Originally Posted by
Jonty Rhodes
Thank you everyone for your wishes. I finally got green cards in hand today. I went and picked the cards from the mail.
Just like many of you, I have a similar story of struggle and anxieties.
I came to this country in December 2004 as a student. I did my Masters in Public Health, worked my butt off with on-campus jobs, as a research volunteer in a big hospital that took me 3 hours to commute back and forth daily for more than a year, and studied for USMLE while doing all that. Finally matched into a residency program and did an internal medicine residency for 3 years, got rejected several times for fellowship as majority hospitals won't sponsor H1B for fellowship. Started working after finishing residency in June 2010. Got current in October 2015 bulletin and got everything ready to file but as you all may recall, the bulletin was withdrawn and the dates never got current for another 6 years till October 2020.
In the meantime, we formed an advocacy group for physicians called PAHA and started advocating for physician immigration reform and the efforts increased significantly especially during the pandemic. My story was presented in the Senate by Senator Durbin last year (I couldn't do it in person as they were not allowing testimonies by individuals due to COVID) and received wide media coverage. In between, I seriously explored the option of EB5 but dropped the idea as India was backlogged in EB5 also at that time.
Finally, after discussing with a few other physician friends who were advocating for immigration reform but were also working simultaneously on their EB1A applications, I got motivated to work on my EB1 in 2019. I contacted several lawyers who all rejected me saying my profile was too weak. Finally, I talked to an amazing lawyer who guided me on what I need to do to improve my profile. I started working on improving my CV and again had to work extremely hard at it. In the last one and a half years, I reviewed more than 250 journal articles, became a reviewer for about 15 journals, got on editorial board of 2 journals, did 14 publications, collected about 20 citations, started judging abstract and poster competitions, got on governing councils of medical organizations, worked towards getting awards, obtained memberships of organizations, became a principal investigator and sub-investigator of 6 clinical trials, wrote articles in medical magazines and journals and I can just go on and on on. My CV which was 5 pages long basically became 25 pages long.
While I was working towards this, my wife had medical issues which are still ongoing. I myself suffered from gall stones, ended up in ER 3 times back to back, and had to get my gall bladder removed on Black Friday last year in urgency. Combine that with seeing COVID patients every day for the last one and a half years and my mental stress has been through the roof. But I have managed somehow. When I see myself in the mirror, I feel as if I have suddenly grown few years old. I have lost scalp hair, look balder and my beard and hair have grayed.
While I was working towards EB1, dates moved suddenly but I missed my priority date in EB2 by 5 days. My employer was gracious enough to allow me to downgrade to EB3. So finally I downgraded to EB3. But I continued to work towards EB1 because I wasn't sure how far the dates would move. I did a contract with the lawyer in January and paid her half the money. But finally, the EB3 dates moved and I got current in May or June so then I decided to stop working on my EB1. I still wasn't sure when medical RFEs would come as I had not even received my EAD/AP despite doing biometrics in April but then on July 30, I received a text on my phone for medical RFE, and then in about one and a half months, I have a green card in my hand.
The same green card that I was trying to get for more than 10 years. But I was not jumping with joy. There is a feeling of relief. There is some feeling of happiness but I think it will take some time for this to sink in that this has happened. I find it ironic that I originally filed in EB2, explored EB5, worked on EB1, and almost came close to filing and then finally obtained the green card in EB3. It is like the entire process came to a full circle.
I have cards in my hand. The feeling is surreal and the mood is somber. When I look back on it, I wonder if it was even worth it to go through this entire ordeal to get out of this bizarre, deliberately broken, and terribly messy system that is holding the lives and careers of millions of people hostage.
I can write more about my frustrations but I don't want to bore you more so I would stop.
I would like to thank everyone who comes to this forum and shares their valuable knowledge. This group has been a great support over the last 10 years and whenever I have felt depressed and hopeless on the green card situation, I have come to this forum and I have always found honest advice.
I congratulate those who have received their green cards and are enjoying their moments of security and freedom. I wish good luck to those who are still waiting to be greened.
May you all get greened soon.
