If you lose your job during J1 waiver.. what happens

[cal06]

Hello,

If a facility closes where you're doing your waiver. There might be sometime until you find a new position. What happens to the status of the doctor and family?

Is it recommended that you leave the country and return when you find a new job? If that's the case, do you have to start whole waiver process again or just transfer of H1B? If H1B was surrendered on the border then there is no transfer?

Do you get credit for the time spent on the waiver or clock starts again for fresh 3 years?

Any recommendations in this situation.

Thanks,

 

[hadron]

> If a facility closes where you're doing your waiver. There might
> be sometime until you find a new position. What happens to the
> status of the doctor and family?

This is a problem. The moment your employment ends, your H1b status ends. I believe there is a 2 wk grace period or something ridiculous like that. Facilities rarely close on short notice (except in cases of medicare fraud), usually the physicians involved know a couple of months before that things are going poorly, if that is the case it is worthwhile to talk to other employers in the area. If you are an established and well liked physician in a community, you might be able to find a practice willing to open a satellite at your prior practice location, in that case the paperwork to transfer everything is not much of a problem (the health department will be happy because the intent of the conrad30 program is fullfilled if you remain in a community).

> Is it recommended that you leave the country and return when you
> find a new job?

If you have some cash stashed away and you haven't applied for a GC, you could enroll in college (e.g. for an MPH) and file a change of status to F1/F2.

> If that's the case, do you have to start whole waiver process again or
> just transfer of H1B?

- You have to find a new HPSA employer.
- Get a new letter of public interest from the respective state
I am not sure how many of the other steps you have to repeat, I don't think DOS gets involved again. It remains the same waiver, the conditions get modified.

> Do you get credit for the time spent on the waiver or clock starts again
> for fresh 3 years?

You get credit. I know people who this happened to. The hospital system he worked for as an intensivist went belly up on short notice, he moved 3 states over but received credit for the time served.

 

[cal06]

Thanks so much Hadron.

You're correct, you would know ahead of time that facility has some difficulties. And you can plan accordingly.

But if you cannnot find a sponsor during that time....

>If you have some cash stashed away and you haven't applied for a GC, you >could enroll in college (e.g. for an MPH) and file a change of status to F1/F2.

Then, once you find appropriate sponsor, then request for change of status, correct? What if you leave the country and come back again once you find an appropriate sponsor? Has anyone done this?

Thanks again,