question about Green card eligibility

[miss_s]

Hi
Can I apply for green card directly after graduation and while on F1 OPT if my employer is willing to sponsor me for that, or do I have to go through H1-B first? Thanks

[krypton9591]

Technically they could try, but usually you need to be on a temporary non Immigrant work visa such as an H1b first. this link is very helpful in these situations /employment-based-greencard/

[scientist2016]

Hi
Can I apply for green card directly after graduation and while on F1 OPT if my employer is willing to sponsor me for that, or do I have to go through H1-B first? Thanks

Yes you can. However, for doing AOS you should be in a legal status at the time of AOS. Now employment visa categories (EB2 & EB3) need to go through PERM (labor certification) prior to even filing I140. All these processes take time (on the scale of an yr or so at the least). And for you to proceed to AOS your category needs to be current. With all these things in mind, people suggest having a H1/L1 in hand, but there is no legal requirement.

[newacct]

In fact, you don't have to be in the US at all; as long as the employer is willing to petition you, and offer to employ you after you immigrate, that's enough. Of course, you would have to go through Consular Processing if you are outside the US instead of AOS.

[miss_s]

Yes you can. However, for doing AOS you should be in a legal status at the time of AOS. Now employment visa categories (EB2 & EB3) need to go through PERM (labor certification) prior to even filing I140. All these processes take time (on the scale of an yr or so at the least). And for you to proceed to AOS your category needs to be current. With all these things in mind, people suggest having a H1/L1 in hand, but there is no legal requirement.

Thank you very much for the advice, I am on STEM opt and have a PhD, i m just worried to file for green card because I heard that if the application get rejected, I will have to leave US. Is that correct? Do you know anything about that.

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In fact, you don't have to be in the US at all; as long as the employer is willing to petition you, and offer to employ you after you immigrate, that's enough. Of course, you would have to go through Consular Processing if you are outside the US instead of AOS.

Thank you for your reply, I am on STEM OPT. Hopefully that should not be a problem.

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Technically they could try, but usually you need to be on a temporary non Immigrant work visa such as an H1b first. this link is very helpful in these situations /employment-based-greencard/

Thank you this is helpful

[scientist2016]

Thank you very much for the advice, I am on STEM opt and have a PhD, i m just worried to file for green card because I heard that if the application get rejected, I will have to leave US. Is that correct? Do you know anything about that.

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Thank you for your reply, I am on STEM OPT. Hopefully that should not be a problem.

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Thank you this is helpful

No, you do not have to leave the country if your application gets rejected. In your case, (I am assuming you will be filing by yourself), I would recommend just filing the I140. Its adjudication has no bearing whatsoever on your legal status. Once that is approved you can proceed to the I485. The reason I say that is: Filing a I485 clearly shows immigration intent. So if for whatever reason you would want to use your F1 visa, you will not be able to do so, since F1 is a strictly non-immigrant visa. (H1, L1 being dual intent visas do not have this problem.)