After receiving an employment-based green card, can one take up a part-time job (without leaving the current job). From Mr. Siskind's earlier bulletins, I see that it's best to work for the same employer at least for 3 months, will working as a part-time employee elsewhere create problems?

I assume that you have already received your green card and are asking how to avoid allegations of fraud if you leave your sponsoring employer. The allegation would be that you did not really intend to work for the sponsoring employer and therefore misrepresented this fact to the INS when your petition was filed.

There is currently no specific rule for how long you have to stay with the sponsoring employer before leaving. However, the shorter the time period between getting the green card and leaving your sponsoring employer, the more suspicious it will look. Three months is probably a good rule of thumb.

With regard to working a part-time job during this three month period, as having a part-time job does not necessarily evidence an intention to leave your present employer, it should not be a problem. However, your part-time employment should not seriously affect your full-time job with the sponsoring employer.

I am a permanent resident of the US who is dating a Canadian citizen who lives in Canada. I obtained my permanent residence in January 1996. My girlfriend is educated and works as a translator so she is not eligible for TN-status. We want her to move to the US asap so that she can work and study part-time while I attend business school for the next two years, and then we want her to start business school herself. We are considering the following options:

1. get married now, apply for a spouse-based green card, have her continue to live in Canada until it is approved, and then have her move to the US; or

2. have her look for work in the US as a translator, move on an H-1B when she finds a job, and then get married.

Because dual intent is recognized for H-1B, your wife would be able to apply for H-1B even if she had a petition pending for permanent residence. The decision to choose either option is up to you. You can file for permanent residence first or the H-1B first; it does not matter.

A petition in the 2a preference (in which she would fall as your wife) will take a few years. Assuming your wife was born in Canada, the priority date is currently December 15, 1992. To keep an eye on the priority dates, you should check the Visa Bulletin on a monthly basis. The pending immigration reforms propose to add additional visas to this category to reduce the backlog but it has not passed yet.

Whether or not she qualifies for H-1B as a translator is another matter. Please review the meaning of specialty occupation in the H-1B section of this web site. The occupation of "translator" is not clearly a "specialty occupation" for H-1B purposes.

If a translator requires bachelor degree or higher as a minimum entry level requirement, you will have satisfied the first requirement for a specialty occupation. The second requirement relates to the application of a specialized body of knowledge. The occupation of translator may not be specialized enough unless a specific degree (or in some cases a general degree with a specific major as in the case of a management degree in marketing) is a minimum entry-level requirement.