Green Card Application Process

With minimal exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications need that the employer obtain a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For employment petitions needing this action, the Labor Certification procedure is typically the hardest and most arduous step. Prior to being able to file the Labor Certification application, the company needs to get a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees offered for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment procedure.

When it comes to positions which contain teaching tasks, employment the company needs to document that the selected candidate is the "finest certified" for the position. This process is typically called "Special Handling."

In both the "standard" and employment the "unique handling" procedure, the employer must finish a formal recruitment process to record that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers readily available or employment that, in the case of positions that have a teaching element, that the selected prospect is the finest certified. It prevails that this recruitment procedure must be finished well after the foreign national employee began their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has actually been filed with the Department of Labor, the "concern date" for the applicant is established. This date is necessary to identify when someone can finish action # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor employment Certification is needed, the concern date is developed with the filing of the Immigrant Petition/ Form I-140.

2. Immigrant Petition

Once the Department of Labor approves 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 primary step of the permit procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has actually been approved by USCIS, the foreign national can look for employment the adjustment of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible homeowner. Instead of using for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide might also 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 "priority date" is current. In practice this suggests that, depending on one's nation of birth and EB-category, there may be a stockpile. The stockpile exists since more people request permits in a provided category than there are readily available green card visa numbers. The overall number of permits is more restricted by the reality that, with some exceptions, no greater than seven percent of all permits in an offered choice category can go to people born in a provided nation. The stockpile is updated monthly 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 submitted. The top priority date is the date on which the Labor Certification was filed with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor employment Certification was required, USCIS got the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin contains two different tables with concern cut-off dates. The real cut-off dates are shown in table A "Application Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases." However, in some instances, USCIS may accept the I-485 application if the priority date is present based on table B "Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications." Note that USCIS will make a determination whether Table B may be used numerous days after the official Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS publishes this details on its site dedicated to the Visa Bulletin.

Sometimes, it may be possible to file the I-140 and I-485 at the very same time. This is not always recommended, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is rejected, the I-485 will also be denied if submitted concurrently.