I’ve heard that companies sometimes find it advantageous to drag the process out for years — while an O-1 visa is pending, the employee won’t go anywhere. But what happens to the case if there’s a layoff? Does the whole process just get reset, or can anything be preserved?
That’s a really tough situation, yeah. If it’s a layoff — the green card case is tied to the employer, so formally, yes, everything starts over. But if the I-140 has already been approved and 180 days have passed, you can port it to a new employer; that’s called portability. So it’s not all that bad, the main thing is that the petition was approved by that point)
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With a green card, Veronika was right about portability. But the O-1 is a different story — it’s tightly tied to the petitioner, and if the company terminates the contract, status is lost as soon as the pay stops. The only way out is to quickly find a new employer and have the petition refiled/transferred to them; otherwise you’ll have to leave.
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Listen, with an O-1, yeah, it’s tougher than with a green card — there’s no portability, the petition is tied to a specific employer. But I’ve seen cases where people found a new sponsor and refiled pretty quickly, so if the case is strong you won’t be out of luck, it’ll just be more nerve-wracking.
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And one more thing — if you’re currently on an O-1 and thinking about a green card, don’t sit on it. An AOS (adjustment of status) based on an O-1 can drag out for months, even a couple of years, and while you’re waiting the company might change its mind. I’ve seen cases where the employer just gets tired of waiting and withdraws the job offer. So preparing an EB-1 petition in parallel isn’t paranoia, it’s common sense)
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