My wife is a US citizen and we currently both live in Germany and planed to move at the and of this year. We’ve filed a I130 in November last year and got an initial estimate of it being done right now (7 Months not to bad). But looking further into it it takes at least 15 Months to process this stage of immigration, worst case scenario it could’ve been 50 months (4 year!!!)

This wouldn’t all be to bad but to add insult to injury it looks like I’m effectively barred from entering the US during this period and US customs can even bar me for 5 years from entering the country if I try.

I just feel incredibly sad about the fact that the way to go if you have a sweetheart in the US seems to be to illegally marry on a Tourist entry into the country…

The earliest the US would even respond to our inquiries is in 2024, which is frankly ridiculous.

There doesn’t seem to be any workarounds other than transferring on an L1 Visa between companies that are situated in Germany and the US, every other visa is single intend (i.e illegal if you plan to stay and the US gets to decided if you’re trying to do that)

I don’t understand what the US is scared of, taking their social benefits? Especially since 90% of the I130 are approved, there is no reason it takes that long or needs such rigorous vetting.

Peter if you know any better or disagree please let me know :(

I don’t think you or anyone can assure me that if I am currently trying to enter the country for a visit I might not be turned away by customs (worst case scenario being barred from entering for years).

I don’t know how you can plan your existence around random chance of US customs.

Please correct me if I’m wrong with that assessment.

To come highlight again, this has been a huge surprise to my wife’s family who resides on both sides of the political aisle.

They assumed it would be bad, but not quite how bad.

> They assumed it would be bad, but not quite how bad.

I have seen this play out many times. Everyone goes "We aren't against immigration, just the illegal crossings. Get in line like everyone else!" until they or someone close to them finally comes across the actually legal process.

So with your November filing, I think it would not be unreasonable to expect an update within the next 3 months or so. And from there on it should go fairly fast, probably just 1-3 months from an approved I130 to a GC.

Good luck!

I know lots of Brits and Canadians in California who have also followed this path.

A lot of talk in here about H1B visas, and that's probably because they're the most plentiful. But, that's not the only type of visa that people should be thinking about.

You can also try to convince your employer to keep applying for an H1 for you while you are working on an L1 - if they agree that's usually a good sign the employer is going to work hard to complete your GC process, and isn't just using the L1 status to handcuff you to the company.

Sky high property prices across the country compared to wages (not just on the coast or in London, everywhere).

Low salaries and high cost of living compared to equally developed countries.

Chronically underfunded public services but ever increasing taxation.

It rains a lot and the weather miserable, this is the biggest one for us personally.

Edit: It looks like the 10,000 person cap was already hit [1]. Do you think there is a huge demand beyond the 10k cap?

[1] https://www.canadavisa.com/h1bowp.html

Edit: sorry. Got the “not that kind of lawyer” response. They do refugees.

People at senior levels in big tech are now earning 400k CAD. That should afford a nice life.

The jobs H1 holders will want don't tend to be in the "affordable" parts of Canada either.

The speed at which these Canadian offers were consumed speaks far more to the desperation of many in the US stuck in Green Card wait lines that can take decades depending on your country of birth - all the while being at risk of loss of status should you be unfortunate enough to lose your job in the multi-decade wait. I don't think we are witnessing the flight of the top 10% from FAANG here in many cases at all.

- During the Trump administration, the number of RFEs (request for evidence, often step 1 of denying a petition) for H-1B petitions increased significantly. I'm reading that 40% of H1Bs were RFEd in fiscal year 2019 under Trump, versus 16% under Biden in 2021 [1]. I was personally affected by this: both of my H-1B petitions were RFE'd under Trump (I have a math PhD from a top 20 American university and am working in software). These RFEs are incredibly stressful, time consuming and costly for companies.

- During the Trump administration, USCIS started requiring almost all employment-based green card applicants to attend an interview. This significantly slows down the green card application process because USCIS is bottlenecked on officers to perform interviews. Biden reverted this change.

- During FY2022, due to the dynamics of US immigration law, nearly double the number of employment-based green cards were available than usual (265k versus 140k normally). Under Biden USCIS basically had a task force actively dedicated to ensuring all of these green cards were used [2]. I think we can pretty sure that under Trump, USCIS would have had a business-as-usual attitude, not deployed any special measures, and would only have issued around the regular quota of visas.

[1] https://resources.envoyglobal.com/global-immigration-compass.... [2] https://www.uscis.gov/archive/fiscal-year-2022-employment-ba...

My lawyer told me you need a 4 year degree equivalent, and 4 years of experience can convert to a year.

If you have zero university education, that would be 16 years' experience required, based on that lawyer's legal instruction.

> 5) A determination by the Service that the equivalent of the degree required by the specialty occupation has been acquired through a combination of education, specialized training, and/or work experience in areas related to the specialty and that the alien has achieved recognition of expertise in the specialty occupation as a result of such training and experience. For purposes of determining equivalency to a baccalaureate degree in the specialty, three years of specialized training and/or work experience must be demonstrated for each year of college-level training the alien lacks. For equivalence to an advanced (or Masters) degree, the alien must have a baccalaureate degree followed by at least five years of experience in the specialty

I converted 8 years of that experience to 2 years of a bachelor's degree to make the full 4 required, and had a University professor provide a letter of endorsement.

I was applying from Europe, and even then it was apparently a fairly expensive process for my sponsor.

I know you don't make the rules, but on the surface it would seem that these numbers are switched around ;-)

Not sure how helpful this is, but our method is that if we have a registered company in their country they will be hired as a typical employee. Anyone hired in a country we don't have a corporate presence in is hired as a contractor.

A global payroll provider effectively acts as the "local employer" (they have a local entity in each country) and contracts out the employee to your company, so while the employment contract is with the provider, you can still sign all sorts of side-letter contracts like NDAs, IP assignments, stock grants etc without issue.

Pros are that unlike a contractor, the employee is subject to local labour laws and protections. Cons are that the employee is subject to local labour laws and protections (and the employer is subject to local labour taxes, which the payroll provider will pass through to you).

In certain countries with particularly employee-favourable labour laws, we found it easier to attract employees this way, as they may be unwilling to forego the protections and social security / pension payments they would normally get as an employee.

[Edit: but beware of the double edge of course - if you ever want to fire such an employee, you may run up against said strong labour laws.]

e.g. About whether to incorporate locally or in the U.S., and that sort of thing -- anything unique to an expat situation.

(This may be out of your wheelhouse, but I figured I'd ask.)

For the basic OPT, you don't really do any paperwork--the school and student do some paperwork and obtain an EAD that you use for the I-9 form.

For the STEM OPT extension, you have to be participating in E-Verify (required in many states anyway), and fill out a training plan for the two years: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/i983.pdf

I think the bigger issue is continuity--employers that plan to convert these to other visa types for continue employment will need to be planning for that from the beginning to avoid interruptions.

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/how-do-i-request-premi...

Thanks for doing this! Apologies for the generic question

    1st 01JAN12
    2nd 01JAN11
    3rd 01JAN09
    OW  01JAN09
    4th 01SEP18

So check the diff between those dates and your date.

For EB2/3 -- likely 15 years or more...

Also, it is stupid to call H1B a high-skilled visa when you hand it out via lotteries. I wonder if people consider winning powerball as a skill?

But to answer your question, many people filed 10-20 applications each through fake companies to get H1B. The H1b acceptance rate was down to 13% and more than half the applications were filed by people with multiple applications.

Would it have to be solely through H1B? I've seen/witnessed that for certain types of jobs, e.g. teachers - alot of these barriers are moved.

What sort of obligations would a company have to first show that they tried but couldn't hire local people, or failed to relocate people to come?

Would this just be standard H1B process? There is no exact case here/situation, I'm just curious because - the nursing license is transferrable from the Philippines to many USA states (if not all?) and the Philippines is a country which is known to "export" it's people, mostly as "OFW" throughout East Asia and Middle East and as of late Canada.

I'm curious how this mechanism works - because it seems to be a win/win.

However, they often are not eligible to do so because of their illegal prescence. If one has been in the US illegally, as an adult, for more than 180 days, they have a three-year ban. After one year it becomes a 10-year ban. This applies to both visiting and immigration. They have to return home (or another country) to serve the ban before getting a visa to return.

One notable exception to this rule is marrying a US citizen, but only if the initial entry was legal (i.e. visa overstay, not border jumping). Being a parent of a US citizen also works, but the child has to be 21 first. Being a parent of a US citizen under 21 has no immigration benefits.

But of course if they leave the US willingly (e.g. traveling to their home country) they will be banned from ever coming back.

Yes, they can be deported. This has affected me personally and other members of my extended family.

If the rule stays, then US citizen children can be left with no adults in their life legally able to raise them in the US. On the other hand, if having a child in the US becomes an automatic ticket to citizenship, there will be a significant increase in children being born for this reason only that may be neglected, and people who want to overstay and are willing to have a child are basically guaranteed the ability to do so.

Another side effect if removed would be that the US border folks may be unwilling to admit pregnant visitors even with very legitimate reasons, because they know there is nothing to stop them from obtaining a green card if desired.

edit to clarify: even without this rule, you have to have entered legally, so just illegally crossing and immediately having a child wouldn't work--you would have to enter as a tourist or otherwise.

But... I hope you have been filing yearly taxes in the US...

Once you have a US passport you are a US citizen, end of story. Doesn't matter which other passports you hold. You can't be denied entry into the US.

As someone without any research papers, any significant industry presence, how difficult will it be to get an EB1 green card if I start chipping at requirements now?

How doable is getting parents within next 5-7 years?

I am from India as well, and I am currently a startup co-founder for a self-funded startup that currently employs about 5 American Citizens full time. My other co-founder is with me on the idea of continuing the self-funding situation and acquire more customers which will increase our revenue.

I am considering applying for EB-1 but wondering what my changes would be to get a GC through that path, would you rather advise me to wait a bit more until we hit 10 American Citizen workers in our company?

Given the denial, in July 2021 the hiring company then applied through USCIS premium processing again for TN Engineer with my Computer Science degree and I was approved. I was let in at the border with my TN status without issue.

In August 2021, I we back to Canada, and then upon re-entering the US with my TN I was sent to secondary given my previous denial on record. The officers basically rechecked my packet and asked so many questions about my previous denial, the officer then lets me in but states “you might not be so lucky with the next officer”. From what I understand they can take away my TN or even just deny me entry in the future based off the previous denial.

I haven’t left the US since then, but want to visit Canada and come back. However, I’m terrified of the officer denying me entry based of my previous denial. What are my options here? My company’s lawyer basically said we just have to try and hope for the best.

Thanks so much!

Still spent 3 years going to secondary, “just because”.

I initially applied for L1B at Peace Bridge and was told that I needed to show the company I worked for was profitable (not true).

We drove to Detroit-Windsor from Fort Erie as they told us there were no appointments until three weeks out (you don’t actually need an appointment I found out later).

In Detroit I was denied my L1B because “the last year you worked abroad cannot count towards your acquisition of specialized knowledge” (also false).

My opinion of CBP is you need to get the right one or have your lawyer on speed-dial so they can argue with the officer.

Getting status at the border used to be seen as a pro for Canadians but more and more I’m seeing it as a con.

My wife had a similar thing happen (not a TN visa though). The immigration lawyers got to work and she was allowed to try again a couple weeks later. This time the officer agreed with the assessment that she was qualified for that visa type. The original officer had a very narrow perspective on how a certain job title was defined that was not inline with how most companies operate.

If your company has a Canadian office, the lawyers could try getting you on an L visa. Or there's an E visa. Once you're on one of those visas then your company can sponsor a green card. Green cards are much more stable and they're easier to renew. Then citizenship if you want to go that far.

How long does this take usually?

I also forgot to mention that you have to wait 91 days from your last entry before filing the I485 to bypass the single-intention of TN.

If you flew in on a plane, they have to get you deported which costs money and energy.

Also they will assume you have more capital if you come by plane than land and thus ask less questions.

> If you flew in on a plane, they have to get you deported which costs money and energy.

Being denied entry can be quite summary, no proceedings, for most people. Admission is broadly at the discretion of the border officer and recourse for most people is either heavily limited or just straight up zero.

Note that for flights from non-preclearance countries, the airlines are fined if you're not admitted (averaging $3500 at the time of writing but I think closer to $10000 now). I believe they're responsible for paying your way back too. [1] In fact I think USCIS even tried to fine United after paroling a traveler during a transit that wouldn't have otherwise been permitted.

[1] https://airlines.iata.org/2016/10/13/document-verification-t...

If you're actually living in the US and just taking occasional vacations abroad this is extremely unlikely.

Where people get caught out is when they're trying to basically snowbird between two countries while still on a green card. In that case it's better to first serve your 6 years in the US to earn citizenship. Then you're free to go anywhere anytime you want.

Very true. But the point the OP is making is that your entire fate is in the hands of a CBP officer and they are a very, very mixed bunch.

I repeat OP's advice to avoid a land crossing, I'm not sure exactly what it is but I suspect partly that land crossings have much less time pressure. I've had my car pulled over and partly taken apart looking for "anything suspicious". We were two men in our mid twenties and I think the agents were just bored, honestly.

You can apply with form I-131 and like $575.

While it can take 3-12 months to process, if you apply more than 60 days before travel and complete your biometrics appointment, you can leave and pick it up at a foreign embassy or consulate. This helps you avoid the presumption that you abandoned your US residency.

[1] https://rjimmigrationlaw.com/resources/what-is-a-re-entry-pe...

I don't believe CBP is allowed to deny a green card holder entry on this basis if you provide any evidence that amounts to a colorable claim of being an LPR, such as a physical green card. They are allowed to pressure you to officially give up your status by convincing you to sign an I-407, but you have the right to insist on being let into the country and referred to an immigration judge.

If they do want to bother with the referral, CBP can take the physical green card, give you alternate proof of status, give you a Notice To Appear for removal proceedings before an immigration judge, and let you in with all the same rights as any other green card holder on a tentative basis. Yes, the immigration judge would still revoke permanent residency if you are found to have abandoned your residency, but you have the chance to involve your immigration lawyer and argue your case before the immigration courts. And there might be a long wait before you even get the court date in the first place.

I am not a lawyer or other immigration professional and am speaking generally here based on general information. If you think you might be in a situation where this would happen to you, consult an actual professional for proper legal advice applicable to your case.

Its fine if you stay outside of you for less than 1 year. Beyond that you should get a reentry permit before you leave.

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-820?language=en_US

> A permanent resident (called lawful permanent resident or LPR) or conditional resident (CR) who has remained outside the United States for longer than one year, or beyond the validity period of a Re-entry Permit, will require a new immigrant visa to enter the United States and resume permanent residence. A provision exists under U.S. visa law for the issuance of a returning resident special immigrant visa to an LPR who remained outside the United States due to circumstances beyond his/her control. [2]

More than 6 months interrupts your continuous residency for citizenship purposes unless you have a REP.

Personally I'd err on the side of caution and say if you're regularly away for long periods or if you plan to be away for more than 6 months, it's probably worth the REP. I think any extended or regular absences should probably be regarded with a little more weight than 'it's fine' although most people probably do. If I were gone for more than 6 months I'd expect a pretty significant grilling.

[1] https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/sample-pdf/inadmiss...

[2] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrat...

People who had every right to enter the country.

Don’t leave the US unless you absolutely must.

On the plus side, America as one of places for great vacations.

This doesn't solve your problem entirely but if you're legally allowed to be in the US then there's nothing underhand about taking advantage of the program.

I think NEXUS might be easier, but when I did this as a European the border agent didn't really know what to do and was very grumpy that I didn't provide a US address to send my card which I was told by a different airport I didn't need. Once that was sorted, I haven't had any trouble since and it usually eliminates queueing at the border.

If you're physically in the US, do it at an airport if you can get an appointment - they tend to be much more relaxed than the border guards.

Also, make sure you tell them you are on TN status or they will happily wave you through on B1 which you won't know until you download your updated I94.

Bingo. I had the unfortunate experience of crossing after obtaining a renewal through USCIS, but before my original TN had expired.

Despite giving them all of documentation, including the I-797A and new I94, the agent entered me based on my old TN, which expired.... a couple days later.

One told me I had to get a Mexican visa if I were to come back since I was visiting so often. Mexican visa. To enter the United States.

The US can only stay competitive by making it easy enough for global talent to want to come here and want to stay. In the past ~15 years, the US has really lost its edge on being the melting pot and welcoming immigrants in a nation built and populated by immigrants (except for native peoples).

PS: Not all CS/engineering degrees are created equal. There are some US institutions where their Computer Science (CS) Bachelor's degree is not accredited by a professional society while the Electrical Engineering (EE), Computer Engineering, etc. are. I switched majors to earn one that was ABET accredited. For new international students, it's vital to check the International Mutual Recognition Agreement (IMRA) for their degree to be sure it's widely recognized by the rest of the world. The cliche is a Russian physicist who ends up teaching US high school biology because of trouble with degree portability.

https://amspub.abet.org/aps/name-search?searchType=program&k...

My understanding is that the application is “portable” to an extent, but what exactly does that mean? Does the PWD need to be filed again?

From a startup’s perspective, what does the company need to do to accommodate this incoming employee?

How specific is “same or similar”? Say, going from front end web dev to machine learning. Or going from VLSI to full stack web dev. All very similar in that they’re software development heavy, but do have significant differences in the actual field.

Just had my 140 submitted and prio date is not yet current for 485. My company said they will apply for a circumstances based ead due to l1 expiry in June 2024.

Is it possible for me to move company 6 months after the 485 filing with the emergency ead for work auth, due to the l not being transferable?

I know there is a 6 month wait on the 485 to trigger ac21, is it worth me doing priority 140 processing or does this not factor in?

Many thanks.

The job market in the UK in my area is very slim I can't find the type of jobs I would like to do. That's the reason for me why I want to move to the US.

What are the possible routes that I can possibly take to immigrate to the US?

European, PhD, what's the fastest way available for me to get a green card?

I've heard of the investor visa, but I can't invest 1mil, or hire 10 people.

I've also heard of the H1B, but from what I understand that means years of uncertainty.

I've held a L1B, not sure if that matters.

Edit. I thought I'd clarify: I've held an L1B and I still do. I'm not in the US now but I can be.

I understand there are certain visas that an individual can obtain independently (like a TPS visa, or being the spouse of a L1 visa holder) without employer sponsorship, and other visa types that require employer sponsorship and other paperwork (I believe even visas like a TN require some coordination with candidates).

Generally speaking, are there any considerations you recommend small startup employers take when interviewing and hiring visa holders? Which visa types require the company to hire an immigration lawyer vs other visa types that don't? Links to external resources would also be helpful if there's a go-to source for this type of information.

Also, how does US immigration compare to other countries, such as the UK, Canada, or Germany? Is it easier to immigrate or harder?

Briefly, US immigration has little to no concept of merit. The simple (in theory but hard legislatively) fixes are to make it a lot more like a points based system that favours a combination of skill/education/wages instead of race or country of origin and on the worker rights front removes all dependence on the employer for immigration.

- The first step to get a CR-1 visa is to file the I-130 petition, which as per [1] is taking about 12 months on average. Your luck may vary.

There is no magic pathway unfortunately but on the positive side, your spouse will be a permanent resident as soon as they enter the country.

[0] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/v...

[1] https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt

Should we hire an immigration attorney?

Do you know if it would be easier for her to get permission to work in Europe?

She wants to work as a first priority, but staying in the US longer than 6 months would be convenient.

ty!

Could you spell out what "2 years at a stretch and generally up to 5 total without issue" means for non-native speakers?

Starting as a grad SWE at a chip company in September. Current plan is to try get hired in a big tech or HFT/Quant after 1 year, and build most desired skills to help chances of sponsorship in future.

Thank you, advice appreciated from anyone.

Probably the fastest and simplest way is to get hired by a big tech or US-based HFT company in the UK, and transfer over on an L-1 visa after working there for over a year. In 2021 getting an international transfer to the US with a FAANG was super easy, but it may be trickier now with the layoffs and hiring freezes. Big tech is historically very good at green card sponsorship; HFTs less so in my anecdotal experience.

[1] https://www.istplus.com/internshipusa/

Thanks a lot for taking time to answer me.

They did not strike me as particularly knowledgeable as to getting a Congressional office involved even though I brought it up. Just big-tech provided lawyers, not sure how effective they are when the process deviates from usual

As I see it my only options are:

a) Move back to Canada, start company there. Does this impede getting VC funding? Can I somehow move back to the US if my company becomes successful?

b) Wait until I get a greencard.

Further question:

c) Is it better to go TN->PERM or TN->H1B->PERM, what are the drawbacks of the first option?

Does this hinder their chances of re-entering the US on an ESTA for short periods (i.e, in this case, visiting their in-laws)? As I understand it, you're not supposed to get married while on an ESTA, but the way the law reads is that you're not supposed to get married and try to convert it into a residence visa. Which isn't what happened here.

Your friend's real problem is the 88 days. Long stays like that on ESTA are not a problem until suddenly they're a problem. They raise eyebrows. How did he support himself for 88 days in the United States? Does he really have strong enough ties to his home country if he can just stay away for 88 days? I would not do it again if I was him. Come for a couple of weeks, or get an immigrant visa.

You mean, come for a couple weeks, but don't fall in love or start a family with an American girl or boy.

> Getting married is fine. Getting married and then changing your mind is acceptable.

I would imagine that getting married and changing your mind is what this policy is meant to encourage! What about getting married and not changing your mind? What about having and raising children?

Is it United States policy that the children of such marriages must be raised only by single parents?

Point is, with a few exceptions (notably, H-1B), coming to the United States on a non-immigrant visa with the intent of staying is an inadmissibility (7A1 immigrant without an immigrant visa). It doesn't matter if you're married of have children. Coming to the United States on a non-immigrant visa and then adjusting status due to a change in circumstances is allowed.

>Is it United States policy that the children of such marriages must be raised only by a single parent?

If it's a bone fide marriage (and if there's a child, it probably is), the US citizen spouse can petition for an immigrant visa (which will turn into a "green card" on admission at the border). Immigrant intent is not an issue when entering on an immigrant visa.

My personal opinion that this immigrant/non-immigrant visa distinction should be removed from US immigration law, but right now it's there, so these are the rules right now.

We are also now looking to bring in a few Europeans with exceptional professional skills in allied areas. What do we need to look out for in doing this and which visa category is the most stable for their application? As a startup are we limited in how many people we bring in? Right now there are at least two. I recall in the past I was on some sort of management-for-new-US-subsidiary type visa (~2010) and this was preferential to the H1 types. Cheers.

I haven't incorporated, haven't setup an LLC, have accepted payments on my girlfriend's sole proprietorship. What can I do here that doesn't screw me over when it comes time for my interview?

[1] Whether that's raising the EB cap (or exempting one from the EB limit & allowing AOS after 2 years of waiting).

[2] Delegating legal immigration control partially to the states (e.g. states being able to issue EB IVs or work NIVs beyond federal caps), since something like that might be more palatable to some parts of the Republican party, although I'm not sure if it'll be enough to overcome the general xenophobia of the GOP.

Quite unlikely. The line would be "California will just let everybody in and send 'em to our state!"

2. Not happening. Nothing is getting through Congress anyway.

This isn’t right—it would be more accurate to say AOS relief from the GOP is not likely. Democrats nearly passed an amendment as part of the budget bill in 2021, which would have allowed AOS after a 2 year wait (exempt from EB caps). The bill was unfortunately blocked by the Parliamentarian: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/19/1038776731/in-a-blow-to-democ...

Democratic Senate leadership didn’t feel confident about the odds of overriding the Parliamentarian due to Sinema and Manchin, and that’s how that died.

If (a) Democrats regain the House, and (b) Democrats get a Senate majority w/o conservatives like Manchin — then it’s basically guaranteed that immigration reform will pass. Immigration reform is an extremely high priority for the Democratic Party.

What do I need to do for having a work permit in the US? and can the process be in Ireland?

we would like to move once I get a job (the job ask if I can legally work there)

I am currently working as a software engineer in the UK (I'm from Hong Kong) for the past 2 years and am actively considering the following:

1. Getting a Masters degree in US then work in US with STEM OPT and apply for Green Card through employer; or

2. Moving to Canada, become a citizen in 3.5 - 4 years then apply for TN status and work in US, then try to find a good timing for Green Card application

If my intent is to settle in the US, which route would you recommend me to go through?

Thank you so much for your time!

For that reason, if your goal is ultimately the US, focus on the US, because you will otherwise be adding _many_ years to the process.

One very notable asterisk to the above: If, while applying for a GC, your spouse is from a no-backlog country (born in Canada, UK, or other no-backlog countries), then your application can essentially adopt that country as the birth country, and you can get through the GC process in a relatively short time (all other things equal).

From your perspective "good timing for a green card application" is ASA-F'ing-P.

Both of those are specifically provided by Congress as exceptions to the general rule of charging to the current sovereign of the place of birth.

Will this affect my visa approval in the future as I am working on a startup which will be incorporated in US?

Thank you!

I would love your help understanding two scenarios. Specifically - If I were to leave BIG_TECH_CO and join another company in October, would I be able to maintain my green card application according to AC21? - Same question, but what would it look like to work for my own company instead?

From what I have been able to gather by reading online, I would qualify to transfer employers after six months. However, a few pieces are still unclear to me: - If I switched employers, my understanding is that I would want to stay on my H1B until the I-485 is approved, to minimize risk in case the I-485 is denied. I assume that would be a fairly seamless process if I were to transfer it to another employer, but would I be able to transfer it to my own company? - If I pursue a naturalisation application 5 years after the green card is granted, would the government look unfavorably on the fact that I moved employers so soon after the I-485 window has passed? My limited research has raised this as a concern, on the basis that USCIS grants green cards on the assumption that the applicant has the intent to be "permanently employed" by the filing party? - Is there anything else I'm missing?

1. The grandfather does not have to come to the interview, correct?

2. We want to come for a visit for a few months to half a year (also for the interview), with the option of emigrating either this trip or in the future.

What type of visas should we apply for? If it's for a short to medium trip or for eventual emigration.

I understood that if my wife enters with a tourist visa and we then apply from within the US to emigrate it is frowned upon and can be denied.

Is this something we would definitely need a lawyer for? What would the costs be?

Would something like this visa be most appropriate: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent...

I am trying to understand what it takes for a successful EB-1 application and have a few questions:

1. From what I've seen, the application packet I will send would be hundreds of pages. I am assuming the officer reviewing my application wouldn't have the time and expertise to go through all of it. What exactly would they be looking for? (in your experience) Is it the executive summary? What matters the most?

2. After the AI and LLM age, citations counts are all over the place. It's fairly common to have hundreds of citations as a grad student these days. However, if you are working in a niche area, how would you prove that your relatively low citation count is okay in your area?

3. F-1 visa is non-immigrant visa. However, I've seen many PhD students apply for EB-1 and successfully get it as a F-1 student. How exactly does that work? Would a pending/succesful EB-1 visa mean I'd never get OPT? (assuming I am waiting for my priority date).

Thanks for your time!

First, don't procrastinate. There is a non linear relationship between real time and USCIS time. It's something like 1:5 or more. So 1 month of procrastination is delaying your green card by 5 months. If you don't think you can do an EB1 right away, do an EB2-NIW to lock the priority date, assuming you don't have a priority date already.

1. The bar is sustained international acclaim and being at the top of the field. If you fit the standard researcher profile, papers, awards, citations, patents, salary and other quantifiable metrics would be a good place to anchor your application.

2. Supplement it with reference letters and show impact in other ways. It's all subjective. Look at other templates or get a lawyer.

3. There shouldn't be any interaction between the two, but not a lawyer. Check with one, especially if you plan to travel.

Look at AAO decisions to get a sense of what gets rejected.

1. The bar is very high. You must show that you have "risen to the top of your field" through very substantive evidence. There is a list of admissible evidence on the USCIS website. An attorney can discuss whether this is worth pursuing from your credentials.

2. The USCIS values citations but it's not everything. In my petition, I relied on reference letters from experts in the field who have cited my work from across the country. Again, an attorney can help with this.

3. You must not have immigration intent at the start of your F-1 period. However, you can change your mind afterwards and you can file an I-140 after 90 days, which is what USCIS considers a "long enough" time period. But in doing so, you have demonstrated your intent to stay and it's highly recommended that you do not leave the country until you get your GC.

Good luck!

If on paper, we can show we're co-founders does that change the equation?

I would love to move back to US because of more employment opportunities than Canada.

My workplace is processing my GC, currently pending DOL wage certification.

I hate my job.

If I change job, it appears they'll have to start the process again. It looks like I will lose work permit if I don't receive i140 on time.

I haven't run the numbers but is it too late to change jobs now? What are my options?

It's too stressful!

I am a ML researcher (with a couple papers) in Canada (intl student from India), in senior year of undergrad. What are my chances of O-1? It's supposed to be for extraordinary people which, by definition, can be a very high bar to clear.

So I was wondering if there is any point working towards it or just go with L1B or something?

Any information would be appreciated. Thanks

The requirements seem very subjective (define extraordinary). And so I wanted to know what are some real requirements/conditions the committee uses in real life for people who have already got O-1s.

Question: is our experience unique? Was it a mistake to hire a lawyer from the get go? We had friends who sailed through without an attorney in months.

For everyone, when ridiculous things like that happen, some options are to involve your local Congressional office (often issues like this are resolved when a Congressional office makes an inquiry, particularly on local matters) or to involve the USCIS Ombudsman (which surprisingly often yields positive results).

You should meet Rajat Kuver. He taught and has a private practice now for complex family and work-related immigration cases in the SF Bay Area. Also a cool, decent guy.

https://www.kuver.com

Do you have plans to scale up your operation? Or maybe you can recommend other immigration lawyers? You can charge referral fees while you scale up your process.

Also, what would the potential cost be if we found a candidate that needed an H-1B visa and we wanted to hire.