Paul S

its feasible but long winded

I'm over here with a HND and way too many years experience in a niche industry. I had my qualifications and work experience vetted by some university professor who drew up a a very nice attestation of my equivalency to a US based degree. That was used to get my first 3 year H1-B.
Currently awaiting the new one/renewal (and a green card)

oldskool

I came over here on a H1-B with no degree. I now have EB-1...must have been that movie I starred in, although I didn't think home made porn counted at that time.

powerwrap

Thanks guys, seems to mixed answers here.

dbj1000

No degree in English then?

Folinskyinla

To others:

DBJ and I have discussed his case -- a highly unusual one, to say the least.

One point that strikes me for the scenario is that the proper strategy can change over period of time -- simply due to unexpected developments. People often ask me "what is the best strategy?" and I will answer "the one that works." I am then asked "which is faster?" and I answer the one that causes issuance of the green card.

I am often surprised that people overlook little things like the company can go belly up, a person can die, and other little things like that. Sometimes, I will offer two or three strategies and recommend doing all of them concurrently. People will balk at the expense and I respond "cheap insurance -- your decision.'

In reading DBJ's excellent description, I have to say that I really can't fault the lawyer. In reading the scenario, I don't think he was all that off the mark. His strategy was to avoid problems in order to insure quick process. Furthermore, NIW's are hard to get. I think I would have taken more of a approach when the backlogs developed of "can't hurt". Also, I might have suggested the possibility of trying the NIW earlier with the caveat it would probably fail, but no harm in trying other than the expense. However, it the expense part that gets in the way.

BTW, I still think that DBJ was fortunate in that the NIW worked as well as it did.

dbj1000

Only because I haven't given sufficient detail on my letters of support (and won't, on a public board - feel free to PM me). Once I had those letters, the NIW looked like a done deal, so far as I was concerned.

And I agree that my lawyer (who you probably know, initials MD in Washington DC) did nothing wrong. What I learned as I went through the process was that he couldn't see why I was even concerned about my status - after all, I had years still to run on my H1-B, and he had clients facing deportation every day. What I had to factor in was the anguish that our lack of permanent residency was causing me and my family, and I chose to push to do something about it.

And yes, the expense of the route I took was huge. Far more than I could ever have afforded - only my company's 100% financial backing and willingness to support me on every level saved me from years in retrogression hell.

powerwrap

dbj