Thread by @rohitmarawar

Pathway to Green Card via J-1 Waiver Job

#medtwittter #neurotwitter #IMG

These are the steps in chronological order 👇🏼

Disclaimer: I am not an immigration lawyer. The information below is based on my experience and personal research. Do your own research

1. Visa for employment in a J1-waiver job : H1b

Sponsored by employer

3-year commitment to working in a “healthcare underserved area”

Pro tip: the physician contract should state that the employer will sponsor a green card and start the process during the 3-year employment

2. First step towards GC: I-140

6 mon into the J-1 waiver job, request the employer to start the I-140 process.

Takes 6 mon - 1 year to get approval. You will have to decide at this stage whether to apply for EB-2 ( most common) or EB-1 (rare and subject to many requirements).

An approved I-140 allows renewal of H1b indefinitely.

Otherwise, the total validity of H1b is 6 years.

The date of approval is the all-important “priority date”.

Pro tip: only do this if you like your job and are sure you will be finishing your 3 years of employment

3a. Complete the 3 years of J1 waiver job.

For citizens of the vast majority of countries, the priority date has become “current” by then.

You can now proceed to the next step which is I-485 application. This will take another 6 months to a year.

Pro tip: stay in your J1 waiver job until EAD is approved. If you change jobs before, you will have to restart the I-140 process again through the new employer.

3b. If you are from India or China, the priority date will not become current for many years after your finish the J1-waiver job.

You will have to decide to continue with the current job or change jobs and restart I-140.

Pro tip: Even if you change jobs and have to restart I-140, the initial priority date is valid. Thus, there is no priority date penalty for changing jobs.

3c. You can apply for a National Interest Waiver (NIW) I-140 at any time instead of the regular I-140. This provides portability of I-140

It means that you can carry your I-140 with you if you change jobs and don’t have to start a new I-140 process if you change jobs.

Pro tip: highly recommended if you feel you are going to stay in an underserved area job even if you change jobs.

4a. Employment authorization document:(GC-EAD) I-765 Application: A card that allows you to continue working independently of H1b and before GC is approved. It takes weeks while GC takes months.

Pro tip: Apply for spouse/partner’s EAD so that can work before GC is approved.

4b. Advanced Parole (AP) I-131: A card that allows you to enter US if you need to travel outside during the pending change of status from H1b to GC.

Pro tip: If you leave and reenter US on AP, the H1b is considered invalid and you are now working on EAD. If the GC application gets denied, you will have no status and will have to leave US.

5. Green Card: It has taken a while to get here.

So enjoy the flexibility and the freedom.

You have earned it!

Summary:

1. J-1 waiver job on H1b
2. I-140
3. Complete 3 years of J1-waiver job
4. I-485 / EAD and AP
6. GC

That's a wrap!

If you found this thread useful:

1. Follow me @rohitmarawar for more content related to being a physician
2. RT the tweet below to share this thread

https://twitter.com/17477293/status/1519873914930880512

@StoriesImg @IMG_Advocate @ImgJourney @awsumpowers