Path to enter the US as an EU citizen?

Question

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?

kayo_20211030 · Accepted Answer

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.

PaulHoule · Answer

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.

crudbug · Answer

You can change from J-1 to H1B work permit, then apply for green card.Path:1. J-1 to H1B2. H1B to EB-1 or EB-2 based upon your carrier path.

brudgers · Answer

An immigration attorney is often part of successful paths.Immigration attorney Peter Roberts sometimes has AMA's on HN. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...Good luck.

Path to enter the US as an EU citizen?

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.

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.

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.

An immigration attorney is often part of successful paths.
Immigration attorney Peter Roberts sometimes has AMA's on HN. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
Good luck.