Comment by thrwwyrbrts010 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by thrwwyrbrts010 | Hacker News Reader

I have a question about EB-2 NIW.

I have a Ph.D. (Elec. Eng.) from a non-U.S. university and have lived in the U.S. on a J-2 (dependent) visa; my spouse was working as a researcher at a U.S. university. During that time, I worked (on an EAD) for a U.S.-based R&D company, serving as a principal investigator on Govt. (DoD) funded research projects. I have publications, have served as reviewer for intl. academic journals, etc., but have not won any internationally recognized prizes.

(1) Given my background, do I currently stand a chance of getting an EB-2 visa via NIW?

(2) Would it all come down to the letters supporting my applications?

(3) Does my prior J-2 status (2-year home stay requirement; visa expired 1.5 years ago) have any effect on possibly getting an EB-2 visa via NIW?

(4) Would the prior J-1 status of my spouse affect her ability to join me on an E-21?

(5) Would applying to the Diversity Visa Program interfere with also applying for an EB-2 visa via NIW?

Thanks!

I had mine approved in April (it took 6 months) and I self-filed (no lawyer involved) but I used an online template I bought from a couple who went through the process several years ago (https://www.eb2niw.com/). I am not affiliated with them in any way. You will definitely need letters of recommendation but most importantly you will need to show that you are better than the majority of you peers. For example, you could show how well your work is cited compared to others in the same field. You being a P.I. on a federal grant is a huge plus and I think that already increases your chances significantly. As far as J visa situation goes, I think it's possible to get a waiver but I'm not a lawyer and I was on H1B when I applied so can't speak of it.

Depending on the conditions of your spouse's J-1 (if they were sponsored by the home country, etc) you may be able to get a waiver to the 2 year home residency requirement, see the "waiver" question here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/ex...

I successfully got a "no objection" waiver.

My friend who was on J2 had to leave the US for two years despite having his EB2-NIW i140 approved. You cannot escape the 2 year home country requirement. You can apply for i140 but you can't get the green card/immigrant visa until you satisfy it.

I was able to get a waiver to the 2 years home residency requirement. Since my position wasn't sponsored by my home country I went with the "NO OBJECTION" route. The US part of it went very smooth, it was my home country part that required to demonstrate, to my home country government, that they hadn't payed me to come to the US (lol). But other than that the process was easy and worked fine.

Yeah I should add the waiver footnote around J2 requirement. This depends on countries - my friend's one is very strict so he couldn't do anything.

My spouse's and my country of citizenship are not the same - I wonder if I (as J-2 dependent) require a letter of no objection from my country of citizenship, or if it would have to be from the country of citizenship of the J-1 holder.

No way to side step the 2 year requirement, many have tried.

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