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Ask HN: Path to enter the US as an EU citizen?

1 points by notrevealingmy ↗ HN
I am currently doing a Ph.D at a national lab, somewhere in Europe, and I am myself an EU citizen. My field of expertise/research is deep learning machinery (the stuff under the hood that makes your models run faster). For various professional reasons I want to move to the US after I finish. It is in fact the natural progression in my field to do a post-doc in the US if one does a Ph.D in Europe (or vice-versa). And it has always been a dream of mine to work at a national lab in the US.

But in doing a bit of research, I am reading that one typically does a post-doc on a J-1 VISA and it is not possible to transfer to a permanent or sponsored VISA afterward.

Ouch. There goes my plan. My aim is to attain permanent residency and work in industry, if not for anything else, because it is the only logical thing to do for my very specific career path.

So what immigration path would most likely work in my case?

9 comments

[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 35.0 ms ] thread
PaulHoule
I think the J-1 doesn't preclude getting a different visa later, however the J-1 is easy to get if you have the right job and certainly gets you here.
notrevealingmy
From what I read, the J-1 requires you to immediately leave the country upon completion of the contract. Of course, one can still apply for another VISA but it does not give you any buffer zone where you can continue to reside and work in the US in the meantime.

For this reason I heard some case where people opt to do a secondary MSc rather than do a post-doc, to get an F-1 VISA instead. Apparently the F-1 gives you three years time to get an H1-B.

crudbug
You can change from J-1 to H1B work permit, then apply for green card.

Path:

1. J-1 to H1B

2. H1B to EB-1 or EB-2 based upon your carrier path.

kayo_20211030
If you can swing it, an L1 to an EB-1C might be an approach. Of course, that means finding a US company in the EU. The L1 is a dual intent visa like the H1B, so both can transition to a green card.
notrevealingmy
I am confused how that works. If I currently reside in an EU country and apply for a job posting with FAGMAN, with location in CA, how does that work?

1. Do they heavily penalize my application for not having a VISA? 2. If I do get the job, do they give me an office in the EU until I get a VISA to go to CA?

kayo_20211030
An L1 is an inter-company transfer visa. A US company can hire you in Europe and then transfer you to its US location/office under an L1 visa. This assumes the goodwill of your employer to apply on your behalf, but if you are getting/got a PhD, and have some supervisory responsibility, you'll probably qualify and the personnel folks will know the process. Ultimately, though, it's up to them. YMMV.