USCIS New Memorandum - J1 To H1B Visa

[FFA]

Please help in the following situation?
My wife who is physician on J1 Visa. Last date of her J1 Visa is June 30,2004.USCIS has made a final recommendation for her J1 waiver approval on March 15th, 2004 and notify us to contact your local Immigration office to obtain H1B Visa. But we are unable to apply for H1B Visa because she does not has state medical license which she will get after June 30th, 2004 (Means after completion of her residency) But if we apply for H1B visa without state medical license then may be they will denied the application because according to USCIS New Memorandum on May 4, 2004 which states follows

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>>>>>>Evidence of Clear Ineligibility Will Result in a Denial <<<<<<<<
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The USCIS issued a Memorandum on May 4, 2004, reminding USCIS Regional Directors, Service Center Directors, District Directors, and Officers-in-Charge that immigration regulations do not require a Request for Evidence (RFE) in every instance before issuing a denial. The Memo further describes situations in which the USCIS does not believe an RFE will be required. Although the intent of the Memo may be to expedite processing of cases, we have some concern that this may result in more denials, without affording the employer or applicant an opportunity to respond to an RFE.

Immigration regulations provide that a case may be denied when there is clear evidence of ineligibility. These situations include applicants under age eighteen who file for naturalization, persons who file I-130s but do not have qualifying relatives, and petitioning companies seeking to file L-1 petitions that have no relationship to any foreign company abroad. Further examples included in the Memo were H1B petitions filed on behalf of someone who does not have the required degree or equivalency, E-1 or E-2 petitions for persons who are not nationals of qualifying treaty countries, or employers seeking to file H2B petitions for persons who have already been in the U.S. in H2B status for three years or longer.
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[JDOC]

J1 waiver

Not sure whether they will not issue based on this.
You cna try getting a letter from State dept, that she has qual for license, can issue only after june 30 for technical reasons.
Your wife has 30 grace days on J1, if she gets license in 2 to 3 weeks she is fine you can apply for H1B premium processing.
I am in the same boat, how long did USCIS take for J1 waiver approval. I don't know which process your wife used for j1 waiver.

 

[FFA]

J1 Visa holder - 30 Day grace period and H1B Visa application?

J1 Visa holder - 30 Day grace period and H1B Visa application?

USCIS took 3-4 weeks for final J1 waiver approval. Can we apply for H1B Visa (Change of status) during 30 day J1 visa grace period?. Because I had read in some website that this 30 day grace period is only for preparation for return to home country.
J1 Victim if you know any thing about this 30-Day grace please reply.

 

[J1victim]

J1 Visa holder - 30 Day grace period and H1B Visa application?

USCIS took 3-4 weeks for final J1 waiver approval. Can we apply for H1B Visa (Change of status) during 30 day J1 visa grace period?. Because I had read in some website that this 30 day grace period is only for preparation for return to home country.
J1 Victim if you know any thing about this 30-Day grace please reply.

quote JDOC also * ........ Your wife has 30 grace days on J1, if she gets license in 2 to 3 weeks she is fine you can apply for H1B premium processing.
I am in the same boat, how long did USCIS take for J1 waiver approval. I don't know which process your wife used for j1 waiver.* unquote

reply -------

JDOC is wrong. FFA is right. 30 day grace period is for making preparations for returning to home country.


1. You must apply for H1 BEFORE expiry of her IAP-66 date (june 30). even if it means that you may get an RFE from USCIS because they need state medical license.
If the state medical license board can give you a letter that *she is otherwise eligible but for clause of 3 years* or even mention that her license is pending; then it should help.

2. for another of your questions: I believe there are people whose J1 waiver was approved 4-5 months before end of residency, but they were not able to join the waiver job within 90 days as they had to wait for their residency completion. (same situation as your wife).

3. Did you apply for extension of her IAP-66 based on board exams as I had suggested in my earlier post?

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ofcourse my personal opinion only.

 

[ndkhadka]

need help regarding h1 b cap issues.

 

[ndkhadka]

need help

hi all,
i am currently completing my residency on j1 visa.i got a waiver job.my uscis j1 waiver was approved on may 19th 2004.i got the initial waiver through ARC.
the waiver approval notice said that i have to start my job within 90 days of their approval notice.my question is if i am under the h1 b cap or not and if i am under the cap how will i get teh h1 b visa and how can i start working before the 90 days are over as per my approval notice.any advice in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

 

[FFA]

J-1 Waiver Timeline Information

Hi,

J1Victim we are unable to file extension of J1 Visa through EXFMG because they required Form I-644 which stated that she need to go back to home country for two year's before she qualify for an immigration visa in USA?

I found following information from Virginia web site. (See line # 9 and 10 (J1victim))
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/primcare/center/j1/timeline.asp

J-1 Waiver Timeline Information

J-1 Waiver Process

1. Candidate should obtain a three year contract with a site in a MHPSA;

2. Candidate should obtain from the immigration lawyer of your choice the list of documentation needed from the physician and the site to complete a J-1 waiver application. You can also contact Karen Reed at VDH for the J-1 Waiver Guidelines.

3. Candidate and site compile the list of required documents and forward them to an immigration lawyer of choice. The lawyer will prepare the J-1 Waiver Application and then send it to the site and the physician for signatures.

4. Once those documents are received back, the entire application is filed with VDH. If the package complies with all of the waiver requirements, VDH prepares a waiver recommendation letter and sends it to the Department of State in D.C. (2-4 weeks time).

5. The Department of State is currently averaging only 3-4 weeks to process the waiver application; however, at times (including the October anthrax scare at DOS), processing time has taken as long as 3-4 months.

6. While waiting for the DOS to adjudicate the waiver, the lawyer prepares the H1B Visa paperwork for the site's signature (the physician does not sign these forms).

7. Once the DOS approves the waiver, they will fax or e-mail the recommendation letter to the lawyer and cc VDH. Once the lawyer receives the State Department recommendation letter, he or she attaches it to the H1B documents and submits the whole package to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

8. INS is currently averaging 6-8 weeks to process H-1B visas. However, this processing time does fluctuate.

9. If the physician does not want to leave the country during this processing time, the H1B document MUST be submitted to INS while the physician is still in valid J-1 status, which means, through June 30 (the end of residency) plus a 30 day grace period, July 30.

10. If a site or a physician feel that they cannot have the H-1B visa petition filed with INS by July 30, then the physician may wish to extend his or her J-1 status by registering for board exams. The IAP-66 will be extended through the end of the month of the next scheduled board exam. The physician will need to submit proof of registration for such exam. This extension application should be filed before the waiver is submitted to VDH.

11. If a physician is not able to extend for board exams and cannot submit H-1B visa application prior to expiration of status, then they will have to go out of the country to pick up the H-1B visa before starting to work.

12. Finally, VDH will not accept a waiver application if a physician has been out of status more than 180 days, regardless of the physician's willingness to go out of the country to pick up the H-1B visa.

 

[J1victim]

h1 job within 90 days ....

hi all,
i am currently completing my residency on j1 visa.i got a waiver job.my uscis j1 waiver was approved on may 19th 2004.i got the initial waiver through ARC.
the waiver approval notice said that i have to start my job within 90 days of their approval notice.my question is if i am under the h1 b cap or not and if i am under the cap how will i get teh h1 b visa and how can i start working before the 90 days are over as per my approval notice.any advice in this matter will be greatly appreciated.

probably J1 waiver jobs are NOT under the cap. (although not clearly written, as per shusterman and perserson/freedman website).

i believe there are people who were delayed beyond 90 days after approval of waiver. so i guess it should not be a problem.

-------------------------------------------------
disclaimer: my personal opinion only.

 

[J1victim]

Hi,

J1Victim we are unable to file extension of J1 Visa through EXFMG because they required Form I-644 which stated that she need to go back to home country for two year's before she qualify for an immigration visa in USA?

-------------------- country to pick up the H-1B visa.

sorry, would you clarify what you want to know?

 

[migi133]

I am the member of same boat now. my J1 is expiring on August 31. Will need help, what you did to getout of this situation. please reply....

MIGI

Please help in the following situation?
My wife who is physician on J1 Visa. Last date of her J1 Visa is June 30,2004.USCIS has made a final recommendation for her J1 waiver approval on March 15th, 2004 and notify us to contact your local Immigration office to obtain H1B Visa. But we are unable to apply for H1B Visa because she does not has state medical license which she will get after June 30th, 2004 (Means after completion of her residency) But if we apply for H1B visa without state medical license then may be they will denied the application because according to USCIS New Memorandum on May 4, 2004 which states follows

**********************************************************
>>>>>>Evidence of Clear Ineligibility Will Result in a Denial <<<<<<<<
**********************************************************
The USCIS issued a Memorandum on May 4, 2004, reminding USCIS Regional Directors, Service Center Directors, District Directors, and Officers-in-Charge that immigration regulations do not require a Request for Evidence (RFE) in every instance before issuing a denial. The Memo further describes situations in which the USCIS does not believe an RFE will be required. Although the intent of the Memo may be to expedite processing of cases, we have some concern that this may result in more denials, without affording the employer or applicant an opportunity to respond to an RFE.

Immigration regulations provide that a case may be denied when there is clear evidence of ineligibility. These situations include applicants under age eighteen who file for naturalization, persons who file I-130s but do not have qualifying relatives, and petitioning companies seeking to file L-1 petitions that have no relationship to any foreign company abroad. Further examples included in the Memo were H1B petitions filed on behalf of someone who does not have the required degree or equivalency, E-1 or E-2 petitions for persons who are not nationals of qualifying treaty countries, or employers seeking to file H2B petitions for persons who have already been in the U.S. in H2B status for three years or longer.
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