, where would the people who fail the test go?
Re: How can I protect my H-1B and green card if I am laid off?
#20The short, unpopular, possibly illegal answer: Get fucking married (to a US permanent resident or citizen)! This is more common than you think. It was more common than I thought! USCIS is dumpster fire purgatory and any competent, results driven lawyer will tell you so.
There is nothing illegal or unpopular about this answer. It doesn't happen as commonly due to large cultural differences, and there is more to life than just a visa (as important as that might be).