Green Card Sponsorship 2026: AC21 Portability Lost If Employer Withdraws I-140 Before 180 Days

AC21 portability is a critical protection for employment-based green card applicants, allowing them to change jobs or employers without losing their place in the immigration queue — but only after specific conditions are met. According to guidance from Murthy Law Firm, one of those conditions is that the underlying I-140 petition must remain approved for the entire 180-day waiting period after the I-485 is filed. In scenarios where an applicant leaves their sponsoring employer before the I-485 has been pending for 180 days, they are already in a precarious position. If the former employer then withdraws the I-140 petition during that same window, the AC21 portability requirements are definitively not satisfied. This means the applicant cannot invoke portability protections to continue their green card process with a new employer in the same or similar occupational category. For EB-3 applicants, this is a particularly important distinction. The 180-day threshold is not simply about how long the I-485 has been filed — it also requires that the I-140 remain in an approved state throughout that entire period. An employer withdrawal, even one day before the 180-day mark, can break the chain and eliminate portability eligibility. Applicants who are considering leaving their sponsoring employer should carefully evaluate how long their I-485 has been pending before making that decision. Consulting with an immigration attorney before departing is strongly recommended, especially if the 180-day milestone has not yet been reached, to assess the risks of potential I-140 withdrawal by the employer.