What a 2019 Green Card Memoir Taught Me About Documenting My Work

Books about SpaceX and Silicon Valley made me wonder what it would be like to work in the United States. I started looking for accounts by people who had made the move.

Nam Jeong-yong’s 2019 book had a title that sounded as if the experience might be within reach of an ordinary employee. I wanted to know what the word “ordinary” meant once the paperwork started.

What does an ordinary employee have to show?

The author’s account made me rethink the title. His examples include people with strong academic records and years of work in a specialized field. Their jobs sound familiar. The evidence they can assemble about their work is another matter.

A person with a graduate degree, research results and a long career in engineering has a body of work to show. I had wanted to know what the process would ask of a reader who was starting with less.

How the book helped me understand the routes

The book gives the reader a way to tell apart several routes that can sound alike in online discussions. It is also a record of one person’s preparation in 2019, when the timelines, fees and procedures were different.

Some people study in the United States before finding work and an employer willing to petition for them. Study, temporary work authorization, H-1B status and permanent residence each have their own requirements.

The book follows one possible sequence. Here is how the stages fit together.

1. Enroll in an eligible U.S. program and maintain F-1 status.
2. Eligible F-1 students can generally request up to 12 months of Optional Practical Training at a degree level. Eligible graduates in designated STEM fields can apply for a 24-month extension.
3. Find an employer willing and able to file an employment-based petition if that is the route you are taking.
4. For cap-subject H-1B petitions, the employer generally has to register and be selected before it can file. Selection procedures, dates and terms can change.
5. H-1B work authorization is temporary. An employer may separately pursue an immigrant petition, but having one status does not by itself confer the other.

As a reader with an interest in computing, I had heard stories about employers sponsoring technical hires. What I could infer from those stories was limited. Employers, occupations and circumstances differ.

The National Interest Waiver

The book also describes the National Interest Waiver (NIW), which belongs to the employment-based second preference, or EB-2. If USCIS grants the waiver, it waives the job offer and labor certification normally associated with EB-2.

1. An applicant can self-petition. The waiver concerns labor certification and the job offer, which are different from temporary employment authorization.
2. The time to a decision or an available immigrant visa varies by case.
3. Legal and filing costs vary as well. The book’s figures describe what the author was considering in 2019.

What belongs to EB-2 and what belongs to EB-1A

First, the person must qualify for EB-2 as an advanced-degree professional or an individual of exceptional ability. For the advanced-degree route, a qualifying bachelor’s degree or equivalent followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty can count as the equivalent of an advanced degree.

For the exceptional-ability route, USCIS generally looks first for evidence satisfying at least three of the six listed categories, then evaluates the record as a whole. Comparable evidence can be considered when the listed standards do not readily apply.

• Relevant academic records, such as a degree, diploma or certificate.
• Employer letters documenting at least ten years of full-time experience in the occupation.
• A professional license or certification.
• Pay or other compensation that helps demonstrate exceptional ability.
• Membership in professional associations.
• Recognition of achievements or significant contributions by peers, government bodies or professional or business organizations.
• Comparable evidence if the listed criteria do not readily apply to the occupation.

The book also discusses a separate category, EB-1A extraordinary ability. Its ten evidentiary criteria belong to that category. EB-1A can generally use a qualifying one-time achievement or evidence meeting at least three criteria, followed by review of the record as a whole.

1. Lesser nationally or internationally recognized awards for excellence.
2. Memberships that require outstanding achievements.
3. Published coverage about the applicant and their work in major or professional outlets.
4. Experience judging the work of others in the field.
5. Original contributions of major significance.
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in relevant professional or major outlets.
7. Display of work at artistic exhibitions or showcases.
8. A leading or critical role for a distinguished organization.
9. High pay compared with others in the field.
10. Commercial success in the performing arts.

For the NIW itself, USCIS considers the merit and national importance of the proposed work, how well positioned the person is to advance it, and whether waiving the job offer and labor certification would benefit the United States on balance. Evidence of past work can help show what the person is positioned to do next.

The work that comes before the petition

The most helpful parts of Nam’s preparation story concern the work itself. Recent, relevant projects and a clear account of how a career developed give a reader something more concrete than a list of credentials.

The author discusses FE, PE and PMP as examples of credentials a professional might encounter or pursue. Their usefulness depends on the field and the work they help substantiate.

FE is the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. PE refers to professional engineering licensure, and PMP is a project management certification. Their purposes differ.

Putting the evidence together

Nam walks through assembling a case file and keeping track of the steps. I took the lists below as examples of what to gather or describe for a particular case.

• Costs — The 2019 book discusses working with counsel and preparing a petition independently. Its historical prices cannot establish what a case would cost today.
• Examples of supporting documents
  • Passport copies for the applicant and relevant family members.
  • Civil records, such as birth, family and marriage records, as applicable.
  • Degree certificates and transcripts, with translations where needed.
  • Papers and abstracts.
  • Journal issues or pages identifying the author.
  • Patents.
  • Licenses and professional certifications.
  • Records of awards.
  • A detailed résumé in English.
  • Employment and experience records.
  • Training certificates.
  • Published books.
  • Coverage of relevant work or projects.
  • Records of association roles.
  • Letters from people qualified to describe the work and its significance.
  • Other material that gives context to the person’s accomplishments.
• A summary of the applicant’s work and role
  • Papers — titles, publications, dates, authors and citations where relevant.
  • Projects — name, role, dates, work performed and evidence of impact.
  • Presentations — content, date and organizer.
  • Funded research — title, grant, amount and documented effects.
  • Work with public bodies or companies — partner, role, dates and activities.
  • Books — title, publisher, year, market and available sales information.
  • Academic talks — title, venue and year.
  • Patents — title, number, date and evidence of use or influence.
  • Licenses and certificates — what they cover and when they were issued.
  • Exhibitions — work, place, date and information about its reception.
  • Awards — name, granting body, date and basis for recognition.
  • Association work — organization, membership level, role and dates.
  • Judging or advisory work — who requested it and what the work involved.
  • Media coverage — what was reported about the applicant or project.
  • Other work that is relevant to the proposed endeavor.

The forward-looking part of the petition interested me most. A list of old projects can show experience, but the case still has to explain what the person proposes to do and why the work matters.

From petition to interview

The book follows a petition through consular processing from South Korea. Filing and interview instructions depend on the case and can change.

1. Petition — Use the current Form I-140 instructions for the filing location, fees and payment methods.
2. After filing, USCIS sends a receipt notice. Use the receipt number to check USCIS Case Status Online.
3. Petition decision — A Request for Evidence is one possible step. USCIS communicates the decision separately, including in cases where it issued no request.
4. National Visa Center — For consular cases, follow the case instructions for the immigrant visa application, fees and documents. Visa availability can affect when the case moves forward.
5. Medical exam — The U.S. Embassy in Seoul publishes instructions and a list of authorized physicians for applicants preparing for an interview.
6. Interview — Use the post’s current checklist for each applicant. Its requirements take precedence over the book’s 2019 examples.
   1. Interview appointment confirmation.
   2. Passport meeting the post’s published validity requirement.
   3. Any earlier U.S. visa the post asks to see.
   4. Appointment or interview notice.
   5. Medical documentation if the authorized physician instructs you to bring it.
   6. Visa photographs in the size and quantity the post specifies.
   7. Applicable civil records and translations.
   8. Police or court records when required.
   9. Documentation of a lost visa if requested and applicable.
   10. Any further material requested for the case.
   11. A registered address for document return, as instructed by the post.
7. After issuance, follow the instructions that come with the passport and immigrant visa. If the consulate supplies a sealed packet, keep it sealed for the officer at the port of entry.
8. Travel and admission — Enter before the expiration printed on the immigrant visa. After admission as a permanent resident, USCIS mails the physical green card to the U.S. address on file once the required immigrant fee has been paid.
   1. Permanent residence can allow a person to do several things.
      1. Live and work in the United States on a permanent basis, subject to applicable law.
      2. Use public services and schools where eligible under local rules.
      3. Travel and seek readmission, with requirements that depend in part on the length and circumstances of an absence.
      4. Petition for qualifying family members under the relevant immigration categories.
   2. Permanent residence also comes with responsibilities.
      1. Maintain the United States as the place of permanent residence.
      2. Consider the length and circumstances of any absence. A brief annual return alone does not establish that U.S. residence has been maintained.
      3. Follow applicable federal, state and local law.
      4. Carry evidence of permanent resident status as required and check travel-document requirements before travel.

What I took away from the book

This was the most detailed account I had read of one person putting an employment-based immigration case together. Its title sounds ordinary, but the work behind the evidence takes time.

Many of the strongest examples involve people who have stayed with a field long enough to describe what their work changed. That was a different way to think about a résumé.

The book gave me a better sense of what I would have to learn before I could judge my own position. I could start with the work I had done and the records I still had.

I was also interested in the parts about engineering exams and licensing. They gave me some sense of how a profession can document competence without making any one credential a guarantee.

I had opened the book wondering whether studying in the United States was the only way to begin. I left with a more specific question about how a person already working elsewhere can describe what they would bring to a new project.

Book details

A U.S. Green Card for an Ordinary Employee

Author

Nam Jeong-yong

Published

July 17, 2019

ISBN-13

9791155429938

View on YES24

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