Do I Need to Have H1B to Start the Green Card Application Process?
We at North America Immigration Law Group usually receive hundreds of inquiries regarding employment-based immigration every week. Many potential clients have been asking whether they need to have an H-1B visa to receive a green card. So we would like to clarify that an H-1B visa is not a prerequisite for any type of a green card. In fact, we have hundreds, if not thousands of clients who obtained their green cards while holding visas such as F-1, F-1 OPT, J-1, B1/B2 or TN.
A common misconception is that a person on a non-immigrant visa that requires non-immigrant intent must switch to a dual-intent visa before they can apply for a green card. Dual-intent visas include H, O. L and P visas. However, this is not true. While you may hold a visa that requires non-immigrant intent, you are not prohibited from changing your mind and seeking permanent residence at a later time. For this reason, you are able to switch directly from a non-immigrant visa such as F or J to an immigrant visa such as EB-1A or EB-2 (NIW). There may be certain factors that do not allow you to switch such as INA 212 (e) two year home residency requirement attached to certain J visa, but obtaining an H-1B visa would not alleviate these factors.
If you wish to switch from a visa that requires non-immigrant intent to an immigrant visa, you are said to have immigrant intent. This is not an issue once you already have your non-immigrant visa and are in the United States, but you might encounter issues extending your non-immigrant visa or obtain a new visa stamp if you have immigrant intent. For this reason, switching to a visa that allows for dual-intent can be beneficial. If you were to switch to one of these visas, you would be able to extend your underlying non-immigrant visa and travel without having to worry that your green card process will impact that visa.
While changing to a dual-intent visa may alleviate some of the frustrations that accompany applying for a green card from different non-immigrant visa categories, the time and cost involved in switching visa statuses for the sole reason of applying for a green card often outweighs any benefits. When a client comes to us in a status that requires non-immigrant intent, we are able to assist them with a personalized case strategy that takes into account their current status, past statuses, and their green card aspirations so that they may successfully obtain their green card.
If you are interested in starting your green application based on categories such as EB1-A Alien of Extraordinary Ability, EB-1B Outstanding Researcher/Professor, or EB-2 National Interest Waiver, feel free to email us for free evaluation at law@WeGreened.com.