Rishi Sunak’s U.S. Immigration Path W
permanent residence in the United States are not eligible”.
e are all very excited to learn more about the newly elected British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. What do we know about his U.S. Immigration journey?
This is a very interesting and timely question and one I was asked a few times over the last few days. While I don’t know the exact facts concerning his immigration journey, I can speculate approximately how and when the various steps were taken. Did he follow a common International Student Path from F-1 visa to an H-1B visa to a Green Card? Sunak’s story may be a bit complicated to understand for nonimmigration attorneys, but it is fascinating to investigate, and I really enjoyed researching and writing this article. The Honorable Rishi Sunak was born in England to parents of Indian descent. Instead of coming to the United States for college on an F-1 visa, hestayed home to attend prestigious Oxford University. After graduating from Oxford in 2001, Mr. Sunak began working for Goldman Sachs in the U.S. as an investment banker. Goldman Sachs likely sponsored Sunak for an H-1B visa under a specialty occupation specifically to the financial field. Since the H-1B lottery was not created until 2007, obtaining an H-1B
or sponsoring an employee for an H-1B was a much simpler process back then. Like clockwork in 2001 Sunak would have received his H-1B visa (which typically last 3 years) and then worked for GS from 2001-2004 in H-1B status. Since we know that Mr. Sunak was a U.S. Green Card holder (before he recently renounced it in 2021), he would have likely obtained his permanent residence by means of an employer sponsorship. So, when did he get his U.S. Green Card? H-1B visas are “dual intent visas” where you can adjust your status to a lawful permanent resident (green card). It is possible that the future British PM got his Green Card while working for Goldman Sachs. However, I don’t think that is the case. If Goldman Sachs sponsored him for an employment-based green card (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3) he would have been ineligible for a Fulbright Scholarship. “Persons applying for or holding U.S.
We know that Sunak studied at Stanford as a Fulbright Scholar so he would have had to have instead “entered” the U.S. under the J-1 visitor exchange program run by the State Department. Therefore in 2004 he was still not a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident but, on a J-1 visa. As on script, Sunak then returned home to England upon graduation from Stanford in 2006, a condition of the 2-year foreign residency requirement for J-1 visas.Many J-1 exchange visas require the student to leave the United States and return to their home country for two years before returning to the U.S. for education or work. In 2009 he came back to the United States to launch a new hedge fund firm called Theleme Partners. Based on my research Rishi likely entered the U.S. on an investment visa such as an E-2 or under an L-1 visa for executives and managers. It is also possible that he could have even self-petitioned and applied for his own EB-1 or EB-2 green card as an individual with extraordinary or exceptional ability. Based on his already impressive education and work experience in the U.S. and back in the UK, he
Common Green Card Paths for International Students 1st Stage
2nd Stage
3rd Stage
Path 1
F-1 Visa
H-1B Visa
Green Card
Path 2
F-1 Visa
OPT
Path 3
F-1 Visa
OPT
H-1B Visa STEM OPT
Path 4*
F-1 Visa
Green Card
4th Stage
5th Stage
Green Card
H-1B Visa
Green Card
Path #4 is less common and generally occurs with students having advanced degrees and/or extraordinary ability
© Finberg Firm PLLC
50
NOVEMBER 2022 - WWW.DESHVIDESH.COM
