Attorney_11

The individual consulate or embassy consular section has wide latitude and discretion to determine if local operating conditions permit them to accept visa appointments on a regular or expedited basis. You may want to schedule a time to speak with an immigration attorney to evaluate whether there are any individualized options that could potentially apply or be able to be developed.

An NIW petition cannot be downgraded. A job offer expressed in an Application for PERM certification can potentially qualify in both the EB-2 Advanced Degree Category and the EB-3 professional category depending on the minimum requirements for the position. Whether an employer classifies such a position as EB-2 or EB-3 is a choice that does not have to be made until the immigrant petition is prepared. It may be valuable for you to schedule a consultation with a knowledgeable immigration attorney with a specific interest in physician immigration matters to discuss a personalized legal strategy.

A waiver would not be required in this circumstance. Even if your time outside the US since 2019 is not 24 full month, you still would not require a waiver in this circumstance. Assuming your program can support the educational path that you are pursuing if questioned by ECFMG, there is no impediment to ECFMG issuing a DS-2019 for you to participate in further graduate medical education. Your travel in and out of the United States should be examined to ensure there are no status maintenance or status violation issues.

This is correct. The physician must complete the three year obligation before being able to file for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa. The I-485 can be filed after the physician has completed and documented the completion of the three years of work in the underserved area.

It is legally permissible for a J-1 noncitizen to travel outside the United States while the waiver process is in its early stages. Once the favorable recommendation has been made by the Department of State, it is very inadvisable for the J-1 noncitizen to travel outside the United States. Having said that, one needs to keep in mind that it is not unreasonable for a Consular Officer to ask about the waiver process or intentions and use that as a negative factor to refuse visa issuance. Consequently, the best advice is for a J-1 noncitizen to abstain from international travel after the waiver process has commenced.

1. Generally, employment while a change of employer petition is pending is governed by INA 214(n). INA 214(n) provides for employment authorization to continue until the new petition is adjudicated. So there is no 240 day limit in this situation. 2. See above. 3. An inquiry could be submitted. Or the petition could be "upgraded" to premium processing. Premium processing resumed in stages over summer of 2017 and is now fully available again since the fall of 2017. Having said that, a consultation with a credible and competent immigration attorney in your matter before taking any steps would be valuable, as there are some facts in the post which raise some questions about whether there would be a need to show extenuating circumstances for this change of employer to be approved.

An employer may file an H1B petition on behalf of someone subject to the home residency requirement. A beneficiary subject to a home residency requirement cannot change status, apply for a H or L nonimmigrant visa, adjust status or apply for an immigrant visa until they have either waived or fulfilled their home residency requirement.

1. Yes. 2. Yes, they will have to start all over again, but they can retain the priority date from the old I-140. An exception may exist if the old I-140 was a self petition physician or non-physician National Interest Waiver petition. 3. There are always some beneficial physician related legal provisions in the works at various stages on Capitol Hill, but to discuss them here would be to engage in speculation and rumor. If any of them were to become law, then yes, there could be many advantages for physicians.

There are many ways one can approach this, but an optimal personalized legal strategy would require evaluation of factors not mentioned in this post. It is advisable to seek the counsel of a qualified immigration attorney experienced in physician matters.

The law does not permit conversion of a Physician NIW (EB-2 category) into an EB-1 petition under any circumstances. There are proposals shuffling through the halls of Congress which, if they became law, would provide some beneficial treatment of physicians who have agreed to practice in underserved areas for 5 years. But, these proposals are at the early stages. President Obama's executive immigration actions in November 2014 appeared to signal a willingness to promulgate regulations or expand interpretation of current law, policy and regulations to permit the filing of an adjustment of status application prior to the availability of an immigrant visa. However, the executive immigration actions are currently subject to litigation and do not have much traction right now while the administration focuses on the court case. But, stay tuned to MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin for the latest developments.

Companies apply for H1B petitions in April for October 1 start dates, which is the first day of the government fiscal year. For the gap between April and October, individuals either continue doing what they were doing in the US (studying, working) if they are authorized to, or depart the US until they can come back in H1B status. It would be recommended that you speak to an Immigration Attorney with knowledge of J-1 issues to evaluate your matter thoroughly and discuss a personalized legal strategy with you.

Recommendation/Approval of the waiver prior to return travel may have a deletrious effect. It is recommended to speak to an competent and credible immigration attorney prior to scheduling any travel.

This is a complex question and the answer depends on numerous facts not present in the question, such as the nature of the original J-1 program, program sponsor, timing currently, etc. It would be recommended to seek the counsel of a qualified immigration attorney via a consultation to determine a personalized legal strategy going forward.

An individual does not need a waiver of the home residency requirement before applying for an O-1 visa. An individual subject to the home residency requirement is not permitted to apply for an H or L visa, an immigrant visa, adjust status or change status in the United States. However they may, if eligible, be approved for an O-1 petition and apply for an O-1 visa and be admitted in O-1 classification.

It may be possible if the priority date is current for the I-140 petition, so that an I-485 can be filed.