Physician Couple Filing Both NIW and PERM Applications Approved Green Cards

June 9, 2011 - This physician J-1 waiver couple, both internists, reached the end of the lengthy visa process for J-1 physicians when they recently received their green cards. Both husband and wife are internists who completed their residency programs on J-1 visas. The wife held a J-1 visa and her internist husband held a dependent J-2 status. My law firm was first retained years ago as they completed their residency programs to apply for a J-1 visa waiver and H-1B visas for permanent employment as internists. We first filed for and received a J-1 visa waiver approval for a waiver position in Chicago. The waiver also extended to the J-2 internist husband and their dependent child. We then applied for H-1B visas for each of the physicians since both needed separate H-1B visas for their employment. Their dependent child remained on the H-4 status. In addition, we filed an I-140 National interest waiver petition under the EB-2 category for the wife. The EB-2 classification was then visa current so we concurrently filed I-485 adjustment of status petitions for the entire family, sponsored by the wife.

Within months, the original J-1 waiver position in Chicago did not work out. We then had to file a J-1 waiver transfer for the H-1B status to new internist positions in Louisiana where both couples had found waiver jobs, proving extenuating circumstances with the job change. We also had to transfer the pending national interest waiver position to Louisiana once we received the Letter of Need from the state. Both the H-1Bs as well as the I-140 national interest waiver transfers were successful and the couple moved to Louisiana to commence their new waiver positions. As backup to the national interest waiver, the internist husband physician submitted a separate PERM application. The PERM application was approved and we submitted a regular EB-2 I-140 and concurrent adjustment of status application for him and his family as well, based on the PERM approval.

Over the years and while waiting to complete the green card process, the couple continued to renew their H-1B visas, EAD cards and traveled using advance parole. The family recently received approvals for the green card application and now look forward to naturalization in time.