Pls advise: OR vs NIW? Thanks

A

alohaahola

Registered Users (C)
Hello, Gurus:

I have a naive question here. I am going to start a postdoc with the job title "Research Associate" soon (my school can sign the permanent job offer letter) and am trying to decide which of the two to go for GC application. I have 4 1st author journal papers, a couple of abstracts, paid committee members, a few citations, etc. I mean, just the regular credentials for a fresh postdoc in biomedical research. Meanwhile, I think I can get some pretty good recommendations. I am in TX center and am just wondering whether I shall go for OR or NIW, OR should the safer one, right? Since I don't have a plan of swiching job or institution before I get the GC, NIW really does not offer much benefit in my case, right? I would really appreciate it if someone could give some precious suggestions.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am just wondering on what kind of visa you are, J1 or H1B?
I know that some universities give permanent job offer letter out to postdocs but I know from cases where people at universities or research institutes had problems to start their green card application as long as their where postdoc because USCIS knew from experience that those people were "just" postdocs and their jobs weren't permanent.
 
If you want to apply through OR while you are a Post Doc - you should have a really outstanding accomplishments in your field. OR category has a requirement of >3years of expertize in your field. Though the grad school can count, most lawyers I talked to while I was a Post Doc recommended me to wait till I can get a permanent position in industry or academia.

Sorry I can not say much about NIW other than there is a significant chance being denied in this category.

EB12 (OR) - VSC
RD: 03-19-2003
ND: 04-02-2003
 
alohaahola,

"Reseach Associate" title at a university really raise a flag when it comes to OR. As mentioned above, people who would read your application just know it from experience. I mean "it" to be not permanent position. If you can get an employment letter from the university "HR", not from your prospective advisor nor from the department head, you might have some chance. As for 3 yrs of experience, if you have published your graduate work in international journals, your days at grad school could be counted. Still need a letter of employment from your grad school HR though.
 
Thanks for the reply

Hello, Guys:

Thanks for the kind reply. I think I can get a letter saying this is a permanent job either from HR or the medical school dean. I just talked with people who did it recently, I am in a small southern medical school and they are willing to sponsor people's GC application at this point. My question is will my credentials be qualified (all of my papers are published in international journals and since I am in Texas center, it is supposedly to be the easiest to go through OR, right?) I really wish someone with a recent approval can give some hint. Thanks a bunch.
 
How many years ago did you make your PhD ? This is the main concern I have with your OR application. I know of several cases where people got rejected because the PhD time doesn't count for the three years experience even if you published papers in international journals. I know several people who tried it that way and fail.

Here is also a link to the USCIS with case examples for rejected cases and you will see that one reason which pops up from time to time why an OR appliaction is rejected is that the PhD time doesn't count for the three years you need.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/admindec3/b3/
 
Originally posted by honkman
because USCIS knew from experience that those people were "just" postdocs and their jobs weren't permanent.
Click to expand...

Are we talking about some kind of black-magic or about legal documents and legal process ?

If the job offer is for a permanent position, there is no way USCIS can decline it on that basis.

There is nothing called "just post-docs". Things vary from university to university - and from case to case.
 
Hi alohaahola,
I think you may apply through OR. I have the same credentials as yours (but in different field and I am a researcher in an industry). But, I was able to get strong recommandation letters from independent experts in my field. My OR I-140 was approved.

Consult your attorney before taking any decision.
 
Apply three at the same time

Hi, why not apply for EB1 extraordinary ability, EB1 outstanding researcher and EB2 national interest waiver at the same time? It costs a couple of hundred dollars, but maybe you'll receive approval on one of them much earlier!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top