Another interesting citation re: O-1 visas

[angio]

From the same lawfirm:

Although the O-1 visa is not itself a waiver, it is compatible with a waiver which, in some instances, may be obtained for the same job or a different job while the candidate is in O-1 status. The O-1 can also be used as a vehicle to work within the U.S. while the two-year home requirement is satisfied incrementally over a number of years.

Particularly interested in this last remark.

Hadron, others, any experience with this? What exactly do they mean?

Thanks!

 

[m_img]

From the same lawfirm:

while the two-year home requirement is satisfied incrementally over a number of years.
Particularly interested in this last remark.
Thanks!

What he means that you can spend time in your home country over a number of years and accumulate 2 years, e.g. you spend 4 months each year in your HRR country while on O1, you can accumulate 24 months (2 years) in 6 years. And you would have satisfied the J1 2 yr HRR requirement.

 

[angio]

Interesting...
I assume that, if for some reason you loose your O-1 status or you take on a waiver job or you even decide to go back to your home country, whatever time you deducted off your 2YHRR while on O-1 doesn't count, correct?

Another question, can you count vacation time towards the 2YHRR?
I mean, ovr a 5 yr residency, you may accumulate as much as 15-20 weeks, that's almost half-a-year's worth.

Thanks!

 

[m_img]

Interesting...
I assume that, if for some reason you loose your O-1 status or you take on a waiver job or you even decide to go back to your home country, whatever time you deducted off your 2YHRR while on O-1 doesn't count, correct?

If you go back to your home country, any time spent in your home country while on O1, will count. re: waiver job, I think you have to spend 3 years on H1B. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong here.

Another question, can you count vacation time towards the 2YHRR?
I mean, ovr a 5 yr residency, you may accumulate as much as 15-20 weeks, that's almost half-a-year's worth.

No. The time starts when you surrender J1 and leave. During residency you stay on J1 until you finish residency.

 

[hadron]

The only people I have seen happy with the O1 deal where hard-core researchers. They would take 2 months off every summer and go home to write their papers. Then they would count time spent at conferences at home and plenty of vacation. Reasonably, you can 'travel out' your HRR in 4-5 years with this approach.

Most other people on O-1 just wait for the day they can find a waiver job. And this can be a miserable situation. I have seen people who got jerked around by their VA administrators with the promise of a waiver if they behaved well. Anytime they asked to be changed to an H1b with waiver, there was another excuse as to why this couldn't be done (that way, the VA could milk more cheap labor out of them).

One good thing about getting an O-1 is that you can pursue an EB-1 EA petition at the same time. While the precedent of an approved O1 doesn't mean that the service will give you an EA, it is the same kind of paperwork you have to submit (actually the same criteria). And I140s don't expire once they are approved. So you can get your I140 approved and go to the consulate for an immigrant visa the day you have documentation for your 2 years in hand.

If you lets say stay in the US on a O1 for 2 years and you accumulate 6 months of home time. If you now decide to stay at home for a longer time, all you need is to finish of the remaining 18 months. The time you have to serve in a waiver position however doesn't get discounted for your 'home time', it is still 3 years.

To my knowledge, the 2 years start tolling after the last day you are 'in J1 status' (typically 6/30 of the year you finish residency).