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• Pittsburgh, PA 15219
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• Tel: 412-471-4128
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Practice Areas

International Scholars' Immigration Practice

Green Card Options for International Scholars

Outstanding Scholar & Researcher

To qualify as an Outstanding Professor or Researcher, you must meet the following basic requirements:

• Hold a tenure-track faculty position or have a permanent job offer; and,
• Have at least 3 years of prior teaching or research experience (can include Ph.D. or post doctorate research if that research has been recognized as "outstanding").

In addition, you must also meet at least 2 of the following 6 alternative criteria:

• Received major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement;
• Belong to associations that require outstanding achievement;
• Published material (written by others) about your research;
• Served as judge of the work of others in your field;
• Contributed original work to your field; and/or,
• Authored scholarly articles or publications.

Process: This process does not require a labor certification; however, you do require a permanent job offer and you must also clearly demonstrate that you are in fact "outstanding." You can then concurrently file Form I-140 and Form I-485 including all supporting documentation with USCIS. You can also apply for and receive work and travel authorization while the application is pending with USCIS. Or, you can only file Form I-140 and proceed with Consular Processing.

If you are an international scholar permanent residency in the US, please feel free to contact an experienced US Immigration Attorney. Our immigration attorney has extensive experience representing local, national, and international scholars and researchers obtain permanent residency as an Outstanding Scholar & Researcher in Pittsburgh, PA; New Jersey; and all throughout the United States.

Alien of Extraordinary Ability

Extraordinary ability means a "level of expertise indicating that the person is one of the small percentages who have risen to the top of the field of endeavor." Extraordinary ability may be evidenced by the beneficiary's receipt of a "major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize." Alternatively, extraordinary ability may be evidenced by at least three of the following ten forms of documentation:

• Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards
• Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement
• Published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other media
• Served as a judge of the work of others (individually or on a panel)
• Original contributions of major significance in the field (scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related)
• Authorship of Scholarly articles or publications in profession or major trade publications or media
• Display of work at Artistic exhibitions or showcases
• Performance of a Leading or critical role for distinguished organizations
• Receipt of High salary or remuneration in relation t others in the field
• Commercial success in performing arts

Process: Unlike the Outstanding Researcher, this petition does not require a permanent job offer and therefore you can self-petition without an employer. You can then concurrently file Form I-140 and Form I-485 including all supporting documentation with USCIS. You can also apply for and receive work and travel authorization while the application is pending with USCIS. Or, you can only file Form I-140 and proceed with Consular Processing.

National Interest Waivers

The threshold requirement for a National Interest Waiver is a master's degree or "exceptional ability" in your field. Exceptional ability may be evidenced by at least three of the following ten forms of documentation:

• Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards
• Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement
• Published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other media
• Served as a judge of the work of others (individually or on a panel)
• Original contributions of major significance in the field (scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related)
• Authorship of Scholarly articles or publications in profession or major trade publications or media
• Display of work at Artistic exhibitions or showcases
• Performance of a Leading or critical role for distinguished organizations
• Receipt of High salary or remuneration in relation to others in the field
• Commercial success in performing arts

The main requirement for a National Interest Waiver is a three-part test set forth according to In re New York State Department of Transportation, Interim Decision #3363, August 7, 1998. You must meet all three parts to qualify for National Interest Waiver:

• What you do must be of "substantial intrinsic merit;"
• The benefits of your work must be "national in scope" (as opposed to being purely local); and
• You must establish that your past record of achievement demonstrates that you can benefit the national interest to a "substantially greater degree than would an available US worker having the same minimum qualifications."

Process: This petition does not require a permanent job offer and therefore you can self-petition without an employer. You can then concurrently file Form I-140 and Form I-485 including all supporting documentation with USCIS. You can also apply for and receive work and travel authorization while the application is pending with USCIS. Or, you can only file Form I-140 and proceed with Consular Processing.

Temporary Visas for International Scholars

O1 Outstanding Researcher Visa

The O-1 visa petition requires extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, business, education, athletics, or the motion picture or television industry. You may prove your ability in the field by showing specific evidence of your qualifications and international recognition of your extraordinary ability and that you have received an internationally-recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize. You can also document at least three of the following:

• Internationally or nationally recognized prizes or awards;
• Published material about your work;
• Membership in an association that requires members to have outstanding achievement;
• Original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field;
• Authorship of scholarly articles published in any type of major media or professional journals;
• High salary or any other type of compensation;
• Participation on a panel, or as a judge for other people's works;
• Evidence of past employment for organizations or establishments that have a high reputation.

If the above standards do not readily apply to the alien's occupation, you may submit comparable evidence in order to establish your eligibility. You will also need to provide a contract between you and your employer that describes the terms and conditions of services to be performed, or a summary of the terms of an oral agreement. For specific events, you should provide a specific itinerary showing the schedule and ending date of events.

O-1 visa cannot be self-petitioned. You require an employer to petition on your behalf. An O-1 visa may be granted for up to three years. O-1 visa status may be renewed in one year increments, or until the project is finished. Spouses and dependents are eligible for O-3 visa status upon showing their familial relationship.

H1B Specialty Occupation Visa

The H1B is a non-immigrant visa category allowing U.S. employers to seek temporary employment from skilled foreigners who have the equivalent US Bachelor's Degree who will be temporarily employed in a "specialty occupation."

The number of H-1B visas issued per year is limited to 65,000 with an additional 20,000 for those with U.S. graduate degrees and there is no limit for universities and non-profit and government research laboratories. This limited quota creates significant competitiveness for this visa. For the 2007-2008 fiscal year H1B quota of 65,000, USCIS received over 130,000 applications from U.S. employers within the first two days of accepting applications which required USCIS to implement a lottery system to randomly select 65,000 applications eligible for the H1B visa.

The H1B visa is valid for a maximum period of six years at a time. After that time an alien must remain outside the United States for one year before s/he qualifies for another H1B visa. There are two exceptions for:

• certain aliens working on Defense Department projects who may remain in H-1B status for 10; and
• certain aliens may obtain an extension of H1B stay beyond the 6-year maximum period, when 365 days or more have passed since the filing of any application for Labor Certification, that is required or used by the alien to obtain status as an employment-based immigrant, or 365 days or more have passed since the filing of an employment based immigrant petition.

An alien may change H1B employers without affecting status, but the new H-1B employer must file a new Form I-129 petition for the alien before he or she begins working for the new employer. An H-1B alien may work in full or part-time employment and remain in status. An H-1B alien may also take a valid leave of absence without affecting his or her status. As long as the employer/employee relationship exists, the H1B visa will remain valid.

Process: For first time H1B visa applications, we strongly recommend that all employers prepare all applications for filing ahead of time ready for immediate submission for filing. Especially if the foreign alien does not have a US degree, we recommend that you meet with us in order to review the foreign alien's credentials and obtain a foreign degree equivalency report to determine whether he will qualify for an H1B visa. Once we have the degree or degree equivalency including credentials, we can submit Form I-129 (H1B) including the certified labor conditional application and supporting documents to USCIS on March 30 for April 1 delivery.

J1 Exchange Visitor/Trainee Visa

J visa students, researchers, and business or industrial trainees come to the US to participate in training programs authorized by the United States Information Agency (USIA). A company can even start its own J1 training program or use an organization that is already recognized for sponsoring training programs. The trainee can be engaged in any productive employment that gives him knowledge of specific company practices in the US or of US business practices in general. This visa is valid for a minimum of three months and for a maximum of 18 months. Note that a two year home residency requirement may be imposed by job type or funding source.

Under the terms of a J1 visa, an International Medical Graduate who completes a residency or fellowship in the United States must return to his or her home country to practice for at least two years. However, there are two common J1 waivers for foreign physicians and avoid the two year foreign residency requirement:

J1 Conrad Waivers — An Interest Government Agency (IGA) shows that the IMG is needed in the US to work in a medically underserved area, as designated by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Conrad Program authorizes each state to recommend waivers for a specific number of foreign national physicals per fiscal year (October 1 through September 30). Each state has the flexibility to designate its own yearly waiver quota depending on how many foreign physicians they need to staff physical shortage areas. The program also affords J1 visa holders the opportunity to waive their two year foreign residency requirement in exchange for providing primary healthcare and some specialty care in a federally designated physician shortage area for a period of three years. Each state sets its own waiver guidelines; however, the general requirements for the foreign physician are the following:

• Work at least 40 hours a week for at least 3 years in a medically underserved area;
• Begin work within 90 days of obtaining the waiver;
• Obtain a no objection statement by the home government if contractually obligated to the home government;
• A written contract between the employer and the IMG;
• The working site must agree to care for Medical Assistance and Medicare;
• A statement signed by the IMG stating that s/he has no other pending waiver applications; and
• Evidence proving that efforts to recruit American physicians for the vacancy were unsuccessful.

We emphasize that each state's its own state specific requirements and therefore before you proceed with the Conrad Waiver please remember to check the appropriate State's Department of Health for its specific waiver requirements.

J1 National Interest Waivers — The National Interest Waiver may be requested by an interested US government agency in the "national or public interest." You must demonstrate how you will provide a direct or indirect benefit through regional or local action, and case law suggests the following factors that might satisfy the "national interest" requirement:

• Improving the US economy;
• Improving wages or working conditions for US workers;
• Improving education and training programs for US children and under qualified workers;
• Improving health care;
• Providing more affordable housing for young and; or older, poorer, US citizens;
• Improving the environment of the US and make more productive use of natural resources;
• A request from a US government agency.

Sample agencies that have sponsored National Interest Waivers include the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affair, The Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education.