I have a J-1 visa and I am not subjected to the two year requirement. I got my Ph. D from a strong program and my postdoc from a very prestigious medical hospital. I am a medical anthropologist and have a very decent chance at a NIW. However, there are always things we can not control and my application might be rejected. I want to know what are the risks of applying to the NIW under the J-1 status. Would I be prevented from re-applying or renewing my J-1 if after the NIW was denied? Thanks,
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Risks of applying to NIW under J-1 visa
- Thread starter tomaluco
- Start date
J-1, like F-1, is predicated on you not seeking to become an immigrant. One of the conditions of admittance into the US under F-1 or J-1 is that you have no immigrant intent. So forget about the NIW being denied; the mere fact of even applying for it may put your J-1 status in jeopardy in the following ways:
1- If you have an expired J-1 visa in your passport and you plan to travel abroad to visit family or whatever, renew the visa, and return to the your program under your still-valid DS-2019, your visa may very likely be denied. You will be asked on the new visa application at the consulate if an immigrant petition (which is what the NIW is) has ever been submitted on your behalf, and this may disqualify you from a new J-1 visa which absolutely forbids immigrant intent.
2- If you do have a valid visa and travel abroad and return to the US, the officer at the port of entry can also deny you admittance for the fact that you submitted an immigrant petition to USCIS.
3- As far as extending your J-1 status in the US, I don't know if you will run into any troubles, it depends on the application your institution provides to extend the program. If that application requests information on any immigrant petitions you may have filed, then you may be unable to extend your status once your current DS-2019 expires.
So if you do intend to apply for NIW (and I know you say you have a good chance, but what counts highly these days are lots of papers and lots of citations of your papers by other investigators), you should either a- apply for adjustment of status concurrently, if you are not Indian or Chinese, so that you can obtain an optional EAD and Advance Parole document to fall back on if you cannot extend your J-1 status, or b- secure a H-1B sponsor if possible. But the bottom line is that, if you don't do either of these things, and you apply for NIW, you are likely stuck in the US until your green card is approved and worse, may accumulate unlawful presence if you don't have a pending I-485 or H-1B and you are unable to extend your J-1.
1- If you have an expired J-1 visa in your passport and you plan to travel abroad to visit family or whatever, renew the visa, and return to the your program under your still-valid DS-2019, your visa may very likely be denied. You will be asked on the new visa application at the consulate if an immigrant petition (which is what the NIW is) has ever been submitted on your behalf, and this may disqualify you from a new J-1 visa which absolutely forbids immigrant intent.
2- If you do have a valid visa and travel abroad and return to the US, the officer at the port of entry can also deny you admittance for the fact that you submitted an immigrant petition to USCIS.
3- As far as extending your J-1 status in the US, I don't know if you will run into any troubles, it depends on the application your institution provides to extend the program. If that application requests information on any immigrant petitions you may have filed, then you may be unable to extend your status once your current DS-2019 expires.
So if you do intend to apply for NIW (and I know you say you have a good chance, but what counts highly these days are lots of papers and lots of citations of your papers by other investigators), you should either a- apply for adjustment of status concurrently, if you are not Indian or Chinese, so that you can obtain an optional EAD and Advance Parole document to fall back on if you cannot extend your J-1 status, or b- secure a H-1B sponsor if possible. But the bottom line is that, if you don't do either of these things, and you apply for NIW, you are likely stuck in the US until your green card is approved and worse, may accumulate unlawful presence if you don't have a pending I-485 or H-1B and you are unable to extend your J-1.