TN to Green Card via NIW

S

Sam65

New Member
Dear All,
My situation is not very different from all of you but little tricky.

I am a research Associate and have Ph.D. in Physics and working on Breast Cancer.
I am on TN visa. I want to apply for Green card. My pay scale is a lot less than the pervailing wage required for H1B. I can not go for H1B due to low wage even my boss wants me to apply for Green card but he does not have funding to give me rais.

I am looking if I can apply for Green card via NIW through TN visa. I did read some posts but not sure if people have done is in the past or not. I spoke to an attorny and he says I can apply for green card via NIW uising my TN status but the the risk is if I leave the country then I might not be able to return back.

Any thoughts on that?
Any help and sugesstion will be appreciated.
Thanks
Sam
 
Any time you apply for GC directly via TN there is a risk -- and there is usually a brief period, between submission of I-485 and receipt of I-765 EAD and I-131 AP, that travel is impossible. However this issue has been covered in detail by the "curiousgeorge" posting, search for it on this forum.

Just be warned that NIW process can be expensive -- yuo are undertaking something your firm should be doing -- and just because a lawyer is willing to do it, doesn't mean that it will be successful.

Btw, there seems to be a rule of thumb for physicians that they must have been working "in the public interest" (I presume that eliminates botox mills) for 5 years to be qualified for NIW.
 
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Thanks Nelsona for such a quick reply.

I just need to know that it is appropriate to apply for Green card via NIW having TN status and if people have done it.
As for as applying via NIW is concerned, I have seen that 6-10 of my friends with Ph.D. in Physics having more or less same qualifications applied for GC via NIW and got approved but all of them were on H1B. In fact my file for NIW is ready but afraid of applying for GC.

My TN is valid for 18 months and I have seen that many people got GC approved via NIW in less than a month.
If I can find a case who got GC via TN then that will be relief. I will check the curiousgeorge ASAP
Thanks for your help and reply
 
As I said, there is no concern going from TN to GC without H1. Why do you think I told you to read the curiousgeorge post? 1000's have done it. NIW simply makes it quicker.

You just need to stay put in US and at your current job for a few weeks during the process.
 
Sam65 said:
My situation is not very different from all of you but little tricky.
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That's a bit of a concern. To get a NIW you will need to document that you do, in fact, stand out from the crowd--that your situation is, in fact, very different from the majority of people who have to go through the LC process.

Sam65 said:
I am looking if I can apply for Green card via NIW through TN visa. I did read some posts but not sure if people have done is in the past or not. I spoke to an attorny and he says I can apply for green card via NIW uising my TN status but the the risk is if I leave the country then I might not be able to return back.
Click to expand...

AFAIK if the employer files I-140, this doesn't demonstrate immigrant intent, so there is no problem with renewing your TN or re-entering with a TN while the I-140 is pending or if it is rejected. Perhaps you should consider having your employer file the I-140, rather than self-sponsoring. I believe you can pay even if the employer is the official sponsor, if cost is an issue for your employer.

I wouldn't recommend filing I-485, which does demonstrate immigrant intent, until you have an approved I-140 if you are applying in this category and are on TN.

I've never been clear whether a self-sponsored I-140 (most I-140's are employer sponsored) demonstrates immigrant intent.

To get the I-140 approved (whether self-sponsored or not) you need to show that it is not in the national interest for you to have to go through the LC process. Clearly there is an intrinsic national interest in breast cancer research but to get the I-140 approved you need to show that the national interest is somehow hurt by the LC process. If you can show that there are things you can do with a GC (but not with a TN or H-1B) that are clearly in the national interest, then that might justify approving the petition. But if you are essentially proposing to just continue with your current work after getting the GC, then there is no reason for the NIW to be approved, because you can benefit the national interest just as much cooling your jets for a little while longer on TN.
 
CalGreenCard said:
I've never been clear whether a self-sponsored I-140 (most I-140's are employer sponsored) demonstrates immigrant intent.
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I share your concern. The basis for an I-140 not showing clear immigrant intent, is that in most cases the employer is the one who filed the application on behalf of the person who has TN status. Therefor the person with a TN has not shown immigrant intent, since they are not the ones who filed the I-140 application.

If the employer is NOT the one who has filed the I-140, but rather the person who has the TN status, as in the case you described for NIW, then this gets a little fuzzy, since the applicant, by virtue of filing an I-140 for themselves, on their own behalf, may thereby show immigrant intent.

Basically it sounds like an NIW wouldn't be able to say "I have not indicated that I plan to immigrate, but rather, my employer has sponsored me for immigration purposes, so I have not yet personally shown immigrant intent."

Just my 2 cents, I'm not an expert in NIW.
 
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cal makes some good points. However, our poster seems to be more on the ground on this issue. It is indeed possible to get NIW even if you already have an existing work authorization. And to those of us who took years to get GC, it may seem impossible to think that one can do the whole process in the matter of weeks, but this is possible nowadays.

There has been no distinction made between self-petitioned and employer-petitioned I-140 that I'm aware of. That said, if NIW I-140 truly is considered Immig intent, all the more reason to concurrently file I-140/I-485/I-765/I-131 in my opinion.

She has a lawyer of course.
 
Hi Folks,
Thanks for all of your input and feedback. As the story is unfolding more rapidly in this fourm, I am getting more exited to learn about it and make a wise decision based on the information obtained from all of you.

The reason why my boss want me to get GC because there are 99% of the research grants which I can not apply for cancer research just because of my TN immigration status and these grants are only for US citizens or GC holders. I was a post doctoral fellow couple of year ago and my boss made me Research Associate without increasing my pay so that I can apply for GC and then research grants. But University HR said my salary does not qualify for H1-B visa prevailing wages so I can not apply for H1-B.

Now, the only option is to apply for GC via NIW. I am not sure if my employer will file I-140 on my behalf even with this low income bracket. This is my understanding that I might qualify for NIW because few of my colleagues with same or less academic qualifications such as research experience, publications, citations, awards etc, applied for GC via NIW and got approved in few weeks. But none of them were on TN visa rather had H1-B.

My only question is if there is a precedent that TN holder applied GC via any rout without going through H1-B then it might help me out.
I am sorry if I am repeating myself again but I did read all the previous post and blogs and do respect all of your concerns and opinions.

Thanks

Best
 
My only question is if there is a precedent that TN holder applied GC via any rout without going through H1-B then it might help me out.
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The history as to why you don't have H1 is simply not germane to this discussion.

So, in turn, I'll presume you haven't been able to find the curiousgeorge post, so here is the link.

http://forums.immigration.com/showt...PPPRRRROOOOOVEEEDD!!!!!!!&p=984692#post984692

Plus, your lawyer said he could do it.

I'm afraid I can't lead to any more water .... you'll drown.
 
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curious wrote:
Basically it sounds like an NIW wouldn't be able to say "I have not indicated that I plan to immigrate, but rather, my employer has sponsored me for immigration purposes, so I have not yet personally shown immigrant intent."
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I'm not so sure that is the argument that ever needs to be made. In the past, we all used this as the basis as to why I-140 was not immig intent. But in fact, as the memos have brought out, neither CBP and CIS distinguish I-140 as being more or less immig intent on the basis of who files it, but has specifically stated that I-140 approval will not be a basis for denial of TN petition or entry on existing TN.
 
Sam65 said:
The reason why my boss want me to get GC because there are 99% of the research grants which I can not apply for cancer research just because of my TN immigration status and these grants are only for US citizens or GC holders...
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This would be the reason (or at least one of the reasons) that you would definitely need to cite in your NIW petition for it to be granted--it is in the national interest for you to get those grants, since then you can fully utilize your talents, and you need the GC to get the grants.
 
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