O-1 visa just expired, now planning on applying for green card

B

Bodri

New Member
I'm a Canadian citizen and my O-1 visa just expired the other day, but I've been married to a US citizen for over a 1.5 years (and also have had a baby here in the US two months ago. I now want to get my green card (through my marriage to my American wife), but I also want to travel back to Canada with my wife and baby in the fall and again during the Christmas holidays. Can I wait to apply for my green card until after January and just be a "visitor" until then? Is there any risk involved?

Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
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What is your current immigration status? it sounds like your O-1 is expried and you are out of status? if this is true, you are in a bit of a jam. if you are out of status, you will be unable to change your status to visitor B-1 while remaining in the US. If you leave the US and try to re-enter as a visitor, you most likely will be unable to as you have clearly established immigrant intent in the USA, which is not permited with a non-immigrant visa such as a visitor visa.

You best course of action is to file forms I-130/I-485/I-131/I-765 to become a permanent resident (GC). From the date you file, you cannot leave the US until the I-131 is approved. This approval notice will allow you to re-enter the US while you wait for the I-485 to change your status to permanent residence. It takes between 40-90 days for approval of a I-131.
 
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Request for O-1 visa eligibility

hi! I have a PhD, with over 3 years of post-doctoral experience and 10 publications (5 published, 5 under review) and around 20 presentations in various national and international conferences. I have also reviewed articles for journals and acted as a judge to evaluate others work. I was offered a senior position with over 100K salary and bonus in a company. And i can get from leaders in my area atleast 6 opinon letters. Could anyone evaluate this and tell me, that are these credentials are sufficient to get O-1 visa. Please advice. Thanks
 
yes, your creditials seem to be a good fit for an O-1 visa. you might want to get a lawyer to help you craft the petition.
 
Hey,

I just got my O-1 approval.

Similar situation to you, PhD, pubs, good job/sponsor.

I went through premium processing so my timeline was 4 weeks from start to finish.

My advice is to very carefully select your attorney. Their experience will make the difference between passing/failing. Be prepared for a request for more information (RFE), it appears USCIS use this tactic as an initial screen. And accept that you'll need to provide a ton of letters/evidence to back up your claims (I submitted over 50 pieces, over 2 inches thick!).

It's very difficult but doable.

Good luck.
 
Medic,
Did you hire a lawyer to help you with the O-1?
Can you recommend him/her to others?
If yes, would you mind providing the contact information for the lawyer.
Thanks.
 
Hi,

Sorry for the long delay in replying.

My company hired the attorney. They are a large firm and completely mesed up my case including sending another applicants information in with mine to USCIS...

I wont name names but just want to say that I ended up writing my own application and the attorney just submitted it. If you qualify for an O-1 then you're more than qualified to put together a logical structured application.

Do your research, expect an RFE and dig deep for supporters. You'll get in.

Good luck.
 
Thanks, I just got my O-1 approved 2 weeks ago with the help of an experienced O-1 attorney and without any request for an RFE!

Medic said:
Hi,

Sorry for the long delay in replying.

My company hired the attorney. They are a large firm and completely mesed up my case including sending another applicants information in with mine to USCIS...

I wont name names but just want to say that I ended up writing my own application and the attorney just submitted it. If you qualify for an O-1 then you're more than qualified to put together a logical structured application.

Do your research, expect an RFE and dig deep for supporters. You'll get in.

Good luck.
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