Green Card Application Process
With limited exceptions, all EB-2 and employment EB-3 permit applications need that the company acquire a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions needing this step, the Labor Certification process is frequently the hardest and most arduous step. Prior employment to being able to file the Labor Certification application, employment the employer must obtain a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers offered for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment procedure.
In the case of positions that consist of mentor responsibilities, the employer must record that the picked candidate is the “best qualified” for the position. This process is commonly called “Special Handling.”
In both the “basic” and the “special handling” process, the employer needs to complete a formal recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees readily available or that, in the case of positions that have a mentor component, that the picked candidate is the finest certified. It is common that this recruitment process need to be finished well after the foreign national worker started their position at the University.
As quickly as the Labor Certification has actually been filed with the Department of Labor, the “top priority date” for the applicant is established. This date is essential to determine when somebody can complete action # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is required, the concern 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 needed (e.g. EB-1), the filing of the I-140 is the primary 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 nationwide can make an application for the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal permanent resident. Instead of making an application for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide might likewise make an application for employment an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.
The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be filed till and employment unless the “priority date” is existing. In practice this implies that, depending on one’s country of birth and EB-category, there may be a . The backlog exists due to the fact that more people use for green cards in an offered category than there are offered green card visa numbers. The overall variety of permits is more limited by the truth that, with some exceptions, no greater than seven percent of all green cards in an offered preference classification can go to people born in a provided nation. The backlog is upgraded each month by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.
Once someone’s priority date date has actually been reached, as indicated in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be submitted. The top priority date is the date on which the Labor Certification was filed with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor Certification was required, USCIS got the I-140 petition.
Note that the Visa Bulletin consists of 2 different tables with top priority cut-off dates. The actual cut-off dates are indicated in table A “Application Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases.” However, in some instances, employment USCIS might accept the I-485 application if the top priority date is present based upon table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a determination whether Table B might be utilized several days after the main Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS publishes this details on its site committed 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 always suggested, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, employment the I-485 will likewise be rejected if filed simultaneously.