Student on F-1 OPT, not getting married or anything...further options?

[fcrvenkovic 0]

Hi all,

I'm currently a student on F-1 OPT and looking for a job. OPT started a month ago and expires in Feb '12.

I'm a rather unique case, I used to have a green card when I was a child when we lived in the US, but after returning to Croatia (my native country) I lost the green card since I was a minor.

Now I'm in the US as a student, graduated last December and I'm on OPT now. I have a SSN, driver's license etc.

I've been reading the forums here for a while and it seems that all international students seem to go the "get married with a US citizen" route, but I have no intention on doing so.

I want to gain my green card status again - what are my options at this point?

Thanks a lot for any answers,

Filip

[milimelo 4,475]

Were you on BA, MA or PhD program? Easiest would be to get another student status for higher level of education, then get the University to sponsor you for H1B and then green card.

Other than that, marriage but you're not interested in that at the moment.

Play the DV lottery - Croatia is eligible.

[fcrvenkovic 0]

Were you on BA, MA or PhD program? Easiest would be to get another student status for higher level of education, then get the University to sponsor you for H1B and then green card.

Other than that, marriage but you're not interested in that at the moment.

Play the DV lottery - Croatia is eligible.

Puno hvala na odgovoru

Let me switch to English since this is a US forum.

No, I was an undergraduate Business student so I guess that doesn't qualify. If all else fails, I'll try to get into an MBA program, but those are expensive :/

I played the DV lottery and I'm waiting for the results, which should arrive between May 1st and June 30th if I'm correct!

[Harsh_77 718]

You cannot get a PR status based on your old green card. Not all the F1 students get married to USC either.

Simple option for you is to look for a company with whom you would like to work for and they can file a H1b for you and then you can pursue again for another GC based on your employment.

I have never come across Univ filing for H1b, so not sure how the earlier poster go that reference from and H1b is H1b does not matter who files you have to go thru same GC process.

[missaero 7]

Harsh, some universities hire their post-docs as H1Bs.

To the OP, no not all F-1s go the "marriage route" - quite frankly I find that statement offensive.

Anyways, H1B through an employer is probably not an option for you since this is for highly skilled foreign workers (Professional in a Specialty Occupation). With a BA only and a bunch of American BAs flooding the market, there is 0 chance IMO of this working.

Your best option is an MBA program. Try to find a program that will let you get an Assistantship - these often pay tuition and give you a bit of a stipend.

Also, since you are on OPT and unemployed, are you aware of the unemployment rules? You only have so long that you can be unemployed on OPT. See here: http://www.issso.uh.edu/Day_Unemployment_Rules.shtml Bear in mind that whatever employment you get must be related to your field of study.

[Harsh_77 718]

Under Grad degree from Business school should not be disaointing, I am not sure what kinda job you are looking for but with that qualification you should be able to find the job and file for H1 as well, Bach degree from Business school puts u in skilled labor pool.

Only reason I am saying this is coz I have gone thru same process and I had no difficulty in getting H1.

[mjaskiew 8]

Filip, you best bet is to find an employer willing to sponsor you for H1B and then green card.

But you also have one more option you can check - have you ever heard of SB1 Returning Resident? Google it, find a GOOD immigration lawyer and schedule a consultation with them - maybe you have a chance of getting your green card back...

Here is one of many links I found: http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?287845-SB1-returning-resident-determination-DS-117

Good luck!

[snooki703 7]

Anyways, H1B through an employer is probably not an option for you since this is for highly skilled foreign workers (Professional in a Specialty Occupation). With a BA only and a bunch of American BAs flooding the market, there is 0 chance IMO of this working.

False.

Plenty of my international student classmates are graduating with sponsorship offers and jobs in marketing, finance, IT, etc. "Highly skilled" is relative and vague, but basically it means that you need a college degree for the job, which the OP has. Definitely more than "0 chance" of getting an H1B sponsorship although admittedly smaller companies are less likely to do so. Be aggressive and persistent.

Could you work as a research assistant/admin staff from the college where you graduated? If you work for a university/higher education institution I believe that as employers, the universities are not subjected to the H1B cap, so theoretically if you are more qualified than US candidates, your need for sponsorship shouldn't hinder you at all.

What is your current employment situation? 90 days of unemployment is the max for OPT, but getting a "job offer" is pretty easy considering that volunteer work can qualify as employment. If you find OPT employment, your best bet is to have that company sponsor you.

Oh and its kind of a long shot but if you were interested in working with the UN/other international NGOs, they have their own visa category- the G-4 visa, which is nice because it doesnt hinge on a quota.

[fcrvenkovic 0]

To the OP, no not all F-1s go the "marriage route" - quite frankly I find that statement offensive.

I didn't mean to be offensive, it's just a statement of fact. Again, I apologize if that offended you!

Under Grad degree from Business school should not be disaointing, I am not sure what kinda job you are looking for but with that qualification you should be able to find the job and file for H1 as well, Bach degree from Business school puts u in skilled labor pool.

Only reason I am saying this is coz I have gone thru same process and I had no difficulty in getting H1.

Thanks for your answer, I actually have a job interview lined up and I'm searching for other jobs aggressively so something should turn up.

The employer that I'm interviewing with also told me upfront that they'll handle the H1B visa after my OPT expires etc. so no worries about that

Filip, you best bet is to find an employer willing to sponsor you for H1B and then green card.

But you also have one more option you can check - have you ever heard of SB1 Returning Resident? Google it, find a GOOD immigration lawyer and schedule a consultation with them - maybe you have a chance of getting your green card back...

Here is one of many links I found: http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?287845-SB1-returning-resident-determination-DS-117

Good luck!

I'll make sure to go to my immigration lawyer and talk to him about this! Thanks!

False.

Plenty of my international student classmates are graduating with sponsorship offers and jobs in marketing, finance, IT, etc. "Highly skilled" is relative and vague, but basically it means that you need a college degree for the job, which the OP has. Definitely more than "0 chance" of getting an H1B sponsorship although admittedly smaller companies are less likely to do so. Be aggressive and persistent.

Could you work as a research assistant/admin staff from the college where you graduated? If you work for a university/higher education institution I believe that as employers, the universities are not subjected to the H1B cap, so theoretically if you are more qualified than US candidates, your need for sponsorship shouldn't hinder you at all.

What is your current employment situation? 90 days of unemployment is the max for OPT, but getting a "job offer" is pretty easy considering that volunteer work can qualify as employment. If you find OPT employment, your best bet is to have that company sponsor you.

Oh and its kind of a long shot but if you were interested in working with the UN/other international NGOs, they have their own visa category- the G-4 visa, which is nice because it doesnt hinge on a quota.

My college was in a very rural area and I wanted to relocate where I used to live before and that's Los Angeles. I have far better chance of getting a job here then I would back at where I studied (Southern Virginia).

As I said, I have a promising job interview lined up (since I did an internship in the company's Croatian office) and I'm searching for other opportunities as well. I'm just concerned with the 90-day time limit. It's really not enough, especially in this economic climate. Nowadays, when you apply for jobs online and then wait for a reply, it takes weeks and months for the company to respond - IF they respond at all! I literally have to go knock on their doors to see if we can get things rolling.

If I can figure out something with the green card before that expires or hopefully I win the DV lottery, then that'll be great!

[snooki703 7]

I'm just concerned with the 90-day time limit. It's really not enough, especially in this economic climate. Nowadays, when you apply for jobs online and then wait for a reply, it takes weeks and months for the company to respond - IF they respond at all! I literally have to go knock on their doors to see if we can get things rolling

With regards to the 90 days, you can volunteer or work as an unpaid intern and have that count as a job offer. While you're volunteering or interning, you could continue your actual job search.

Check out what university of buffalo says about what counts as a job offer on this site, on page 2:

http://wings.buffalo.edu/intlservices/documents/MaintainingStatusWhileonOPT-LH-3-09.pdf

[missaero 7]

False.

Plenty of my international student classmates are graduating with sponsorship offers and jobs in marketing, finance, IT, etc. "Highly skilled" is relative and vague, but basically it means that you need a college degree for the job, which the OP has. Definitely more than "0 chance" of getting an H1B sponsorship although admittedly smaller companies are less likely to do so. Be aggressive and persistent.

That depends. For H1b the employer must show that there was not an equivalent American candidate that they could have hired. "Usually" this means you need a higher degree, at least this is the case in engineering. Harsh, you may have been lucky, but Business is a popular undergraduate degree and therefore the OP will be competing against a flooded undergraduate market. Snooki, its not that I said the OPs field was the problem, more the fact that he is an undergrad. This for sure makes life more difficult.

Now, the OP has a job interview which is great! Best of luck, but do be sure that they put your sponsorship offer in writing. I've seen too many people brought in on OPT and then thrown out the door before H1B is needed.

[Boiler 45,411]

That depends. For H1b the employer must show that there was not an equivalent American candidate that they could have hired. "Usually" this means you need a higher degree, at least this is the case in engineering. Harsh, you may have been lucky, but Business is a popular undergraduate degree and therefore the OP will be competing against a flooded undergraduate market. Snooki, its not that I said the OPs field was the problem, more the fact that he is an undergrad. This for sure makes life more difficult.

Now, the OP has a job interview which is great! Best of luck, but do be sure that they put your sponsorship offer in writing. I've seen too many people brought in on OPT and then thrown out the door before H1B is needed.

No they do not.

Basically no job, no sponsor then you leave.

Not an obvious degree to do if you wanted to be sponsored. You just need to find an Employer willing to incur the cost of sponsorship.

[Harsh_77 718]

That depends. For H1b the employer must show that there was not an equivalent American candidate that they could have hired. "Usually" this means you need a higher degree, at least this is the case in engineering. Harsh, you may have been lucky, but Business is a popular undergraduate degree and therefore the OP will be competing against a flooded undergraduate market. Snooki, its not that I said the OPs field was the problem, more the fact that he is an undergrad. This for sure makes life more difficult.

Now, the OP has a job interview which is great! Best of luck, but do be sure that they put your sponsorship offer in writing. I've seen too many people brought in on OPT and then thrown out the door before H1B is needed.

Business school could be popular and there can be bunch of graduates from it - that should not matter.

As long as the OP can make thru interview for what the company is looking for then there is not a problem.

Given your example if we take for example fine arts school and say there are not very many ppl graduating from art school, does not mean it will increase his chance of getting job.

Coz the jobs in that field are less as well.

I dont know what was OP graduating from Business school, but if he did something like information sys or something then these kinda candidates are flexible to fit into tech role as well as business role.

If one grad from Engg school, then they are only fit for tech role, noone will hire them for Buss role.

I can tell this as I myself have gone thru the same process graduating from Business school.

Here are the eligibility criteria for SB1

Under provisions of immigration law, to qualify for returning resident status, you will need to prove to the Consular Officer that you:

Had the status of a lawful permanent resident at the time of departure from the U.S.;

Departed from the U.S. with the intention of returning and have not abandoned this intention; and

Are returning to the U.S. from a temporary visit abroad and, if the stay abroad was protracted, this was caused by reasons beyond your control and for which you were not responsible.

Good luck for your interview, hope u can make it.

[missaero 7]

Sorry Boiler but you are wrong. The INA sets out that an employer must submit a labor certification so that eligibility for the H1B to be determined.

(A) Labor certification.-

(i) In general.-Any alien who seeks to enter the United States for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor is inadmissible, unless the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General that-

(I) there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified (or equally qualified in the case of an alien described in clause (ii)) and available at the time of application for a visa and admission to the United States and at the place where the alien is to perform such skilled or unskilled labor, and

(II) the employment of such alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed.

(ii) Certain aliens subject to special rule.-For purposes of clause (i)(I), an alien described in this clause is an alien who-

(I) is a member of the teaching profession, or

(II) has exceptional ability in the sciences or the arts.

Exceptional ability in the sciences or arts obviously does not apply in this case, therefore the employer must show (a) (i) (I) as above. Harsh, regardless of your degreed background, if you are in a flooded candidate pool, with many American applicants, the chances of getting H1B are reduced significantly.

[Boiler 45,411]

Sorry Boiler but you are wrong. The INA sets out that an employer must submit a labor certification so that eligibility for the H1B to be determined.

Exceptional ability in the sciences or arts obviously does not apply in this case, therefore the employer must show (a) (i) (I) as above. Harsh, regardless of your degreed background, if you are in a flooded candidate pool, with many American applicants, the chances of getting H1B are reduced significantly.

The Employer has to pay the going rate. Non need to show there are not US applicants.

The Availability of local applicants means an Employer is less likely to go the expense of going through the process.