Which visa route for research scientist?
 

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help, I have read the wiki articles and as much as I can find online but am still unsure as to the situation.
My husband is a research scientist (molecular pharmacologist), he has a phd and 5 years experience in an indutrial research setting. We are looking for our next move and the states seems a good choice career-wise.
However can someone tell me if the only route is really via an h1b visa in which case that seems very difficult or is an eb2 visa a possibility? is it worth him applying for jobs or will they just not even consider him because of the visa problems?
any advice would be appreciated! thanks

Re: Which visa route for research scientist?
 

Your husband may be one of the very few who have posted here who actually has a different route.

Because he has a PhD and extensive experience in what I believe is a highly in-demand subject, he has some possibility of applying for a National Interest Waiver himself, without an employer sponsor. If he is granted an NIW, I believe that he can then apply for a Green Card for himself (and his immediate family) without an employer.

I think this is correct, but our friendly local lawyer(s) on these boards may correct me. When I did the NIW route, it was through my US company that I already worked for on an H1-B.

The crucial issues for a successful NIW are a) plenty of papers published in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and b) two or three really strong letters of support. The NIW is intended for people whose presence in the US and ability to work in the US is in the National Interest of the country. As such, the applicant is expected to be known in his field. This can be demonstrated with as little as one peer-reviewed paper, but more often requires a good strong publication list. The letters of support should be from people who know your husband through his work, and not personally or socially. Ideally they will be from people who will indicate that he has standing within his field, without having necessarily met him. A good example might be the head of a US research lab who has read your husband's papers and believes they add significantly to the field.

You really need to find a specialized US immigration lawyer, or start researching the NIW in great detail. In my experience, my very expensive, highly regarded lawyer had almost zero experience of the NIW process, and I would have found it almost as easy to file for myself, given that it fell on me to gather all the letters of support, full citation list for my published papers and proof of academic excellence.

Good luck! I'm happy to answer any questions I can regarding the NIW process.

Re: Which visa route for research scientist?
 

Thanks, that clarifies matters somewhat, however, he has followed a very industry based career path, so although he has some papers from his phd, since then he has been unable to publish any of his work, (although he has had great results and may have a couple of patents coming) due to industry practice. So I'm not sure if he would meet those requirements....
There seem to be lots of jobs where they are looking for his skill base - he has sent a cv to a couple but no reply, so we are thinking that maybe without a visa it's just not worth their while?
He could look to jump into an academic/not for profit sector but he's been really industry focused and has great experience in that area.
His current employer is a us company but they have a recruitment/promotion freeze on at the moment so it would be at least a couple of years before there was even a possibility of a transfer.....and we aren't happy to stay where we are for that long.
My dad is married to a us citizen and lived there for 11 years, my brother has dual nationality but it doesn't look like that would help us.
didn't realise it would be so tricky!!

Re: Which visa route for research scientist?
 

O-1 visa (alien with extraordinary ability) might be possible.

Re: Which visa route for research scientist?
 

Hi:

I can visualize several possible paths. A legal consultation is in order. Perhaps obtaining a SECOND legal consultation is also in order.