Last Updated on | Published: July 24, 2022 |
How to get a Green Card?
Normally, you can get a green card by the following 3 ways:
- Marrying an American citizen or other family-based routes
- Diversity Visa Program (Green Card lottery!)
- Employment-based immigrants
See Green Card eligibility categories for more details. If you are lucky to find your other half who happens to be an American citizen or get selected in the Green Card lottery, the time to get a Green Card should be the shortest! Congratulations and now you may skip the rest of this article.
Before I could apply for a Green Card…
In short, here’s the trajectory of my immigrant status:
F-1 → F-1 OPT → F-1 STEM OPT → O-1 → H-1B → EB2 NIW (AOS) → Permanent Resident
As short as seen in one sentence, it took me 10 years!!!
I came to the US as an international PhD student in 2011 and finally got my permanent residency in 2021. It’s all about game rules. Imagine yourself as Mario trying to be Super Mario!
F1 is a full-time student visa, generally valid for 5 years. Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows international students to work 12 months part time or full time in your related field of study. If your degree is in the STEM fields, you may apply for a 24-month extension. After graduating with a PhD, I was struggling to find a job in the US. OPT really helps tremendously if you plan to work in the US. However, remember that OPT is still under F-1 visa. The biggest problem of F-1 is that you cannot show the intent of immigration.
My employer has the policy that you have to change your status from F-1 to either O-1 or H-1B first before you can start the application process for permanent residency because F-1 does not allow immigration intent. H-1B is an employment visa that requires an employer’s sponsorship. However, there’s an H-1B Cap of 65,000 each year. In the H-1B lottery, it’s more advantageous with a US master’s degree or higher. Nonetheless, I did not get selected in my first attempt. My colleague did not get H-1B at all and ended up with O-1. O1 visa is for “extraordinary individuals in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally.” I was preparing for my O-1 application along with my second attempt for H-1B. Luckily I got selected this time. However, my O-1 lawyer still submitted my O-1 petition anyway shortly within a week after I notified him that I did not need O-1 anymore. I think this is another story about how law firms try to make profits from tech companies… That’s why I had a short-lived O-1 status about 2 months before H-1B took effect on Oct 1st.
F-1 OPT valid from 5/17/2017 to 5/16/2018.
F-1 STEM OPT valid from 5/17/2018 to 5/16/2020.
Jan 2018: Started to work!
2018 H-1B lottery failed…
4/11/2019: H-1B I-129 received by USCIS
5/09/2019: O-1 I-129 received by USCIS
7/18/2019: H-1B approved. Valid from 10/01/2019 to 5/04/2022.
8/08/2019: O-1 approved. Valid from 8/07/2019 to 5/05/2022.
What’s EB2-NIW and Why?
I took the EB2-NIW route to permanent residency. Here’s why:
- EB2 is less stringent than EB1. EB2 is the second preference employment-based visa for individuals holding an advanced degree or with exceptional ability. Having a PhD degree and a decently high citation number (100-140 during petition) of my publications put me in a better position in the EB2 category.
- National Interest Waiver (NIW) can waive the requirements of a job offer and the labor certification (PERM) process. That is, you can self-petition via NIW without an employer sponsorship and save a lot of time!
- Flexibility of changing jobs right after getting a NIW Green Card. Usually it’s advised not to change positions or employers until 6 months from the approval date of I-485 via a regular EB2 PERM process.
- No backlog for Taiwanese. There are per-country caps under each application category. For countries with a high population, such as China and India, EB1 route is probably the best if you have a PhD. Always check if your category is “current” at “The Visa Bulletin” every month.
Timeline of Green Card Application?
Your attorney will provide a checklist of all the documents needed, such as a copy of your birth certificate, all I-20 forms, all EAD cards, passport photos and I-94 of your last entry. NIW requires additional documents to demonstrate your national interest to the US.
Here are the key documents in the application:
I-140: Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
I-485: Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
I-765: Application for Employment Authorization
I-131: Application for Travel Authorization
I-693: Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
Green Card Marathon officially started!
10/31/2019 (Priority Date): I-140/I-485/I-131/I-765 concurrently received by USCIS.
11/12/2019: We accepted the fingerprint fee for your Form I-485. Nebraska Service Center is working on your case.
12/12/2019: The fingerprints relating to your Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, were taken.
1/21/2020: I-131/I-765 (AP/EAD) approved. Valid from 1/21/2020 to 1/20/2021.
March/2020: COVID-19 outbreak in the US…
7/29/2020: We sent a request for additional evidence for your Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.
8/21/2020: I-131/I-765 (AP/EAD) received by USCIS (Renewal).
10/22/2020: I-131/I-765 (AP/EAD) approved. Valid from 10/22/2020 to 10/21/2022.
10/28/2020: We received your response for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.
11/27/2020: I-140 Was Approved.
12/23/2020: Your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, was transferred to another office for processing. (NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER, P.O. BOX 648005, Lee’s Summit, MO 64064)
12/28/2020: We transferred your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to another USCIS office that now has jurisdiction over your case.
3/24/2021: We sent a request for initial evidence (I-693 Medical Exam and Vaccination Record) for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
5/10/2021: We received your response for Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
7/28/2021: We approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
7/29/2021: We mailed your new card, your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, directly to the address you gave us. Card Was Delivered To Me By The Post Office
Critical Steps for Green Card Application?
- YOU!
That’s right! You!
I wish I could have started it earlier, right from the beginning of starting my job! In my case, I should’ve applied for O-1 along with the H1-B lottery in 2018. The advantages of O-1 are that you already show you are an extraordinary individual in your field, and that you can apply all the same materials in O-1 application directly to the NIW petition. However, I was waiting for the H1-B result, hoping that I could get selected. Then it failed… In retrospect, the inertia holding me back was too many things on my plates. Moving to a different state, my very first job out of graduate school, an intensive learning curve with 24/7 on-call duty, etc. A lot of things to learn and maneuver. STEM OPT with a 2-year extension really helped me through this transition.
- Recommendation Letters
Do NOT expect your attorney to draft the recommendation letters for you. All my attorneys did was to give you some templates and guidelines. I was expecting my O-1 attorney to give some structural advice but he only did a bit of grammatical correction on my drafts.
Be considerate and plan ahead for your references. Everyone has their own things and schedules. No one is obligated to help you. Try your best to make it easier for them to help you. Of course, their willingness to help you could be another story because relationships, reputation and trust are not built in one day.
I ended up with only 3 letters from my PhD advisor, a colleague at a National Lab, and my manager at that time. I researched online that some immigrant attorneys ask for “independent” references to demonstrate and strengthen the National Interest of the applicant. For example, an “independent” reference could be a professor you met in a global conference or a scholar who cited your papers, and they have not worked with you directly. Finding independent references is difficult because you are basically a stranger to them. My NIW attorney told me 3 letters are enough for me because he’s seen people successfully got green cards even though their citation numbers are much lower than mine. Still nervous and uncertain, I just gave it a shot.
- I-140/I-485 Concurrent or Not?
I think this part is debatable. Ideally, concurrent filing should be faster because you will have an earlier priority date so that your I-485 gets in line for approval faster as soon as your I-140 is approved. However, I found online quite a few cases filed separately got responses or approvals faster than mine. It was also very likely that COVID-19 lockdowns delayed the process.
- Your attorney!
I got an I-140 request for further evidence (RFE) from USCIS around the beginning of Aug, 2020. My attorney set up a deadline at the end of Aug to give him all the documents. The most important one was the recommendation letter from my manager. My manager happened to be on vacation during that time. I was embarrassed but had to ask him during his vacation to review the draft. We finalized the letter at the 11th version! I sent all the materials to my attorney around mid Aug. However, my attorney procrastinated for 2 months, mailing my RFE response on the RFE expiration date… even though I sent him several follow-up emails. I was really upset. This really put me on the edge. The thought of “What if…” was always lingering in my head all the time. If something unexpected happened, say the package was lost, I would have missed the deadline.
I was assigned to different attorneys at different stages, from H-1B, O-1, NIW to I-140 RFE, probably because my employer uses a large law firm. It’s all by luck that you’ll never know if you would get a attorney that won’t procrastinate your case.
- I-693 (Medical Exam and Vaccination Record) together with I-485?
I did not submit my I-693 with I-485. Looking back at the timeline, if I did, my case should have been approved in late March of 2021 because I-693 is valid for 2 years. However, you’ll never know the future, like COVID-19 outbreak. It’s a matter of the risk of paying twice for the medical exam vs. waiting for additional 4 months.
- USCIS
USCIS is like a blackbox. It’s always a mystery why some cases are faster while some are slower.
Here are some tricks that may help you:
Case Tracker: I found this USCIS app useful because it will automatically inform you of any changes to your case status.
Ask Emma: I used “Ask Emma” on USCIS website several times to reach their representatives for questions and case status. Usually they will ask you to wait if the RFE was delivered but not yet updated in their system. If you are lucky to get a nice representative, they can escalate to a Tier 2 officer and give you a service number for a callback in 72 hours.
Congressman/Senator: It had not been updated for 2 months since USCIS received my I-485 RFE response. I read online that some people asked Congressman or Senator for help to give a push for their cases. I contacted the Senator of our state by filling out the form online. A month later, shortly after my green card approval, a representative from the Senator’s office emailed me and checked my case status. Although it was late, this method could be helpful if your case was stuck for months.
Other Possible Paths and Risks?
My approach to permanent residency approval is really to play safe. Traveling internationally may also pose risks to re-entry to the US when you are in the transition from one status to another. If there was any uncertainty, I avoided any international travels if possible. I usually visited my family in Taiwan once a year during my PhD. However, ever since my OPT was effective, I only visited my family once.
Other different scenarios for a PhD graduate?
- If you already have a very high citation number of your publications during PhD, you can find a good immigrant lawyer yourself and self-petition NIW. Getting a green card before going out to the job market is a huge advantage to open up to more opportunities!
***However, remember F1 holders cannot show the immigration intent. I-140 filing may be OK in F1 status, but filing a I-485 significantly shows your immigrant intent and will make you not eligible for OPT.
- If I was not able to find a job with an H1-B sponsor in OPT, I had to go back to Taiwan and NIW self-petition through Consular Processing for permanent residency.
Summary
It took me 10 years from F1 to Green Card! I’m grateful for anyone who helped me during this journey. It’s been a loooooooooong way! My learning and suggestions will be:
- Do your research and find out the best route for yourself.
- Understand the rules and risks at each transition. Be aware of re-entry risk to the US for international travel.
- Prepare the documents as soon as possible.
- Don’t feel embarrassed to ask for help.
