Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: I-136 Petition for Special Immigrant - Physician

He needs to find another way to immigrate (i.e. obtain green card). The H-1B visa does NOT give the green card. It's a non-immigrant visa which only lasts for six years and is a temporary work visa. A labor certification and employment petition must be filed by the employer for him later while he's in H-1B status if he wants the green card. But this takes at least a couple of years to process unless your brother files under a national interest waiver of some kind, which isn't easy to get.

Forget the special immigrant physician category. It's for older doctors. It means exactly what it says: a doctor who WAS licensed and WAS practicing on the date of Jan. 9, 1978, which means they must have been a doctor on or before that date. Also, to qualify as a special immigrant, the doctor must have entered the US before Jan. 10, 1978 under a H or J visa. The form you're referring to is actually the I-360 Petition, not I-136.

Since the F-1 will probably expire soon, your brother needs to move fast to change into another visa category, probably a H-1B or J visa. Otherwise he'll be out of status which will create big problems. For immigrant petitions, things will take too long and he'll be out of status.

Liem Doan, Esq.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information only and is not legal advice. Such advice can only be rendered after a client-attorney relationship has been expressly established.