Permit Application Process

With minimal exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications need that the employer acquire a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this action, the Labor Certification process is frequently the hardest and most strenuous action. Prior to being able to submit the Labor Certification application, the company must acquire a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees available for the positions through the conclusion of a competitive recruitment process.

In the case of positions that contain mentor responsibilities, the company should document that the picked candidate is the “finest certified” for the position. This procedure is commonly called “Special Handling.”

In both the “basic” and the “unique handling” procedure, the company should complete an official recruitment procedure to document that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees readily available or that, when it comes to positions that have a teaching part, that the picked prospect is the very best certified. It prevails that this recruitment procedure must be finished well after the foreign nationwide staff member began their position at the .

As quickly as the Labor Certification has actually been filed with the Department of Labor, the “top priority date” for employment the candidate is developed. This date is essential to determine when someone can finish action # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is needed, the priority date is established with the filing of the Immigrant Petition/ Form I-140.

2. Immigrant Petition

Once the Department of Labor authorizes the Labor Certification, the Immigrant Petition (Form I-140) can be filed with USCIS. In cases where no Labor Certification is required (e.g. EB-1), the filing of the I-140 is the initial step of the green card procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or employment Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has actually been authorized by USCIS, the foreign nationwide can use for employment the change of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal long-term homeowner. Instead of requesting the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national might also use for employment an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be submitted until and unless the “concern date” is current. In practice this implies that, depending on one’s country of birth and EB-category, employment there may be a stockpile. The backlog exists since more individuals use for green cards in a given category than there are available green card visa numbers. The overall variety of permits is more limited by the truth that, with some exceptions, no more than seven percent of all green cards in an offered preference classification can go to people born in a provided country. The stockpile is updated every month by the U.S. Department of State and is published in the Visa Bulletin.

Once someone’s priority date date has actually been reached, as shown in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be filed. The priority date is the date on which the Labor Certification was filed with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor Certification was needed, USCIS got the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin contains 2 different tables with priority cut-off dates. The actual cut-off dates are suggested in table A “Application Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases.” However, employment in some instances, USCIS may accept the I-485 application if the top priority date is existing based on table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a determination whether Table B might be utilized numerous days after the official Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS publishes this information on its website devoted to the Visa Bulletin.

Sometimes, it might be possible to submit the I-140 and I-485 at the very same time. This is not constantly advised, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is rejected, the I-485 will likewise be rejected if filed concurrently.