Congratulations! You are engaged and soon to be married. You are interested in changing employers but you are not sure if you can change employers immediately after getting married or if you need to wait for your green card to arrive. Here is what you need to know.
Changing Jobs After Getting Married
After getting married, it does not automatically grant you any immigration benefits. If you are in the United States, you will still have to adjust your status to green card holder. Further, you will have to wait for your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or your green card to arrive before you are able to work for any employer. Until then, you can only change jobs through an H-1B transfer.
Filing the H-1B Transfer
Once you get a new job from an employer that is willing to petition you, you can file an H-1B transfer petition. Once you have filed the transfer, you can begin working for the new employer immediately.
The Wait Times for the H-1B Transfer and Employment Authorization Document
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) historic processing time, it takes about three months for USCIS to review half of H-1B petition files. For the past few years, it has taken as short as three months and as long as seven months to review half of the I-765 petitions. Therefore, it may take three to five months for an H-1B petition approval and around three to seven months for an EAD approval. Sometimes, you may receive your green card before an EAD approval.
However, as mentioned above, as soon as the H-1B transfer petition is filed, you are authorized to work for the new petitioning employer.
Gaps in Employment During This Process
So long as you wait until your H-1B transfer petition is submitted, which will allow you to work for the new H-1B petitioning employer immediately, or for your Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization to be approved and receive your EAD, which allows you to work for any employer, you should not have any employment gaps.
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Last Updated on October 8, 2025 by Ernest J. Edwards
