H-1B Introduction
Thank you for utilizing the CIR Legal Services (CIRLS) online H-1B Questionnaire and document list. If you have not been instructed by CIRLS to utilize this site, PLEASE DO NOT PROCEED. Instead, call CIRLS at (212) 356-8195. You would have been instructed by CIRLS to utilize this site if:
1. You called CIRLS to request representation on an extension of your H-1B status.
2. You do not have H-4 dependents.
3. You were told by CIRLS that your extension would be covered by the CIRLS Plan.
4. You were told that a CIRLS in-house attorney would be assigned to your case.
If all of the above apply, please read the sections below. Then proceed to the bottom of the page and click on CIRLS H-1B Online Questionnaire. This questionnaire is designed to be filled out online, printed out, and then faxed to CIRLS at (212) 504-3057.
Please note that no work will begin on your H-1B extension until CIRLS has received the documents listed below, your completed H-1B Questionnaire and a CIRLS attorney has interviewed you.
H-1B – Documents and Checks for H-1B Extensions
Below is a list of documents and checks that CIRLS will need in order to begin work on your H-1B extension. Once you have gathered these, please call CIRLS at (212) 356-8195, or send an e-mail to proldan@cirseiu.org to schedule an appointment to meet with one of our attorneys.
If you are available to come to CIRLS to meet with an attorney, please bring your documents and checks with you to the meeting.
If you are not available to meet with an attorney in person and prefer to schedule a telephone interview, please do one of the following:
1. Email your documents to the e-mail address above, and mail your checks to CIRLS
2. Fax your documents to (212) 504-3057, attn: Priscilla Roldan, Legal Department Secretary, and mail your checks to CIRLS; or
3. Send your documents and checks to: CIR Legal Services, 520 8th Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10018, attn: Priscilla Roldan.
H-1B – Required Documents and Checks
1. Passport pages that contain text, stamps, visas or photographs, including the outside cover page of your passport. If you are coming to CIRLS for an in-house interview, bring your original passport for photocopying. If not, copy the pages delineated above.
2. I-94 card with most recent date of entry to the U.S.
3. ECFMG certification
4. M.D. diploma and, if it is not in English, a notarized translation
5. If you received a diploma from a U.S. institution of higher learning, please provide a copy
6. USMLE Step 1, 2 (Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills), and 3 result pages
7. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services applications and petitions, approvals, denials and other correspondence. In particular, please include all prior H-1B approval notices [Form I-797s], work authorizations, proof of F-1, J-1, J-2 and H-4 status. If you have been in J Status and received a waiver of the 2 year home residency requirement, also supply a copy of your waiver.
8. A copy of the last H-1B petition (Form I-129) submitted on your behalf
9. Your hospital employment letter/contract for the H-1B extension period. (Please DO NOT DELAY YOUR INTERVIEW BECAUSE YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS DOCUMENT. If necessary, you can provide it at a later date.)
10. 3 recent pay stubs, at least one of which should be dated within the last four weeks. Please make sure that your hospital’s name is reflected on the pay stubs that you provide.
11. If you have changed your name, please provide proof (e.g. a judicial declaration or a marriage certificate).
12. The H-1B filing fee of $320 made payable to the “USCIS” in either a check or money order. Please Note: A third party check or money order is required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The third party check can be from a friend, colleague or family member, so long as the family member is not your H-4 dependent. This is a U.S. Department of Labor requirement. Feel free to contact CIR Legal Services with any questions regarding this.
13. A $20 check to cover express mailing costs for your case. This check can come from your account. If you are a resident physician at a New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (NYC-HHC) facility or Westchester Medical Center, your check should be made payable to “HSBP.” If you are a resident physician at any other hospital, make your check payable to “VHHSBP”, and
14. If applicable, a $500.00 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee should be made payable to “USCIS.” This fee applies to doctors switching to H-1B status or changing H-1B employers. A third-party check or money-order is required by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for payment of this fee. If you have any question about whether this fee obligation applies to you, please do not provide payment, but speak to a CIRLS immigration attorney first to clarify whether the obligation exists.
H-1B – IMPORTANT
Please note that the H-1B Questionnaire must be filled out in its entirety and printed or the data will be lost. The estimated time to complete this questionnaire is 10 minutes.
If you have not been instructed by CIRLS to utilize this system, DO NOT PROCEED. Instead, call CIRLS at (212) 356-8195. Thank you.
