sudmoni said:
Dear Hadron,
You have been very helpful in many instances. I have a question , I will appreciate if u can help me. I have completed the waiver this july and I am planning to join the fellowship by July 2007. The problem is I haven't been able to apply for I-485 (my pd is Apr 2004- India), I opted for the cp and my file is awaiting in Delhi Consulate waiting for the pd to be current. So my question is should I apply for NIW and try to get the EAD before July? Will I be able to continue my fellowship with the EAD( If I get) or I have to apply for the new H-1? If the NIW thing dosn't workout, Can I continue my GC process as it even If I will have to have new H-1 for the fellowship? Kind of difficult situation as the fellowship is from very good place and basically I am tired of this waiver job(not a good employer, he wants to use me as far as he can). Your advise will be greatly appreciated.
Tough call! Comes down to a question of priorities. Is it your #1 priority to become a US permanent resident and eventually citizen, or is it your #1 priority to further your medical education and career.
As pointed out by 'posmd', your already approved I140 is pretty much toast the moment you leave the employer. Unless he was a good friend of yours (which doesn't seem to be the case) and willing to keep the I140 (and a job-offer for you) open, he will probably withdraw the petition (you opted for CP, if you where going the I485 route and already in the US there is a law restricting the withdrawal after more than 6 months). The employer will get the PERM back and be able to use it to lure your successor into the practice (we can file green-card for you immediately.....).
It looks like you only spend 3 years of 'H-time' for your waiver. So, in principle if you can find a fellowship that sponsors H1b (few do), you could spend 1-2 years on H1 in fellowship and then get your future employer to go through the moves for a green-card. Who knows, chances are retrogression will go away in a couple of years (once the 'hump' of 190.000 IT related H1bs from 1999 who are getting greencards right now is worked off). But nobody can say that for sure. If retrogression for india goes away, that option could work out. If it is there to stay, you could potentially end up in a situation where you would have to leave the US after more than 10 years here.
If you file the NIW, you would have to proove after 2 years that you are in full-time practice at your approved location. If you do fellowship, that could be dicey. The service has come down hard on people who have pulled this stunt (a radiologist in NY state).
You will have to do what makes you (and your family) happy. Your job doesn't sound like a keeper. Now that you are free to leave, you might be able to renegotiate your contract terms (maybe open a branch office in a non-underserved location so you can create some revenue and don't have to deal with your boss on a day to day basis while retaining the same tax-ID and keeping the I140 alive). Your boss might be an a-hole, but as long as he is a greedy a-hole he will do anything that increases the cash in his pocket. Loosing a physician (who is established in the community) certainly doesn't improve his bottom line.
