My wife is on H4 visa. If she transfers to a J1 visa, will she become ineligible for the adjustment of status to green card during the I-485 process?


A J-1 medical residency automatically invokes a two-year foreign residence requirement which is usually difficult to waive in a situation like yours. If your wife can obtain the position under H-1B, that would probably be a better choice. Unless your wife has a waiver or has served out the two-year home residence requirement, she is not eligible for permanent residence. Under a two-year residence requirement, an individual cannot assume a H category visa status. Waiver would only be available where extreme hardship would occur to a US citizen or permanent resident spouse or child if the waiver is not approved, or your wife would face persecution in the home country, or your wife obtains an interested US governmental agency waiver, or qualifies for a Conrad-30 state medical waiver. Assuming that you receive your permanent residence in 2-3 years, you can begin to sponsor your wife, but she would not be eligible for permanent residence finalization unless she has obtained a waiver or fulfilled the two-year residence requirement. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.