NIW twist - Please advise

N

n43y

Registered Users (C)
Dear All

Please comment on my situation which I describe as follows:

I am a Ph.D. (2000) in Biochemistry and Molecular biology with specialization in Protein engineering from a US university. I am at the tail end of my Post doc stint at Harvard Med. School (a total of 3.5 years). My mentor's NIH grant terminates on 29th Feb which is also my last day here in the lab.

I had applied for a EB2-NIW based on my research accomplishments in developing protein drugs for anti-angiogenesis (anti-cancer) therapy. Some of the bold efforts paid out and I have been fortunate to get some stellar publications (PNAS, Nature Biotech. etc). My EB2-NIW was filed through my lawyer with a ND of 7-19-02 and I-485 filed in June of 2003 based on a pending I-140. Today I went in to the Boston local INS office and got my interim EAD. My I-140 has not been approved as yet,

I have some job offers :

#1) the one I like the most in terms of career is with a spinoff of a famous biotech company - who will not be able to give me a H1 before 29th Feb since they are in a state of getting incorporated - they have offered the position to me if I use my EAD.

#2) The other important offer is from a National Labs on a biodefense plus cancer research based project and I do get an H1 from them, but this is a senior post doc position. It is in California which means transfer the I485 petition to CSC from VSC. This is my second choice

If I want to join position # 1
am I safe using this EAD., can I convince USCIS that I am continuing my NIW based research, let's say I still do some work with the same protein in a similar system and get a letter from old and new boss that anti-angiogenesis research is still part of my focus, the only thing that has changed is academia to industry - due to the grant running out- will this be a problem?

The new boss says he can/ will file an EB1-OR as soon as practically possible - can I tag my current I-485 to a new / different I-140 petition.

Other wise I will have to file EB1-OR I140 plus new I-485 plus new I-765 and hope that I do not receive a denial of my current petition in the mean while.

If I take this position and decide to stay in Boston , my wife's boss has promised he will sponsor her on EB3 as an soon as possible - can I tag this EB2-NIW based 485 with that one.

So the Q is can I move my Eb2-NIW based concurrent I-485 onto a different petition?

If I choose to join the local start up and decide to go back on to H1 (which is ok with the new boss) - will I be giving up I-140 petition. Will I have problem getting a new H1 visa in my home country - in terms of intent of immigration or will the dual intent of H1 save me?

By the way my lawyer says : KEEP YOUR H1.

but the industrial position would have a far better impact on my career as compared to the National Lab.

I would appreciate advice / comments from all and especially like to hear from Jim Mills and Leroythelion(Brian)

Thank you all in advance
sincerely,

KK.
 
Originally posted by n43y
Dear All

Please comment on my situation which I describe as follows:

<<<snip>>>

I would appreciate advice / comments from all and especially like to hear from Jim Mills and Leroythelion(Brian)

Thank you all in advance
sincerely,

KK.
Click to expand...

Is your status now H1? If it not, then the decision is made for you. They are about to run out of H1's and you will not make the cap

The fact that the company is in the process of incorporating has nothing with their ability to sponsor you for H1. This sounds like a smokescreen. Changing your petition to CSC would be a disaster. You are close to decision time at VSC. The question is how much stomach do you have using your EAD. Your credentials sound as good as anything I have seen here, but there is no such thing as 100%.

Brian
 
I am a postdoc at Harvard Med School too and I am pretty much in the same mess with regards to NIW application. I am confused a little bit about your intentions for applying another EBI-OR. I always believed you could take up a job in acadame or industry while your NIW application is in progress as long as you stay in the same research area. Correct me If I am wrong. My lawyer has advised me to be on a H1 visa too because it is a safe option. However, given your situation and H1 quota nearing completion, it sounds like you have to use your EAD.

I got a more naive question - what is this interim EAD? It sounds like you can get this while your I-140/I-485/EAD/AP are still being processed.
 
Brian

why would transferring I-485 petition from VSC to CSC tantamount to disaster - please explain?

I am still on H1 (academic - not subject to cap). you are right if I do move to the new company then it will be subject to cap - which is about reached.

The Q still remains - is it possible to tag a previously petitioned I-485 to a new I-140 petition before the original I-140 is denied.?

Murmanmadi

write to me at kap3448@yahoo.com , we can talk and exchange ideas - I am in the NRB on 77 Ave Louis Pasteur

best
KK.
 
murmandi is right

with niw, one is free to change jobs as many times as u want as long as th ebroad research area remains same.
my friend went from research fellow to instructor and was okay with his interview. i know a person from boston who left harvard for a biotech firm in the area and is okay.
so academia or industry does not matter.
again, its much safer if you have an approved 140. without that and if 140 gets denied, one might want to have safer visa like H1.
with approved 140, it does not matter if you change jobs.
 
Question for AG28

Did you also file in NIW EB2?
Are there any cases in NIW EB2 which have been approved in a shoet time period or is it that all the NIW EB2 cases takes long?
If you have a job, then you can apply for EB1 extraordinary ability parallely.
It will be of help to you, as EB1 cases are approved faster.
 
n43y
Do you think you should transfer your I-140 with 485 if you move out of the vermont center before your I-140 get approved.
 
Re: Question for AG28

i am an old timer here. my niw was approved in early 2002 and now I am stuck in 485.
at that time it was about 6 months for everything i.e. 140 or 485. now everything is pretty much the same speed.

Originally posted by njohar
Did you also file in NIW EB2?
Are there any cases in NIW EB2 which have been approved in a shoet time period or is it that all the NIW EB2 cases takes long?
If you have a job, then you can apply for EB1 extraordinary ability parallely.
It will be of help to you, as EB1 cases are approved faster.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A couple of comments....

Firstly, based on your credentials you are EXTREMELY unlikely to be denied outright. If anything is going to happen at all, you will receive an RFE. Perhaps you can reassess the situation at that point? You will not be out of status if you get an RFE.

Secondly, with regard to tagging a new I-140. I think you can, but I am not 100% sure. I am in a position no dissimilar to yours. At one stage I became so frustrated with the pace of NIW processing that I looked into the possibility of filing another I-140 (this time an EB-1), in the hope that it might be processed quickly (I didn't, as EB-1 processing is even slower than NIW).

However, the point is that I was given the impression that if the subsequent I-140 was approved, I would be able to link it to the original I-485. That never made sense to me...it seemed like cheating, effectively filing an I-485 prior to the relevant I-140...but maybe there is a way.

It's pretty complex. I'd get very good advice on this one. Although a lot of information on this board is good, difficult things like this can be unreliable. I might be telling you something wrong as we speak!

Good luck. THis is very frustrating, I know. These categories were established to EXPEDITE processing. THe system is essentially broken.
 
OK so I am taking the plunge - God help me

Ok
So the H1-B cap was reached before I could get a solid offer from the start up biotech but I do have an "intent to offer" and the project(s) that I am going to pursue and a start date. I will go on EAD to this company - I will file a additional EB1-OR plus new I-485 asap through my lawyer.

The director of the new company is a Nobel Laureate hence letters for my NIW rfe or EB1-OR should not be a problem. The company is specifically going to deal with revolutionary diagnostic tools and will cover both field (means biodefense) and at point of care (clinical), For both infectious disease and oncology.

I will be heading their, structure based protein design, division.
I will try to set up collaborations with Harvard so that the Harvard connection can always stand in the NIW rfe.

Since my EB2-NIW has a notice date of 7-19-02 , and the processing date is 1-6-03. The info officer at USCIS customer service has initiated a case status enquiry with regards to my petition (thanks to my wife for that).

If any one has any comments please feel free to share.

I am nervous letting my H1-B go and jumping on to the NIW provisional EAD but lengthy discussion with my lawyer says that I have a good chance for NIW and a good back up plan.

best regards
KK.
 
Re: OK so I am taking the plunge - God help me

n43y,

As a fellow postdoc across the River, I think you have excellent qualifications. I think you should be approved by either NIW or OR.

I believe I'm facing a more or less similar situation: after 4 yrs at MIT, I got an "intent to offer" for a senior scientist position from one of the top 5 pharmaceutical companies. I have an H1B, which is cap-exempt like yours, and now I need something like O-1 or EB1/OR to work.

My questions for you are related to EB1/OR, and they are:

1) Could a private company petition for EB1/OR? The law seems to prefer or restrict to academic researchers. My prospective employer has more than 10,000 research staffs around the globe and better publication records than many good universities.

2) How critical is it to remain in "the same research area?" How narrow is the definition? I have trained as biochemist/mol & cell biologist/geneticist for my PhD and postdoc, and I'm going to use pretty much the same skill sets. However, I used to focus on a specific biological problem/disease (cancer and metabolism to be specific), but at my new work, I'll be more technology-oriented, and involved in assay development for high-throughput screen.

I'd appreciate if you (or anybody for that matter) could comment on my case.

doitrite

PS-I think your NIW processing speed is about right. I'm seeing a lot of NIW ND aged more than year and a half. PD of 1-6-03 seems for regular EB2 (requiring LC). I have a colleague in my lab who filed NIW around the same time you did. He did at VSC.
 
hey doitrite

Hmmmmm....

top 5 pharma companies, 10,000 employess all over the world - you got hired at Novartis didn't you?:cool:

Lucky lucky man.

It is a great place to work at.

1) Could a private company petition for EB1/OR?

I think yes, many folks here got EB1-OR thru companies. PLus if you are going to Novartis - they are Novartis Institute of Biomedical research (NIBR).


How critical is it to remain in "the same research area?"

You will still be in drug discovery. HTS and assay development are all part of Biochem. mol bio and genetics. There shoudn't be any difference.

I should be worried coz I applied NIW in cancer (protein) therapeutics and now I will be in cancer diagnostics.

I hope others will also add to this discussion.

best
KK
 
Re: hey doitrite

Please congratulate me! :D I got a verbal offer today. It seems that the company will first try to "transfer" my H1B, which I think is a long shot or impossible. If not successful, then they will file for O-1 visa. They said it's a company "policy" to sponsor EB1/OR after 1 yr of employment :( So my plan is to: 1) let them file for O-1; and 2) hire an immigration lawyer to file EB1/OR with my own fund. How's this sound?

I hear people say O-1 is quite difficult to get approved. How hard is this one (in comparison to EB1/OR and NIW)?

Originally posted by n43y
Hmmmmm....

top 5 pharma companies, 10,000 employess all over the world - you got hired at Novartis didn't you?:cool:

>> I kept knocking on Novartis (you know, it's just across the street from MIT), but I couldn't get through. I have to relocate. The company that I was talking has 10,000 "research staff", not "employees," which I believe is over 60,000. Do you get an idea;)

>>> snp <<<

PLus if you are going to Novartis - they are Novartis Institute of Biomedical research (NIBR).

>> Mine is called ***** Research Laboratories;) Hope that helps.

You will still be in drug discovery. HTS and assay development are all part of Biochem. mol bio and genetics. There shoudn't be any difference.

I should be worried coz I applied NIW in cancer (protein) therapeutics and now I will be in cancer diagnostics.

>> I think you're being harsher on yourself than on others. Look at me, I did my PhD in cancer, but this prospective employer hasn't get any cancer drug approved for the last three decades.

I hope others will also add to this discussion.

best
KK
Click to expand...
 
awright

dude

I just asked my lawyer if I could get an O1 and you are right they said it could be a toughie. But if you get an O1 - it makes a strong case for EB1-OR. The conditions are almost same as EB1-OR.

So you are not staying in Boston - I know that MRL is opening a big research facility behind my building. Are you moving to Rahway, NJ?

Wish you the best of luck.

I am kap3448@yahoo.com if you wanna chat more.

best
kk
 
Re: Re: hey doitrite

Originally posted by doitrite
They said it's a company "policy" to sponsor EB1/OR after 1 yr of employment :( .
Click to expand...

I was told the same thing by my company. I work for one of the biggies. If you want, send me a private message. It just might be the same company. If it's not in writing, it doesn't mean a thing. Trust me on this one. My HR rep flat out lied to my face and denied ever saying it when confronted. That is how come I know so much about NIW and EA. My story is not uncommon.

Brian
 
Re: Re: Re: hey doitrite

Originally posted by leroythelion
If it's not in writing, it doesn't mean a thing.
Click to expand...

Brian, thanks for the tip!

Did you try to make your employer sponsor your green card both financially and for paperwork? I'm just trying to get an employment letter, once I get hired, and hire my own lawyer with money out of my pocket. (I don't have good faith in corporate visa sponsoring policy anyway.) Do you think I would encounter difficulty having HR sign on the employment letter?

doitrite
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: hey doitrite

Originally posted by doitrite
Brian, thanks for the tip!

Did you try to make your employer sponsor your green card both financially and for paperwork? I'm just trying to get an employment letter, once I get hired, and hire my own lawyer with money out of my pocket. (I don't have good faith in corporate visa sponsoring policy anyway.) Do you think I would encounter difficulty having HR sign on the employment letter?

doitrite
Click to expand...

About a half-dozen of us were promised OR. Nothing in writing, as I mentioned. Me paying attorney's fees was not an option...against company policy.

I got an employment letter for my Consular Processing. I didn't tell them what it was for. After what I had been through, it was none of their business. I just popped in again afterwards to fill out the I-9.

Brian
 
Employer OR sponsor

About a half-dozen of us were promised OR. Nothing in writing, as I mentioned. Me paying attorney's fees was not an option...against company policy.
Click to expand...

I am facing the same situation, even though there is no company policy with regard to immigration. After 3 years of employment, nothing has been done.:mad: So I decided to apply for I-140 EB1 EA on my own. :(

I got an employment letter for my Consular Processing. I didn't tell them what it was for.
Click to expand...

I will also go consular. Will I need a new employment letter from my employer or can I use the older one that was sent to me 3 years ago ?

Yssac

EB1 (EA) - NSC
ND: 08-19-2003
 
Re: Employer OR sponsor

Originally posted by Yssac


I will also go consular. Will I need a new employment letter from my employer or can I use the older one that was sent to me 3 years ago ?

Yssac
Click to expand...

You will need a new one. The letter has more to do with the public charge issue than job related. It is not unheard of that the letter is not required at some consular posts.

Brian
 
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