1 yr left for H visa !! options for medical residency

G

glgirl

New Member
By the time I start my residency in Psychiatry, I would have used 5 yrs on H4 (did not go out of US at all). My husband has filed for GC in Nov 2004 in RIR EB3 category.

So, as per the knowledge I have, there are 2 options.

1) Go for H1 for 1 yr then either wait for EAD or go back for 1 yr to reset the H clock for 6 yrs. But then it be very difficult to find the PGY2 position...i have to go thr the same process again

2) Go for J1 visa.. get a J1 waiver..but the issue here is I will need H1 for the waiver job ( I will have only 1 yr left for H visa). I do not know what are the options in this case. After doing residency on J1 for 4 yrs, will I get 6 yrs on H1 visa or still I have to back to my country to reset the H visa clock.
 
Tough one. But I think you understand your options already pretty well.

Do you have any idea when your husbands labor certification will go through ? It is unfortunately very unpredictable, at times the 'common wisdoms' don't apply in the face for backlog reduction efforts.

> Go for H1 for 1 yr then either wait for EAD

Best option. Once the LC goes through, you and your husband can file for I140/I485 immediately (unless you are from retrogression land). Even if your EAD doesn't come through in time to continue your residency, you might be able to stay in the US and to take a 3-4 month leave of absence (similar to someone with a complicated pregnancy). Once you have proved your value in a residency program, program directors are usually very accomodating to this kind of request. You are more valuable as a senior resident than as an intern. Also, if you don't graduate from the residency it hurts their 'statistics' with residency review committee.

> or go back for 1 yr to reset the H clock for 6 yrs.

You could even go to canada for a year, e.g. doing research in a lab or getting an MPH. In order to re-set the H1 clock, you don't have to go to your country of origin (different from the J1)

> But then it be very difficult to find the PGY2 position...i have to go thr
> the same process again

You are more valuable as a P-2 resident to the programs. Either your old program could take you back, or another program will be happy to take you. Worst case, they will make you do a couple of months over.

> 2) Go for J1 visa.. get a J1 waiver..

Just scratch that option from your brain alltogether. You would be miserable. Three days after you sign on that fateful dotted line on the bottom of the DS2019, your husbands labor cert will go through (this is a promise).

> but the issue here is I will need H1 for the waiver job

Exactly. In a stroke of genious, the dimwits at USCIS (or back then INS) penciled the requirement into the law that the waiver has to be done 'in h1b status'. This reduces peoples ability to change jobs or to open their own practice while on a waiver job. But unfortunately, this is the situation we have to deal with. I think you would not be able to do a waiver on H1b due to this situation (unless you get a labor cert/I140 cooking so you can obtain 7th year extensions).


So, in summary I think you are best off by starting on H1b and see what happens. Chances are, you will be able to get directly from the H1b to a green-card. (consider enrolling in college for the time until your residency starts. You could switch to F1 and conserve some H-time).
 
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Right on the money Hadron

Just what hadron said. I totally agree that when you set your foot in and show that you are good and hard working they will be very accomodating. PGY2 positions aren't that rare and people to fill them are. Programs get 2 to 3 applications for those at most, so they will take any above average candidate. I will add O visa to your list of possibilities (after scratching the J). Just try to publish something in the time left and try to get the O; it will give you the work permit while waiting for the EAD.
One word of caution; when going to interviews don't mention this complicated situation to the program. Just tell them you need H sponsorship. That would not be a lie. Who knows by then laws might change.
 
Logic

You should avoid J1 like you would avoid the plague!
Anyhow applying logic to your situation, think of it this way..........if you took H1b to start off with, you live to fight another day, all sorts of options remain on the table. Including the option of converting to J1 in the 2nd year if that is all you are capable of doing. If you take J1 to start no hope down that road. So it seems to me your choices are to delay starting by spending a year out of the US or to start on H1b and just see what happens. O1 previously suggested is a good idea if you can get it.
 
Requirement for Q1

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Your advise will help me make decision easier.

I have one more query : What is the requirement for Q1 visa? Will appreciate if you guys can help with this.
 
> What is the requirement for Q1 visa? Will appreciate if you guys can help with this.

Check on visalaw or attorney shustermans website. You have to proove 3 out of 10 criteria such as publications, membership in 'invitation only' scientific associations, influence on the field etc.

In the past, physicians had a good shot to get an O1 if they had 2-3 papers and where are member of the american psychiatric association. Nowadays it has become really difficult and I wouldn't bank on it.

Are you or your husband from india or china ?
 
> Yes, we both are from India. What about that?

That is unfortunately bad news in one way (I assume you are both BORN in india as well, if one of you was born in a place like kenya or south africa, you both wouldn't fall into the india category anymore)

Earlier this year, USCIS ran out of immigrant visa numbers for india and china. As a result, employment based immigrants from these countries have to wait for several years after their I140 has been approved until they can file I485 (which is a pre-requisite for EAD). For your husband, this won't be a problem because he can extend his H1b based on the pending immigration case. You unfortunately, won't be able to take advantage of the '7th year extension' of the H1b. You are dependent on your both I485s getting filed in order to get an EAD.

At this time, there are widely disparate predictions as to how long retrogression will last. Predictions go from the 'next 3 months and it will all be over' to 'it will take decades'.

Still, I wouldn't limit my choices based on todays situation (by taking a J1). There are some efforts to allow immigrants with approved I140 but retrogressed I485s to obtain employment authorization if they already work for the sponsoring employer. In the current anti-immigrant climate, I am not sure how good the chances are of this getting passed. If one influential senator makes this his pet project and attaches it to some defense bill, there might be a chance of it happening.
 
Similar problem

I am in a very similar situation as glgirl. Thanx for all the above responses. I have one additional query. Do the programs care that a candidate has only 1 year left on their H1 and also is it advisable to approach a program for a pre match in this situation.
 
ds2005 said:
I am in a very similar situation as glgirl. Thanx for all the above responses. I have one additional query. Do the programs care that a candidate has only 1 year left on their H1 and also is it advisable to approach a program for a pre match in this situation.
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As I mentioned in my first post I think it is better just to leave it at the fact that you need H1. If you hire your own lawyer even better. You get in and then sort the rest out. If program director smells that the applicant might loose visa after one year they will go with someone else. Pre-match is always safer than match, you have to weigh the pros and cons of your choices yourself.
 
ds2005

Would you like to get in touch ?

Hadron and others : Thank you very much. Your suggestions will help us make informed decision.
 
As I mentioned in my first post I think it is better just to leave it at the fact that you need H1. If you hire your own lawyer even better. You get in and then sort the rest out. If program director smells that the applicant might loose visa after one year they will go with someone else. Pre-match is always safer than match, you have to weigh the pros and cons of your choices yourself.
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Amen !

Thank you very much. Your suggestions will help us make informed decision.
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And again here my disclaimer: I am not an attorney. I know more about immigration law than I ever cared for, but ALL of this knowledge is based on
- my own experience,
- digging through ungodly numbers of USCIS decisions,
- the experience of friends and family whom I assisted,
- and finally tidbits gathered on immigrationportal.com.
None of this should replace the advice of a professional, which in this case is not a fellow physician like me, but a reputable immigration attorney.
 
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