In 2014 I won a scholarship partially funded by the US govt for a Master's in Computer Science in a US university. The scholarship was merit based and highly competitive. A similar situation was the case for my Bachelors. Can these scholarships fulfill the EB-1 criteria of "Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence"?
I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
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Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#62Hi Peter, thanks for doing this regularly. Really appreciate since this topic/situation changes more frequently now a days. Sorry for using anonymous account. I am working for a client for past 5 years on a EVC (employer-vendor-client) model. I've been employed by same employer/agency since 2008 (h1b) and they filed my GC with priority date of April 2011. Since I'm Indian born, I've given up hopes on getting a Green…
You won't lose your priority date (place in line) if you change employers but the new employer would need to start the green card process from scratch. You might want to explore the EB1A category because even though the standard is high, it's sometimes within reach.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#63How do you think the new USMCA will affect the existing NAFTA folks coming from Canada into the US on the TN visa? This seems like a pretty big unknown today. Any thoughts?
Oddly enough, I don't think there will be any significant change to the TN category.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#64Anecdotally, I have seen more than a few people get the O-1 visa recently. Has the bar changed for this visa? Who should consider applying for it?
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#65Right now, besides China and India, are there any countries that are in queue or about to to get a Green Card?
There are significant backlogs for people from the Philippines, Mexico, and Vietnam as well (depending on the green card category).
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#66Currently on I-140 + H1-B - would leaving the country and working elsewhere affect my priority date? Given the time it takes to get my greencard here I'd like to explore opportunities in Europe but don't want to lose the chance to be here since getting back on H1B/I-140 would be really difficult.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#67Anecdotally, I have seen more than a few people get the O-1 visa recently. Has the bar changed for this visa? Who should consider applying for it?
It's definitely higher than it used to be but not by much. It's still within reach of a lot of people and almost always worth exploring.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#68Currently on I-140 + H1-B - would leaving the country and working elsewhere affect my priority date? Given the time it takes to get my greencard here I'd like to explore opportunities in Europe but don't want to lose the chance to be here since getting back on H1B/I-140 would be really difficult.
No, this would not impact your priority date. Even if you move abroad, you would keep it.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#69In 2014 I won a scholarship partially funded by the US govt for a Master's in Computer Science in a US university. The scholarship was merit based and highly competitive. A similar situation was the case for my Bachelors. Can these scholarships fulfill the EB-1 criteria of "Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence"?
Generally academic awards and scholarships don't meet that criterion. That being said, this is great background data and can help support an EB1A application.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#70Currently on I-140 + H1-B - would leaving the country and working elsewhere affect my priority date? Given the time it takes to get my greencard here I'd like to explore opportunities in Europe but don't want to lose the chance to be here since getting back on H1B/I-140 would be really difficult.
No, this would not impact your priority date. Even if you move abroad, you would keep it.
Can such an employee come back to the US and transfer their H1B to another company or are there restrictions?