This is a subject that seems obvious but isn’t.   At first glance, you would say, a Special Immigrant R-ligious Worker is coming to work for the organization/ch-rch/m-ssion agency that petitioned for him.   But, at the same time, a person with a green card can work for anyone, can’t he?  So, what if you change your mind and decide you don’t want to work for the agency that petitioned for you?  What if you want a side job to earn a little extra money?   Isn’t that okay?   Well, maybe not.

The basic consideration here is that the petitioner has told the USCIS that you will be working only for the petitioning organization.   Then, when you apply for a green card, you are telling the USCIS or the consulate/embassy that you will be working for the petitioning agency.  If you show up and don’t work for them, and the USCIS decides to do a post-approval inspection — or if they look at your employment history at your citizenship interview, they could decide that you or the petitioner lied to them — a very serious problem in immigration.

What about side jobs?   Pretty much the same logic applies.   The petition includes a promise by the petitioner that the applicant will not “engage in secular employment”.   This is, basically, a promise by the petitioner that the employee will only work for him.    And, when you apply for the green card, you are promising to engage in employment under the terms of the petition.  So you, too, as the immigrant are binding yourself by that statement in the petition.

So, what are your options.     The first thing to remember is that you are promising to come and work for the petitioner, and only for the petitioner.   If that is not your intent, you really shouldn’t be looking at this process.   I recommend, if you can, to stay with the petitioner until you obtain your citizenship — which is five years.    This is not required, but it is the best if you can so that there is no question of your intent in coming to the US to work for the petitioner.

My main concern is that the person interviewing you for citizenship may give you a hassle if they feel that you didn’t really have the intent to work for the petitioner when you applied for your green card.  I have not had this be a problem for my clients, but I have heard of it happening.

However, staying for five or more years is not always practical or desirable.   Things happen throughout your life, goals change, circumstances change—sometimes very unexpectedly.  Sometimes you need to change your job, sometimes you want to change your job, sometimes you need extra money.

This is what I tell people.   If you can, stay at least two years.  I think that it is very unlikely that the USCIS will give you a hassle if, after two years, you decide that you want to change your job.   If you just need some extra money, and would like to work a second job, I recommend waiting at least one year, if possible, before starting a second job.   Again, this is just to avoid the appearance that you or the petitioner lied when you both said that you were coming to work as set forth in the petition.

If you need to leave the employer shortly after getting your green card, I strongly advise documenting your reasons.    Preferably, it should be something that came up after you obtained your green card — perhaps a death or illness in the family and you needed to care for someone, perhaps problems with your employer, perhaps you got sick or injured and couldn’t continue in the same job.   Getting a new job offer for more pay or a more interesting ministry somewhere else, is NOT, in my opinion, a good basis for leaving the petitioning organization.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong