In Which I Ramble and Discuss Immigration

Well now.

My sweetie has thrown down the gauntlet, and started up with the blog again, and if I am to feel equal then I must do the same. Actually, I’ve been missing it greatly, but I simply haven’t had the time to update between work, and hitting my pillow face first.

So…I am here. I am 2 and a half weeks into my new job and I am loving it. I get to play with code. All day. It’s great.

The one part of my job that has been weighing on me has been this horrific necessity to get myself properly legal. I have explained this time and time again to people who think that now I have a job here, I’m a citizen, but the truth of the matter is it’s just too confusing for words. Now, instead of having to explain, I can just point them here.

I am currently on an F1-OPT visa. This means that I am still, technically, under a student visa, but undergoing training with a firm in my field of study. That is, technically, what the job is.
This F1-OPT visa expires in a year. February 27th, 2010. If I’m not sorely mistaken, it is on that date that I will be given 60 days to leave the country.

Unless…unless!

There is this wonderful entity – a beautiful beastie – called an H-1B visa. This is, to the common man, a working visa. Guess what? I’m working! Wheee! I’m eligible to apply for this delight.

That said, here’s a few details about the H-1B, for those of you following along at home:

• There is a limited quota of these available each year.


• Because of this, they ‘sell out’ quickly.


• The start date for the H-1B visa is October.


• The first day on which immigration workers start considering applications is April 1st.


• For the last 3 years, the quotas has been filled on April 1st.


• It is now March 18th.

And strictly speaking, *I* am not eligible to apply. My company is eligible to apply, and BossMan made it clear from the offset that he did NOT want to be involved in any of these legalities. So…his signature is the only part in this plot that he will play. But the attorneys won’t accept money or documents from the worker themselves. Me. So. I gather all the information, fill in all the forms, write the checks, and get BossMan to sign. The majority of my paperwork is now in the mail, although there are still a few odds and ends that need tying.

If I am not accepted, it is not the end of the world. My F1-OPT is still current. I am still allowed to stay here, and work legally for another year. At which point, I may certainly apply for another H-1B, with next year’s applicants. If I am successful next year, I will be eligible to begin work next October, 2010. Until that time, I have to leave the country.

This visa can last up to 6 years, and counts as a ‘dual intent’ visa, meaning I am allowed to own property, and appliances, and of course the biggie, apply for permanent residency. That is my big hurdle; that is the accomplishment I desire.