J1 visa married to US citizen, when to quit J1 job?

[teacher10 0]

I married a US citizen in late November of 2018 in California. I live in South Carolina and teaching on a J1 visa, while my husband lives in California.  I already received my J1 waiver from my home country, and we already filed the Petition I-130. We are still waiting for this petition to get approved. I really want to be with my husband as soon as possible and finally start our family together, but I am scared to let go of my job because it might affect my paperwork.  My question is, can i leave my J1 visa job now to go live with my husband in California?  If not, when is "safe" for me to move? 

 

Thank you in advance!

[geowrian 22,335]

Have you filed the I-485 packet? An I-130 petition alone doesn't grant any immigration status or stay in the US.

Once you file an I-485, you will begin a period of authorized stay while your case is pending.

[teacher10 0]

Thank you for your response GeoWrian! ☺️ We made a mistake of not filing the i-130 and i 485 together,  it's already ready. Can I just send it to USCIS even without the receipt number from form i-130? 

[geowrian 22,335]

* Moved from Student & Exchange Visas to AOS from Work, Student, and Tourist Visas. The OP will be going through the AOS process. *

 

10 minutes ago, teacher10 said:

Thank you for your response GeoWrian! ☺️ We made a mistake of not filing the i-130 and i 485 together,  it's already ready. Can I just send it to USCIS even without the receipt number from form i-130? 

You can send the I-485 with a copy of the I-130's NOA1 (receipt). You'll have to wait for that receipt notice to come in, otherwise they won't know how to match it up with your I-130 and it will be rejected (sent back).

Normally it only takes a few weeks or so to get the notice.

 

Once you get the notice and submit the I-485 packet (with a copy of the I-130's NOA1), you're technically in a period of authorized stay. But I would personally wait until you get the I-485's receipt notice (NOA1) just to ensure it is accepted and you have evidence of your authorized stay.

Edited August 9, 2019 by geowrian

[teacher10 0]

We will definitely do that, I read about the notice of receipt but I was reading different opinions about it. It makes more sense to wait for the notice before I send the I-485 packet. Thank you for your advice @geowrian, I really appreciate it! 🙏😊

[ZeeZeeZee 11]

One thing to be aware of: you'll lose the right to work as soon as you leave your J1 job. You can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (just file form I-765 along with your I-485) but no-one knows what's up with the wait times right now: if you're lucky it'll be 2 months, if you're unlucky it'll be 6+.

 

Even if you're not planning to work, without the EAD it's irritatingly difficult to prove your legal status. For example, you won't be able to get or renew a CA driving license: the CA DMV does not accept the I-485 NOA1 as proof of status, it has to be the EAD or green card. (Ask me how I know... grumble grumble.) If you have a SC driving license it'll remain valid until its expiry date but after that you're stuck.

 

So you're *safe* to quit your job as soon as your I-485 receipt comes through, but if you can hold out until you get your EAD it'll make your life significantly easier.