Green Card Application Process

With restricted exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 permit applications require that the company obtain a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this action, the Labor Certification procedure is often the hardest and most . Prior to having the ability to submit the Labor Certification application, the company needs to acquire a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and prove that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers available for the positions through the conclusion of a competitive recruitment process.

When it comes to positions that contain teaching duties, the employer should document that the picked applicant is the “finest qualified” for the position. This procedure is typically called “Special Handling.”

In both the “standard” and the “special handling” process, the company should complete an official recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. workers available or that, in the case of positions that have a mentor element, that the selected candidate is the very best certified. It prevails that this recruitment process need to be finished well after the foreign nationwide employee began their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been submitted with the Department of Labor, the “top priority date” for the candidate is developed. This date is necessary to determine when somebody can complete step # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is required, the priority date is developed 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 submitted with USCIS. In cases where no Labor Certification is needed (e.g. EB-1), job the filing of the I-140 is the initial step of the permit procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has been approved by USCIS, the foreign national can obtain the change of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal permanent citizen. Instead of making an application for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide might also obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be filed up until and unless the “top priority date” is present. In practice this implies that, depending on one’s country of birth and job EB-category, there might be a backlog. The stockpile exists because more people get permits in an offered classification than there are available permit visa numbers. The total variety of permits is further limited by the fact that, with some exceptions, no more than 7 percent of all green cards in a given preference classification can go to people born in a given nation. The stockpile is updated each month by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

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

Note that the Visa Bulletin contains two different tables with priority cut-off dates. The real cut-off dates are suggested in table A “Application Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases.” However, job in some circumstances, USCIS may accept the I-485 application if the concern date is current based upon table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a determination whether Table B may be utilized several days after the official Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS releases this info on its site devoted to the Visa Bulletin.

In some cases, it may be possible to file the I-140 and I-485 at the exact same time. This is not constantly advised, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will also be denied if filed simultaneously.