Tag Archives: student

Self-petitioning while on F1 visa

Question:

I am a PhD candidate and will graduate sometime in Summer. I am planning to apply for NIW (self-petition) and I am wondering about the risks. In case my I-140 application is rejected can I renew my F-1 visa? can I apply for OPT? or should I wait till I graduate and then file I-140? Thanks.

Answer:

Applying for I-140 implies an intent to immigrate. Therefore you have the risk of not being able to renew your I-20/F1. You can apply while on OPT. But again you cannot extent your OPT or F1 if needed.

Please see http://www.greencardpostdoc.info/tag/f1/

Applying for greencard while on OPT

Question:

Hi Team,

I have a question. I think I read a similar question from someone else also. But I had a difference in my degree and certain other things.

I completed my PhD and I am on OPT. I want to know if I can apply for green card while on OPT, or should I go for H1 and then for OPT. Just to let you know my F1 (student visa) already expired. PLs let me know.

Thanks a lot.

Answer:

Just a clarification. OPT is part of F1 status. Your F1 visa stamp may have expired but your F1 status is active since your I-20 would still be current.

Coming back to your main question, you can apply for green card while on F1 but it may not be possible to renew your F1 status (i.e. extend your OPT if needed). This is because F1 is granted on the basis that there is no intent to immigrate. So if you do not need F1/OPT renewal you can choose to apply while on F1.

Hope this answers your question.

Best of luck

Can a master student apply for a Green Card

Question:

I am  a graduate student in electrical engineering. I was going
over the blog related to green card and it was pretty much confusing
since i have 0 knowledge in this field. I have a gun shot question:

I have 2 IEEE international conference papers and 1 ordinary journal
paper and i have filed a U.S. Patent based on my master’s thesis. Now,

1) Can a master’s student apply for a green card on his own?
2) If so, what are the forms or other materials required to be filled
up in order to get an EAD (Work authorization) before getting green
card ?
3) How much time does it take to fill up every form and how much time
does it take to get an EAD approved?

I would really appreciate if you can please be kind enough to reply my
questions.

Answer:

1)

We assume you are on an F1 visa. Yes, anyone with credentials satisfying uscis criteria can self-petition in EB1A or EB2-niw. Some people have applied while on on an F1 it in the past.  But there are risks involved.
Filing I-140 (permanent residency petition) implies an intent to immigrate, you will not be able to renew your F1 visa. This is a problem if green card petition is rejected (either i-140 or i-485) or significantly delayed and in the meantime you still want to continue on an F1. So you should only apply if you are sure of i-140 approval and if you are sure that you do not need a F1 renewal before your 485 is approved.
2)

If you are concurrently filing i-140, and 485, you can also apply for i-131 (ead) at the same time. All the documents needed with these forms should be filed. I-140 is the green card petition and can be a involved process (collecting evidence, recommendation letters etc) and can take few weeks of focussed effort.
3)

3 mo according to uscis. But can be typically less.
Best of luck

Can I apply for GC as a student

Question:
I was just curious to know if I can apply for GC via selfpetition or do I have to go through the process of applying H1B Visa after completion.
I am a student in Univeristy of xxxx, doing my Ph.D in Biotech working on plant virus.
Would appreciate your response
Answer:
It is possible to apply for a green card while on an F1 visa. However, since filing I-140 implies an intent to immigrate, you will not be able to renew your F1 visa. This is a problem if green card petition is rejected (either i-140 or i-485) or significantly delayed and in the meantime you still want to continue on an F1. So you should only apply 1) if you are sure of  i-140 approval and 2) if you are sure that you do not need a F1 renewal before your 485 is approved. These issues do not exist if you are on a H1B visa.

Best of luck

Student with F1 visa and Green card

Question:
Dear Sir,
I am a PhD student on F1 visa. I am finishing my PhD in august,2009. I have some questions regarding green card application:
1) do i have to get a post-doc appointment before I can apply for a green card? and I do have to be on a H1-B visa?
2) can you give me an estimate of how much it will cost for me and my spouse(my spouse is on F2) to apply for green card?
3) I will have 2-3 publications from my PhD – does it help for me to apply under EB1 category?
I will be looking forward to your reply,
thanks
Answer:
  1. Not necessarily. You do not need to be a post-doc. Some people do file for i-140 while on an F1. We do not have experience with F1 cases to advise you on all the issues involved. Most post-docs have a H1 while they apply for GC.
  2. You can find the current fee schedule from the USCIS site. You will need to apply for i-140 (involves application fee), i485 (application fee, biometric fee, & medical examination fee) and if you need, an EAD (for employment purpose) and advanced parole (for travel). Except for the i-140 applicaiton you might want to file for all other applications twice (for your wife). You can calculate the application filng cost using the USCIS schedule.
  3. We have had people with 3 journal publications and 4 conference publication suceed in EB2-NIW. However, you will need to build a strong case. I-140 application is based on several other factors in addition to publications. For example, prizes/recognition, acting as a judge of others in the filed etc will build a strong case. You can see USCIS website (or else where on our website) for criteria for EB1A and EB2 NIW. In general EB1A is hard with just 3-4 publications unless they are top-notch in your field with lots of referrals and they represent some thing of great importance. You are the best judge to see if this is possible.