NIW for Physicians

H

hashitoxicosis

Registered Users (C)
If I apply for state 20 this year and my INS approval comes in by march or april,
When is the earliest I can process I-140 and NIW? do I have to start working beofre it, or can I petition with the waiver approval from INS?
 
About I-140

At what level can my spouse (currently in J2) start working. Is it after I-140 or after another step? Thanks in advance
 
No Title

j-1 waiver and NIW are independant issues. theoretically you can apply for NIW as soon as you sign a contract with employer in the underserved area and can get a "public interest" letter from state dept of health. you do not have to wait till you start working for the employer.

Practically you may not be able to get a public interest letter from health dept before they process your J-1 application. In any case you do not need to wait for INS to grant your J-1waiver before filing your NIW. You should file NIW as soon as you get a letter from state health dept.

Once you get your NIW ( & J-1 waiver) approved you can apply for adjustment of status . at that point your spouse can get an employment authorization document.
 
About I-140

The problem though is that, I-140 application needs the INS decision for j1 waiver attached( seems so by reading I-140 instructions.) anyone has any experience?
 
No Title

Hi I just got my I-140 approved last week am finishing my third year on waiver I think u should wait for letter from state department as 1-2 months delay is not going to matter in the long run as u have to show 5 years of service in MUA/HPSA before u could get green card yes it will matter if ur significant other wants to work as on H 4 one cannot work but it is better to get letter first and then apply I had all the papers still INS issued RFE for the same letter and the letter from state department has to be within 6 months of filling petition.Which state are u starting ur waiver if u have any questions I will be more than happy to answer can send me private email
hope this helps
All the best
 
No Title

this is a controversial point and different lawyers have different advice on this. In my opinion you CAN file I-140 ( NIW)without getting a J-1 waiver. if your lawyer is reluctant to do this try Ron Gotcher ( www.imminfo.com ).

In any case it will not make a whole lot of difference since you cannot start work till your J-1 waiver comes thru. So what I suggest is that you wait till J-1 waiver comes and then file I-140. this should be approved within a few months nowadays. then file for adjustment and get work authorization for your spouse.
 
The reason for urgency

Thanx for the responses
The reason for urgency is that my wife is on J2 and is doing her residency. She will still have one year left after I finish. To avoid a long break for her, I need to start NIW as early as possible, and f/u with I-485 and I-765 for the both of us.

The other question is if I apply with all the documents except INS apporval, and if INS send us a letter asking for the waiver document, will that be quicker than waiting till we get everything and then sending it. in otherwords, does sending an I-140 with all but one needed document(which we will provide a little later) have any harms/benefits(as far as priority dates etc) over waiting and sending evrything together?
 
No Title

well if u send I-140 without waiver approval notice INS will issue a RFE and that can cause soem delay in processing if ur wife has done step 3 also she can get her own H if the residency program is willing to do that
hope that helps
 
No Title

J-1 waiver is NOT a requirement for getting an NIW ( people who have never been on a J-1 can get NIW also).

  People who have been on J-1 cannot file for adjustment of status( I-485) or Consular immigrant visa till they get a J-1 waiver approved ( or spend 2 years in home country)

   as such J-1 waiver approval notice is NOT on the list of mandatory items to send in with your NIW ( as opposed to I-485). Even if for some reason they want it they can send you a RFE. Usually your case will be adjudicated within a few weeks of your responding to the RFE

   i would suggest filing NIW as soon as you can get the "public interest letter". if your lawyer is hesitant shop around for a lawyer who will do this for you.

   this way you can be ready to file your I-485 ( and EAD) the day you get your j-1 waiver in the mail.

   another option would be to file 2 NIW petitions , one with and one without the J-1 waiver approval notice. that way you would cover all bases.
 
Need a waiver first...

As long as you and your wife(as a dependent) are subject to the 2 year requirement, you may not change status. You may be allowed to apply for labor cert-but I doubt INS would process NIW-since it is actually an immigrant petition(I-140). You can apply for a H-1B for your wife under premium processing as soon as your J-1 waiver is approved. She can take a month\'s vacation and by the time she is done with her vacation, she will have her H-1B to start working! If INS accepts and works on the visa application even while the waiver is pending, even better. Good luck.
 
No Title

another point I would like to make is that just getting a J-1 waiver ( or NIW approved does not automatically cancell your J-1 status. So your wife will continue to be in J-2 status ( and be able to work) till you change your status to H-1B. This is assuming you continue with your residency/Fellowship till you get a change in your status to H-1B. If you apply for her H-1B simultaneously with your own she will be able to legally work without interruption ( hoping that both your H-1B petitions get approved together)

If your wife\'s residency program is not willing to do an H-1B petition for her then only option would be for you to file NIW and then file EAD. How much more time can you spend on J-1 ???
 
Residency won\'t sponsor H-1 :-(

My J-1 will finish next June (thinking really ahead at this time.) My hope was that, If I apply for I-140(NIW) as soon as I receive the INS notifciation, and f/u that with I-485 immediately, I may be able to get EAD for her by august 2003 or so. In which case she doesn\'t need to have a break more than 2 months in her residency.

sorry I was offline for a few days.
 
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