URGENT: J1 & EAD

N

navdod

Registered Users (C)
Hi,
My IT employer applied for my GC 2.5 yrs ago, we hope that my labor will be approved in the next few months and my wife and I can apply for an EAD, just in time for her to start her residency program.
But we are not very optimistic that it will happen with all the re-org going on in the DOL.

Some of the programs that she got admitted into sponser J1, but she will have to go back to home country for 2 yrs before she can reapply for a visa, or she may be allowed to work for 2-3 yr in medically underserved area(called the waiver program).

But the program she got admitted into is a 1year preliminary program. She will have to really after an year to get into the categorical(5yr) program.

1.So if she were not able to get into the 5yr program, must she leave the country, because no one will offer her a waiver program with 1yr of experience.
2.If I am eligible to apply for EAD (read: labor approved) while she is on J1 can I add her name on the AOS (I-485) and EAD? Because ECFMG web site says that one cannot transfer from J1 to US permanent residency without completing the J1 home country requirement/waiver program.
3.Is there a window where before her J1 is approved I could add her name on the I-485/EAD application and she is legal. Because she is not on J1 until her J1 is approved.
4. If so, then what happens when her EAD is approved while she is already working on J1? which take priority? can we cancel her J1 with out any hassels of satisfying the home country/waiver program requirement?

Appreciate your time and effort.

Thank you.
3.
 
navdod said:
Hi,
My IT employer applied for my GC 2.5 yrs ago, we hope that my labor will be approved in the next few months and my wife and I can apply for an EAD, just in time for her to start her residency program.
But we are not very optimistic that it will happen with all the re-org going on in the DOL.

Some of the programs that she got admitted into sponser J1, but she will have to go back to home country for 2 yrs before she can reapply for a visa, or she may be allowed to work for 2-3 yr in medically underserved area(called the waiver program).

But the program she got admitted into is a 1year preliminary program. She will have to really after an year to get into the categorical(5yr) program.

1.So if she were not able to get into the 5yr program, must she leave the country, because no one will offer her a waiver program with 1yr of experience.

Yes, you are right. No one will offer a waiver job with only 1 year of training. She will have to go back.

2.If I am eligible to apply for EAD (read: labor approved) while she is on J1 can I add her name on the AOS (I-485) and EAD? Because ECFMG web site says that one cannot transfer from J1 to US permanent residency without completing the J1 home country requirement/waiver program.

No, She can not be added to your I-485 and get EAD unless she does the waiver.

3.Is there a window where before her J1 is approved I could add her name on the I-485/EAD application and she is legal. Because she is not on J1 until her J1 is approved.

She is not J1 untill she begins work on j1 status. Make sure she does not begin work on J1.

4. If so, then what happens when her EAD is approved while she is already working on J1? which take priority? can we cancel her J1 with out any hassels of satisfying the home country/waiver program requirement?

J1 takes priority.

Appreciate your time and effort.

Thank you.
3.
Click to expand...
 
do not go for J visa it is a pain I would rather wait and may be waste one year and do residency on EAD
 
Avoid going on J1, it will save you are lot of trouble in long run. Its worth waiting for EAD. When it comes to residency on J1, most of us hastely go for it thinking " when it will come to J1 waiver, we will deal with it." Later, when the time comes, J1 visa makes us really shit bricks ( pardon my language), but thats really how it feels.... :)
 
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EAD before Beginning work on J1

Hi PRAS01,
you said "She is not J1 untill she begins work on j1 status. Make sure she does not begin work on J1"
So if I apply for an EAD before she begins work on J1 (assuming J1 approved already), does she not loose her H4 status?

Does that mean that her status will not change to J1 until she begins work?
If so, how does INS know if she began working?

Seems like there is a atom of a hope in this mess!

Guys,
Would you recommend wasting an year even if it is one of the top surgery programs of the country, notwithstanding the chance that she might not be able to get into the same program next year?

Thanks for all your input.
Cheers
 
well here is my two cents for someone going through j 1 waiver, i would not take it, if u are hard working u start in any residency program later u can do fellowship in a very good program , once j 1 approved u are stuck with it and H4 does not count
finally life is about choices and what your heart tills u listen to it ( at least u were forewarned )
 
..

Nothing is worth a J1. The surgery program is just for a year prelim during which she will do only a lot of scut-work, no real surgery. If she is good enough to get it this year, she will be good enough next year too. You might want to check H4 bs. J1 with a lawyer. J1 is such a tight noose in the neck that you don't want to take any risks whatever.
 
Consider H1

Try passing step 3 if she has not already done so and then start residency on H1 and then later convert to EAD/GC as your beneficiary.
 
H1 transfer

Thanks for all your input guys.
She is working towards giving her Step 3, but not before match 2005.

The program that I was referring to sponsors only J1 for new residents. HOwever, they will transfer a H1 (only if it is with another residency program) if she has one.
Is there a way around that.

Thank you.
 
H1 transfer

I think, I would talk to the program director directly and explain that she is on H4 and explain the whole thing. I think you got the canned answer that the policy of the program etc... There are always exceptions.

One other thing you might offer... technically, Employer have to pay H1 related expenses. You might offer that you'll pay the lawyer and USCIS fees etc.

Failing that, you have to evaluate your situation about this. If I were you, I would dump this program if they don't give you H1.

If she wants to join that program no matter what.... then get ECFMG sponsorhip and donot change her status or enter into USA as J1. Your 2 year HRR do not start until your status is change. That way, if she gets EAD on June 30th, she is ok to start on that EAD. And no 2 year HRR.
 
Status change

Thanks m_img for the quick response.
Did you mean, get ECFMG certification (pass step-3 as well) when u said "ECFMG sponsorhip"?

The predicament we are in is, if she should rank that program.There is no way to know if we will get EAD before she submits her rank order list on feb 23rd.

So if she matches, she would have to notify her program if she need a sponsership say mid march, another 4-6 weeks for J1 processing. If we did know about our EAD status by then, could we cancel the J1 processing before it is approved? if not, can we choose to cancel after it is approved, but before joining the residency program @ end of June? And negotiate with the program director to start at a later date when we have our EAD on hand.

From "Your 2 year HRR do not start until your status is change. That way, if she gets EAD on June 30th, she is ok to start on that EAD." i gather u r saying the status does not change until the day she starts the program even if she has an approved J1. If so, Correct me if I am wrong, but i think the status would change as soon as her J1 is approved. So she is stuck with HRR the day her J1 approves.

Cheers
 
Did you mean, get ECFMG certification (pass step-3 as well) when u said "ECFMG sponsorhip"?

---> By doing steps 1, 2 and CSA... she already have ECMG certicate. You donot need step three for that.

---> ECFMG is the the only body that sponsors J1 physician for residency and fellowships.

The predicament we are in is, if she should rank that program.There is no way to know if we will get EAD before she submits her rank order list on feb 23rd.

--> You don't need EAD to submit rank order list. You need EAD to start residency, say July 1.

So if she matches, she would have to notify her program if she need a sponsership say mid march, another 4-6 weeks for J1 processing. If we did know about our EAD status by then, could we cancel the J1 processing before it is approved? if not, can we choose to cancel after it is approved, but before joining the residency program @ end of June? And negotiate with the program director to start at a later date when we have our EAD on hand.

---> There two steps for J1 before she starts residency: 1) Get ECFMG to sponsor... and yes, it takes 4-6 weeks if you apply early enough. If you do it in july, I have seen it done in less than a week. 2) Change of status. This is what you would want to avoid till absolutely you are sure that you want to join on J1.

-->So, if you started J1 process, there is no need to stop. Just donot do step #2 above.

From "Your 2 year HRR do not start until your status is change. That way, if she gets EAD on June 30th, she is ok to start on that EAD." i gather u r saying the status does not change until the day she starts the program even if she has an approved J1. If so, Correct me if I am wrong, but i think the status would change as soon as her J1 is approved. So she is stuck with HRR the day her J1 approves.

--> J1 approval is done by ECFMG. Status change by USCIS. Status change does not have to coincide with starting residency. I'm not sure how this would work to have it changed while you're in USA. But if you get visa outside the USA, you would become J1 as soon you see immigration officer at the airport and he/she stamps your passport. And from that time moment all the 2 year HRR rules apply. Not a moment before.
 
m_img said:
--> J1 approval is done by ECFMG. Status change by USCIS. QUOTE]

Nope. ECFMG only issues IAP-66 (it does not approve J-1), which is then submitted to USCIS along with the application to change status to J-1. The date of status change is what is indicated on IAP-66 (usually July 1). That's the date the status change takes effect regardless whether the applicant started working or not (if not, it is violation of status), and of course 2HRR kicks in.
Click to expand...
 
H1B OR NOT TO BE !
H1B OR NOT TO BE !
H1B OR NOT TO BE !

STOP, DROP THAT PEN. STEP AWAY FROM THE TABLE. DO NOT SIGN ON THAT PETITION TO CHANGE STATUS TO J1.

Let me get this right. You are on the 'interstate' (labor cert) to get a green card for yourself and your wife through your IT related slave work. Now, for the benefit of her starting residency one year earlier, you want to send her on a small footpath. This footpath is leading through treacherous dismal swamps (J1 waiver job), with plenty of hyaenas in the bushwork along the trail (greedy practice owners), although most people who have to cross that swamp survive, some don't (HRR kicks in).

Realistically, you can expect to get your I485/EAD within the next year and your GC within the next 2 years. If your wife runs into the J1 trap (baited with a desireable residency position), she is blocked from getting a GC FOR THE NEXT 7 to 8 YEARS !!!!!!! You will be a citizen by the time she finally gets her GC.

Here are my 5cents:
#1 Armwrestle the program she matches at into sponsoring an H1b. If they don't, just walk away from the position and reapply next year.
#2 Wait a year for your LC to go through, get I485/EAD for her, have her do the residency on EAD.
#3 There are plenty of general surgery prelim slots outside the match to go around. Many are at small community hospitals that are not above sponsoring an H1b if they can get a 'warm body' for the SICU that way. Once the EAD comes through, she can register for next years match and go for a 'categorical' 5 year surgery position (if she is good, the program director can promote her to a higher year position after 9 months based on her prior prelim training.)


If you think she is loosing all her knowledge by sitting around on H4 for another year, don't worry too much. We doctors aren't really that smart to start with, we just manage to impress people by using acronyms and greek words.

There are a number of people in EXACTLY the same situation as you are.
 
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kudos

Thanks for the sneak peak into the crystal ball.
The IT drudgery seems trivial compared to toiling J1
 
when does J1 status start?

navdod said:
Thanks for the sneak peak into the crystal ball.
The IT drudgery seems trivial compared to toiling J1
Click to expand...
Hadron has explained it very well. so i don't need to go into details. :cool:
one thing that was missed in this whole thread is the issue of "when does the J1 status start?" I will explain by example:

1. When in the US (status change from B1/B2/H4 to J1)::
* You get Form DS-2019 (formerly IAP-66) from ECFMG
* apply to USCIS for status change from B1/B2/H4 to J1 on Mar 10.
* USCIS approves petition for status change on May 14.
* Start J1 residency from July 1.
>>>> here, your J1 status has changed and HRR kicks in on May 14.

2. When outside the US (straight J1 visa)::
* apply to US consulate for J1 visa on Apr 7.
* J1 visa stamped in the passport on Apr 7.
* Arrive in the US on June 16 (port of entry)
* Start J1 residency from July 1.
>>>> here, your J1 status starts and HRR kicks in on June 16.

3. When in the US (on B1/B2/H4 - but, do not apply for status change, rather ask for consulate notification):
* You get Form DS-2019 (formerly IAP-66) from ECFMG
* apply to USCIS for J1 approval with consulate notification on Feb 16.
* USCIS approves petition for J1 and notifies consulate on Apr 23.
* go to a US consulate, outside the US, for J1 visa interview on May 28.
* J1 visa stamped in the passport on May 28.
* Arrive in the US on June 19 (port of entry)
* Start J1 residency from July 1.
>>>> here, your J1 status starts and HRR kicks in on June 19.
.
 
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