Green Card Application Process

With limited exceptions, all EB-2 and employment EB-3 green card applications require that the employer acquire a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this action, the Labor Certification procedure is typically the hardest and most tough action. Prior to having the ability to submit the Labor Certification application, the company should get a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees offered for the positions through the conclusion of a competitive recruitment process.

In the case of positions that include teaching responsibilities, the company needs to document that the selected candidate is the "best certified" for the position. This process is called "Special Handling."

In both the "standard" and the "unique handling" procedure, the company should complete an official recruitment process to document that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers offered or that, in the case of positions that have a teaching element, that the chosen prospect is the best certified. It prevails that this recruitment process need to be completed well after the foreign national worker began their position at the University.

As soon as the Labor Certification has actually been submitted with the Department of Labor, the "concern date" for the applicant is established. This date is crucial to identify when someone can complete step # 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 approves the Labor Certification, employment 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 authorized by USCIS, the foreign national can look for the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible resident. Instead of making an application for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national might likewise obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be filed until and employment unless the "concern date" is present. In practice this means that, depending on one's nation of birth and employment EB-category, there might be a stockpile. The stockpile exists due to the fact that more individuals get green cards in an offered classification than there are readily available permit visa numbers. The overall number of permits is further limited by the reality that, with some exceptions, no more than seven percent of all permits in an offered preference category can go to people born in an offered nation. The backlog is upgraded 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 shown 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 required, USCIS got the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin includes 2 separate 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, employment in some instances, USCIS may accept the I-485 application if the priority date is current based upon table B "Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications." Note that USCIS will make a decision whether Table B may be used a number of days after the main Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS releases this info on its website devoted to the Visa Bulletin.

In many cases, it might be possible to submit the I-140 and I-485 at the same time. This is not constantly recommended, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is rejected, the I-485 will likewise be denied if filed simultaneously.