Tag Archives: EB1A

Postdoctoral researcher trying to decide EB2-NIW or EB1A.

Question:

 

 I am a post-doctoral research associate at University of Washington, Seattle. I have a few questions regarding the green card applications.
 
1) Do I qualify for a EB1-A application. I am attaching my resume in this email. If I qualify, how long would it take.
 
2) If I apply under NIW, how long would it take to get I140 and how long would it take to get I485 approved in my case (an Indian citizen)
 
3) I am currently in academics. Can I find a job in industry after I-140 approval?  Would it jeopardize my I-485 approval chances. Also, when companies ask for permanent resident, would I qualify for that if I had only I-140 approved.
 
Thanks.
Regards
 
Answer:
 
1. EB1A is generally harder than NIW. From the limited information you provided it is hard to tell but there is a possibility of EB1A. If you look at some example approved cases and petitions, it may help you plan, structure and prepare your petition. Some of the deciding factors are a) how important are your contributions (do you have enough citations? do reviewers highly regard  your work? how many people in university/industry use your work etc). From our experience significant number of PhDs (although not all) can do EB1As.
 
140 petitions take less than 3 months and  I-485 approvals take around the same time.
 

2. For NIW you need to find a connection between your work and national interest (which is not that hard). 

 
I-140 petitions take less than 3 months and  I-485 approvals take around the same time. But priority dates are not current for Indian nationals. Applications with priority dates of 15/11/04 can apply.
 
3a.  Yes
 
3b.   Usually no. As long you are working in the same field (you can choose a broad enough discipline which covers both your current and industry work).
 
No. You would need an approved I-485 to get a permanent resident status. Some companies accept EAD when I-485 has been applied and pending. This is still not the same as permanent resident.
 
Best wishes
 
 
 

Applied for EB1A. Should I apply for J1 or H1B?

Question:

A quick question regarding my present situation. I did apply for EB1A (green card) about 3.5 months ago which is currently under review. Now I’ve been working as a Post Doc and my extended OPT is ending on 14th January. So, I wanted to apply for J1 in the mean time but our university international center is advising us that if I submit it now, then J1 would be denied because that’s a non-immigration visa. But my understanding is that J1 takes about suppose 2 months to process and by then I probably will get the green card application outcome. So if green card is approved everything would be fine, and if not, then I’ll still have the J1 pending. That way I would decrease the work authorization time lag.

Please let me know your opinion. My boss agrees with the international center and is saying that we should wait until green card result is given.

But to me, that’s uncertain and we should proceed with J1, especially when I know I can’t work beyond 14th January. So my question is whether or not there is any risk of submitting paperwork for J1 while my EB1A is pending. Please advise.

Thanks for your time!

 

Answer:

By applying for a green card, you have expressed an intent to immigrate. This would be in the records of USCIS. When you apply for J1, they may notice  this and deny the J1. The denial can occur irrespective of green card outcome, because your intent conflicts with J1 visa holder intent. So J1 is not a good option.

 
We suggest you should ask your university to sponsor you a H1b visa.
 
Best of luck
 

Do I need to have reached the highest position in my career to be eligible to apply in EB1A category?

Question:

I am currently getting ready for an NIW application because my attorney said that I won’t be able to apply for EB-1A as a postdoc. For EB1A, they told me that they need to substantiate that I reached the highest profession in my career. Is this 100% true? In your site, I did not see anything like that. Otherwise I have 5 first author publications, about 25 citations and 3 review invitations. Will this qualify me for EB1A? If I qualify, I want to do it by myself in EB1A.

Answer:

It is not necessary that you substantiate that you reached highest position in your career for EB1A application. You can read the USCIS requirements for this category. The credentials you mentioned are certainly good. However you will also need to convince the petition examiner that your achievements are exceptional. You can do this by explaining how important your work and results are to the field of research and also supporting these claims with very good recommendations.

It is possible to make a successful petition with good effort.

Applying under EB1A category while H1B visa expires

Question:

I am planning to apply for my green card in EB1 category as I have my PhD from USA and a record of several publications. My current employment will end by this month and I do not have the next job. So if I apply for my green card before this job ends DO I qualify to stay in USA without a job? My H1B visa is valid until February of 2012. My lawyer told me that if we apply for green card before then that gives me the right to stay in USA and on parole I should even be able to travel. Any insight from you will be very helpful.

Answer:

EB1A (extraordinary ability) is a self-petition category and it is not tied to any employer or sponsorship. If the priority dates, when you apply are current, you will be able to simultaneously apply for I-485 along with the I-140 green card petition. Pending I-485 is a legal status in the US and you will be eligible to apply for EAD and advanced parole (AP) also. With EAD you will be able to work without any visa and with AP you will able to travel abroad. When I-485 is pending, you can stay in this country even without any job.

Please see the free e-book at the following website for detailed explanation of self-petition process.

Best of luck

Eligibility for EB1A and EB2 NIW and processing duration of the application

Question:

I am Hungarian, got my PhD last year. I am currently post-doc with J-1 visa. Our Professor just told me, I got 3 more months and no more, after, I have to leave. I have to find another job, which is very difficult … you know well, or I have to find any other way to stay here legally. I decided to go for a green card, I think this is the key of my future, but we don’t have 10000 dollars for the lawyer fee…. I have the following qualifications,

PhD in chemistry and additional BSc degree in computer engineering

I have 5 papers, 1 additional submitted

17 conferences abstract with posters or oral presentations

1 New York Times article with my group (my name is not in it, but they can confirm that it is my project)

1 Nat Geo video (Finally they cut the video and I am not visible, but they can confirm that it is my project – same as in NY Times))

1 European poster prize and 1-2 additional prizes in Hungary

Do you think, I can qualify to any category? Which one?

Do I have any chance?

How much time does it take to get any answer from the immigration? From when, I can be here legally, if my visa expires?

Answer:

As you are probably aware EB1A and EB2 NIW are two self-petition categories which do not require employer sponsorship. From our experience, a lot depends on how the entire situation is narrated coherently in the petition. Depending on your research area and how important it is (it seems pretty important from your email) and if it is of national interest/your work is exceptional, one of the two categories could be more appropriate. Your resume looks strong and you stand a good chance. However you still need to present a coherent and compelling narration of your contributions in the petition. As far as the NY article and Nat geo show, you can ask your recommendations to mention about these in the reference letters. You can also present these articles and videos as evidence where you had a significant contribution.

If you do concurrent filing of i-140 and i-485, you will be eligible to stay in the US (you are legal even before any approvals). Your legal status would remain “pending 485” as long as i-140 is under review or approved. In this status you can also apply for an EAD (which allows you to work) and an advanced parole (allows you to travel abroad, if  needed).

You can find the current processing times for i-140 and 485 on the USCIS websites. 485 approval times depends on green card visa number availability for your country which is usually listed in monthly “visa bulletin”.

Our website has example petitions which may be helpful to you.

Concurrent EB1 and EB2

Question:

I recently graduated with a PhD and am currently working for a semiconductor company.

I am in the process of starting my green card application and am debating between applying through EB2 (D) – advanced degree and EB2 (I) – National Interest Waiver categories.

I was wondering if I can proceed through both of the above simultaneously. For example, can I initiate the process through EB2 (D), and after six months or so can I also apply through EB2 (I).

Thanks.

Answer:

USCIS does not restrict the number of I-140 applications to one. One could apply under any number of categories at the same time and if rejected, reapply under that category.

You can find more information in the free ebook on this website.