green card while opt?
hey guys can we proceed green card while OPT?(not stem yet) On web, it is possible, BUT It may cause denial case for h1b or OPT-stem since it shows dual intent? Is it safer to apply GC while h1b or stem-opt given green card takes longer than 1.5yrs? i think i will be under eb2 or 3 category.. tc:195 Masters hold not started yet
I’ve done it firsthand (in parallel with H-1B which ended up being effectively unneeded). I have not applied for OPT STEM though. If you have a current priority date you won’t need it as you can work on your 485 EAD instead of switching to STEM. If you really need STEM because timeline is tight I would wait until after STEM approval. Otherwise the risks are generally overblown. The most important thing is I wouldn’t leave the country expecting a new visa stamp before getting advance parole while on F-1. Companies often say it’s not possible to apply for GC on OPT but there’s no law or regulation for this. It’s mostly them liking involuntary servitude and therefore enacting such policies that are self beneficial. I would also take “check with your lawyers” advice with grain of salt. Lawyers are often morons at worst, they don’t give a fuck usually as they represent company not you and they don’t really need to, and at best they are conservative. Only you can make calculated risks on your life so just take the lawyer answers on factual questions and try understanding the underlying rules and rationale. Their conclusion is often worthless. Draw your own conclusions based on the facts they present you.
I think OP worries about stem opt denial due to dual intent(immigration process while on student visa).
Yeah I think I addressed it that if you don’t believe you’ll have EAD in time and need STEM extension, it’s better to wait for that approval. Obviously that doesn’t apply to H-1B. You can get H-1B just fine with a pending 485 even.
I know people who did it. You don’t need H1B to get GC. There’s no downside if you are from ROW.
What do you mean by ROW?
Rest of the world. Not backlogged countries. i.e. not China or India or Mexico in some cases
I have not met a person that did this, but the general advice is to apply for gc after you extend your OPT successfully, else your extension might be denied. But you can start things in parallel, for example, documents for Perm will pretty much eats up you first year of OPT anyway. Anyway, as people said, check with your lawyers, don’t listen to advices on blind
Well what’s the point of applying for GC after extension. Say you don’t get H-1B then GC application won’t be useful.
not for everyone. ROW will get it before OPT ends