Candidate for Green Card?

A

amd2069

New Member
Hi All,

I'm a little confused as to some of the advice I have received from a couple of immigration lawyers recently.

I am a UK citizen who has been working as a Post-doc and Research Associate at major US University since 1996 after receiving a PhD outside the US in 1995. My research field is in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering in the area of sustainable chemicals/fuels. I have 40+ publications (300+ citations), a patent and numerous presentations at various conferences/meetings. No media coverage with my name on it. I have been working for 13 years on J-1, H-1B and now O-1 visas.

My employer would not support my application for a green card, but has recently agreed to do so. However, I have visited two immigration attorneys who have both stated that I have a weak case. One initially suggested NIW as my best route (a year or so ago when I had no employer support), but said I had much less than a 50/50 chance. The second attorney a week ago stated that NIW was no longer an option since everyone now tried that route and the INS has made the criteria so stringent that it is almost impossible to be accepted without a "Nobel Prize in the science of making America rich." He suggested an EB-2 route, but when put to my employer they were reluctant to accept the financial cost of labor certification.

Any suggestions, or should I just buy some thick sweaters and return to the UK?
 
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Hi there, you should try both routes - that is EB1-EA as well as EB2-NIW. Though it is true that NIW cases have become tougher and tougher these days due to competition, you should sail through easily. You can show evidence for two of the 9 criteria - that is, authorship of original articles and impact on the field. The former based on your papers and the latter based on the citations, which is quite high I suppose, for anybody that applies to INS in these categories. A vast majority of folks in this forum have ~100 citations (give or take a few). At this point, it all depends on how you write your petition. Since you are from a non-retrogressed country, you should have a easier time.

If I were you, I would go all out for EB1 as well as EB2. Alternatively, if money is the only concern, talk to your company if they'd be willing to sponsor if you took care of the expenses.

Cheers.
 
My employer is quite keen for me to apply for a green card, especially since I am now in the annual renewal period for my O-1 visa. That incurs travel restrictions while applying for an O-1 extension, due to I-94 issues, which obviously places restrictions on my ability to do the job for several months of the year.

I do not wish to spend thousands on an apparently futile case in the off chance that it may slip through. But the alternative is probably no job in a couple of years!
 
AMD, I'm absolutely convinced that you have greater chances for clearing EB1-EA if you were to file it yourself. Folks having O1 visa should have an easier time - you would have already gone through this process, I suppose.

If it helps to know, in my experience, I have not seen anyone with more than a couple hundred citations getting an RFE from the USCIS let alone getting rejected.

I say, go for it.

Good luck!
 
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