J1 to Greencard or H1?

[fvittes]

Hello,

I am from Poland, I am here in a J1 visa doing an internship as an architec. I have a visa that states that I do NOT have the 2 year mandatory return requirement. My visa will expire at the end of August of 2008. My employer has offered to do the paperwork required for me to stay in the US and work for them.

I have consulted with a lawyer and the lawyer suggested one of two options:

Option 1: Apply for greencard and hope that the process is fast enough that I can get the work permit prior to the end of my J1. This is what the lawyer recommended

Option 2: Apply for H-1, but the problem is that the quota is limited and I may not get it. Also I don't think is possible to get the H1 by August 2008 right?

Does anybody know if it is possible to go from J1 to Greencard? also is it possible that the paperwork required for me to stay legaly in US will be finalized prior to my expiration of my J1 visa? What do you guys advice?

Is there any point in doing Option 1 and Option 2?

Thanks, for any help u can provide

 

[GotPR?]

Green card might be faster or slower than H1, depending on your job category. EB3 got retrogressed heavily and will take a while.
On the other hand, you will never know if you could get H1 if a lot of application rushes next april.

YOu can run both.