J1 into Green Card - 4 questions

[Lothric]

Hey,

IMG here. From Sweden.

Say I go J1 residency --> fellowship. After the fellowship, I can't find a waiver job and thus return to Sweden for 2 years. After the 2 years, what happens?

1. I'm guessing I have to find a job that is willing to sponsor me H1B. How negatively affected will I be in terms of finding a job (onc/heme) and are there other negative consequences (such as lower compensation/more work)?
2. Is there some kind of fee I have to pay when I decide to return to the US after the 2 years in my home country?
3. Say I do find a waiver job. Would the only difference be that I'm 1 year older when I start applying for jobs willing to sponsor me a H1B?
4. If I find a job that sponsors me H1B but is in a state I don't want to work in, can I leave that state directly after my GC or is it usually required (due to contracts etc.) to work in that state for some time too even after receival of GC?

A similar question would be about getting H1B sponsor for residency but not fellowship. So after IM residency I work until I get GC. The goal is to apply for fellowship when I get the GC. Can you usually apply for fellowship directly after the GC or is there something that requires you to keep working with the GC for some time before you are allowed to apply for fellowship?

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[geripalgal]

1. I'm guessing I have to find a job that is willing to sponsor me H1B. How negatively affected will I be in terms of finding a job (onc/heme) and are there other negative consequences (such as lower compensation/more work)?

Response: work and compensation should not change because of visa status, but finding a job in good locations will be tricky.

2. Is there some kind of fee I have to pay when I decide to return to the US after the 2 years in my home country?

Apart from any visa application fees?? I dont think so.


3. Say I do find a waiver job. Would the only difference be that I'm 1 year older when I start applying for jobs willing to sponsor me a H1B?

An immigration attorney would be able to answer more detail for all these questions. But yes from my understanding. Without the waiver, you would be subject to the 2 year rule.

4. If I find a job that sponsors me H1B but is in a state I don't want to work in, can I leave that state directly after my GC or is it usually required (due to contracts etc.) to work in that state for some time too even after receival of GC?

Once you have a GC you can apply to any hospital accross the country without restriction of visa. Whether you are bound to a certain employment period (like a 2 year contract) will be up to your negotiation with your employer, and breaking a contract early may have penalties (pay back of signon bonus etc). In most cases, employers dont sponsor for GC as soon as you start working, so the "service obligation" part would be the amount of time you have to work there before they agree to sponsor you (maybe a few years?). The state itself has nothing to do with it, apart from the fact that most hospital networks dont cross state lines for employment....

A similar question would be about getting H1B sponsor for residency but not fellowship. So after IM residency I work until I get GC. The goal is to apply for fellowship when I get the GC. Can you usually apply for fellowship directly after the GC or is there something that requires you to keep working with the GC for some time before you are allowed to apply for fellowship?

there is no such requirement, but quiting on the day you recieve your employer sponsored gc will leave a bad impression on your previous employer - and they usually give a reference to youe future one.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Agree with above, with the following additions:

3. Say I do find a waiver job. Would the only difference be that I'm 1 year older when I start applying for jobs willing to sponsor me a H1B?

A J waiver essentially converts your J visa into an H visa. You would be required to work full time for your employer for 3 years (usually). During that 3 year period, your employer could apply for a GC for you -- but it's their choice, not yours. Usually they apply for the GC at the end of the 3 year period.

4. If I find a job that sponsors me H1B but is in a state I don't want to work in, can I leave that state directly after my GC or is it usually required (due to contracts etc.) to work in that state for some time too even after receival of GC?

As above, its your employer that applies for the GC for you. Many employers won't apply for the GC right away, to avoid this situation. You should assume that you'll be in that location for a number of years while it's all sorted out.

A similar question would be about getting H1B sponsor for residency but not fellowship. So after IM residency I work until I get GC. The goal is to apply for fellowship when I get the GC. Can you usually apply for fellowship directly after the GC or is there something that requires you to keep working with the GC for some time before you are allowed to apply for fellowship?

Same answer as above. As soon as you have a GC, you can quit your job and do anything you want. But since employers know this, they usually wait until you've worked for awhile to apply for the GC (plus it's expensive for them). And the GC process is very slow, can take months/years from application to actually receiving it.

 

[Raryn]

Agree with above, with the following additions:


A J waiver essentially converts your J visa into an H visa. You would be required to work full time for your employer for 3 years (usually). During that 3 year period, your employer could apply for a GC for you -- but it's their choice, not yours. Usually they apply for the GC at the end of the 3 year period.



As above, its your employer that applies for the GC for you. Many employers won't apply for the GC right away, to avoid this situation. You should assume that you'll be in that location for a number of years while it's all sorted out.



Same answer as above. As soon as you have a GC, you can quit your job and do anything you want. But since employers know this, they usually wait until you've worked for awhile to apply for the GC (plus it's expensive for them). And the GC process is very slow, can take months/years from application to actually receiving it.

This is something that some of my friends on Js didn't take into account - if they apply for a green card at the end of your 3 year waiver period, it may be 6 months (or longer) until you actually get it. Taking a waiver job in Iowa (or Alabama, or wherever) doesn't necessarily mean you get out of there in 36 months exactly. It may mean you spend 3.5 years there. Or 4 years.

 

[Lothric]

Thanks for the answers!

Additional questions:
1. So the difference between the two year rule of returning to home country and doing the 3 year waiver is that in the former, I need to find a H1B-sponsored job whereas in the latter, at the end of the waiver I'll get sponsored to GC immediately with no intervening H1B.

2. Is it hard to find any job (no need for good location) that would be willing to sponsor H1B after I return to the US after the two years in the home country? It would suck to have a large intervening time interval of doing nothing.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

1. Not exactly. Yes, if you go home for 2 years and then decide to come back, you'll then need a valid work visa in the US which will probably be an H visa. If you get a J waiver, you don't get automatically sponsored for anything. You get an H1b visa (with some additional stipulations). Your employer might, or might not, sponsor you for a visa. You might work for your J waiver position for 3 years, then find a new job on an H1b, and have that new job sponsor you for a visa.

2. Hard to say. Depends on what country, and what you're doing. If you're a physician in Sweden, then probably.

 

[Lothric]

1. Not exactly. Yes, if you go home for 2 years and then decide to come back, you'll then need a valid work visa in the US which will probably be an H visa. If you get a J waiver, you don't get automatically sponsored for anything. You get an H1b visa (with some additional stipulations). Your employer might, or might not, sponsor you for a visa. You might work for your J waiver position for 3 years, then find a new job on an H1b, and have that new job sponsor you for a visa.

2. Hard to say. Depends on what country, and what you're doing. If you're a physician in Sweden, then probably.

Hi,

Comment on 2: This is regarding IM and onc/heme after I return from Sweden to US.. With "probably", do you mean it's likely for me to find a job or probably that I will not find a job?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

If you complete all training in the US, then return to Sweden. If you can then work in Sweden (which I don't know) and your work in Sweden would be medically equivalent to work in the US (i.e. you're treating the same diseases with the same types of treatments), then it's likely that you'd be able to find a position in the US. If you can't work as a physician in Sweden or if the work is substantially different, then after a 3 year break it would be very difficult to find a position.

Most people are able to find J waivers, so this isn't much of an issue.

 

[Lothric]

If you complete all training in the US, then return to Sweden. If you can then work in Sweden (which I don't know) and your work in Sweden would be medically equivalent to work in the US (i.e. you're treating the same diseases with the same types of treatments), then it's likely that you'd be able to find a position in the US. If you can't work as a physician in Sweden or if the work is substantially different, then after a 3 year break it would be very difficult to find a position.

Most people are able to find J waivers, so this isn't much of an issue.

Thanks for the answer.

So you recommend me finding a J waiver over returning home to Sweden? The beginning of your paragraph makes me believe that you're saying I should return to Sweden first and foremost.

I mean, if I can get a waiver as onc/hem doc I'd rather go with that than returning home.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Getting a waiver is the best option if you want to stay in the US.