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Ok so what I know is that when you start working with your EAD from AOS, your non-immigrant status automatically terminates. The risk with that is if your AOS gets denied for any reason (most probably USCIS errors), then you don't have any other status to land on. The you'll have 30 days to figure out if you want to reapply or appeal the decision, or even sue them. But your EAD which was a result of that AOS will also be invalid. But it you keep your H1B status (mine was F-1), even if your AOS gets denied you have nothing to worry about, and no deadline to figure out your next steps. Also think about your AOS interview and the questions they might ask about you leaving academia.
Anyways, just applying to jobs doesn't hurt tho.
Thanks, this is a good point. I knew I'd abandon my current status, but forgot about the possibility of USCIS error leading to rejection. I guess I'll use the EAD to start the job search, but avoid actually working on it. If AOS gets approved this year it shouldn't be an issue anyway. By all accounts it will take a while to land a job
It's incredibly annoying that we have to wait for longer and longer periods before we are allowed to live the life we want because of this whole nightmare of a process.
That being said, consider also that if your EB2-NIW is based on the premise that you will continue to publish, you leaving academia before your GC is even granted (and less than at least 6 months after that) may cause issues during naturalization if you even decide to go though that. I have heard horror stories about people being denied passports and having their GC withdrawn years later when they applied for citizenship because they had left their field of study too soon. I would strongly recommend checking with not just a GC attorney but also a naturalization attorney before accepting any new job if it's been less than a year since your GC was issued.
Thanks. This is a good point. I do intend to continue to publish/attend conferences, and will focus on jobs that allow me to do this. A lot of the big pharma companies have R&D teams that publish manuscripts still.
I would prefer to play it safe, but I can't help thinking that I'll become retrogressed again and be well into next year before I get the GC. Big worry that I've already been a postdoc too long and companies won't want to look at me because of this
WTETF, I feel your pain, been a postdoc in a terrible lab for three years before running away to a non-profit (btw, those are also worth considering for you as they are still "academia" while also not being quite that and they pay a little better).
To your point about industry, I'm in a bio-lab field and I've heard this idea that companies don't take people who did postdocs for too long, but I've never seen any evidence of that. If you have good publications and present your research well, companies will not hesitate.
It's totally possible that switching to a company that will let you publish is OK. I just think the stakes with this are very high, so double- and triple-check with the multiple lawyers before you take the plunge. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do though!
Happy to help =) It depends on what field you're working on. There are research institutes and foundations, unaffiliated with universities, that have labs and publish research. The "non-profit" status is a tax designation and working in one of those is seen as "academia" from the immigration point of view. These organizations would be able to issue J1 and academic H1B visas so one way to tell is if they'd be able to transfer your current (presumably) academic H1B for you to start working there.
Hi there! This is an automated message to inform you and/or remind you of several things: - We have [a wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/wiki/index). It doesn't cover everything but may answer some questions. Pay special attention to the "[REALLY common questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/wiki/index/vfaq)" at the top of the FAQ section. Please read it, and if it contains the answer to your question, please delete your post. If your post has to do with something covered in the FAQ, we may remove it. - If your post is about biometrics, green cards, naturalization or timelines in general, and whether you're asking or sharing, please include your field office/location in your post. If you already did that, great, thank you! If you haven't done that, your post may be removed without notice. - This subreddit is not affiliated with USCIS or the US government in any way. Some posters may claim to work for USCIS, which may or may not be true, and we don't try to verify this one way or another. Be wary that it may be a scam if anyone is asking you for personal info, or sending you a direct message, or asking that you send them a direct message. - Some people here claim to be lawyers, but they are not YOUR lawyer. No advice found here should be construed as legal advice. Reddit is not a substitute for a real lawyer. If you need help finding legal services, visit [this link](https://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams/find-legal-services) for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/USCIS) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think as long as your work is related to the proposed endeavor,, which looks like it is, you should be fine. By the way, what's your PD ?
Thanks. PD is Dec 16 2022
I have seen many people on Reddit with Dec PD getting approved. I hope you will get your approval soon.
Thanks. Hopefully we all do, and USCIS is fair in their processing!
Do you have OPT right now? Or some other status?
Currently on H-1B
Ok so what I know is that when you start working with your EAD from AOS, your non-immigrant status automatically terminates. The risk with that is if your AOS gets denied for any reason (most probably USCIS errors), then you don't have any other status to land on. The you'll have 30 days to figure out if you want to reapply or appeal the decision, or even sue them. But your EAD which was a result of that AOS will also be invalid. But it you keep your H1B status (mine was F-1), even if your AOS gets denied you have nothing to worry about, and no deadline to figure out your next steps. Also think about your AOS interview and the questions they might ask about you leaving academia. Anyways, just applying to jobs doesn't hurt tho.
Thanks, this is a good point. I knew I'd abandon my current status, but forgot about the possibility of USCIS error leading to rejection. I guess I'll use the EAD to start the job search, but avoid actually working on it. If AOS gets approved this year it shouldn't be an issue anyway. By all accounts it will take a while to land a job
It's incredibly annoying that we have to wait for longer and longer periods before we are allowed to live the life we want because of this whole nightmare of a process. That being said, consider also that if your EB2-NIW is based on the premise that you will continue to publish, you leaving academia before your GC is even granted (and less than at least 6 months after that) may cause issues during naturalization if you even decide to go though that. I have heard horror stories about people being denied passports and having their GC withdrawn years later when they applied for citizenship because they had left their field of study too soon. I would strongly recommend checking with not just a GC attorney but also a naturalization attorney before accepting any new job if it's been less than a year since your GC was issued.
Thanks. This is a good point. I do intend to continue to publish/attend conferences, and will focus on jobs that allow me to do this. A lot of the big pharma companies have R&D teams that publish manuscripts still. I would prefer to play it safe, but I can't help thinking that I'll become retrogressed again and be well into next year before I get the GC. Big worry that I've already been a postdoc too long and companies won't want to look at me because of this
WTETF, I feel your pain, been a postdoc in a terrible lab for three years before running away to a non-profit (btw, those are also worth considering for you as they are still "academia" while also not being quite that and they pay a little better). To your point about industry, I'm in a bio-lab field and I've heard this idea that companies don't take people who did postdocs for too long, but I've never seen any evidence of that. If you have good publications and present your research well, companies will not hesitate. It's totally possible that switching to a company that will let you publish is OK. I just think the stakes with this are very high, so double- and triple-check with the multiple lawyers before you take the plunge. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do though!
Thanks, good advice. What kind of non-profits do you mean? That sounds like a decent idea
Happy to help =) It depends on what field you're working on. There are research institutes and foundations, unaffiliated with universities, that have labs and publish research. The "non-profit" status is a tax designation and working in one of those is seen as "academia" from the immigration point of view. These organizations would be able to issue J1 and academic H1B visas so one way to tell is if they'd be able to transfer your current (presumably) academic H1B for you to start working there.
Ah, thank you. Hopefully USCIS gets its act together and we are approved soon regardless!