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 procedure is typically the hardest and most arduous action. Prior to having the ability to file the Labor Certification application, the employer should get a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally certified U.S. workers readily available for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.

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

In both the “basic” and the “special handling” process, the employer needs to finish a formal recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers readily available or that, when it comes to positions that have a teaching component, that the chosen candidate is the finest qualified. It is common that this recruitment process need to be finished well after the foreign national staff member began their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been submitted with the Department of Labor, the “priority date” for the candidate is developed. This date is important to figure out when somebody can finish action # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor 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 employment approves 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), the filing of the I-140 is the primary step of the green card process.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has been approved by USCIS, the foreign nationwide can get the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible local. Instead of getting the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide may likewise look for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be submitted till and unless the “priority date” is existing. In practice this suggests that, depending on one’s nation of birth and EB-category, there might be a backlog. The stockpile exists because more individuals apply for green cards in a given classification than there are readily available green card visa numbers. The total number of green cards is additional by the truth that, with some exceptions, no more than 7 percent of all green cards in an offered preference category can go to people born in a given country. The backlog is updated monthly by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

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

Note that the Visa Bulletin includes 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, in some circumstances, employment USCIS might accept the I-485 application if the top priority date is existing based upon table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a decision whether Table B may be utilized several days after the official Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS releases this info on its site committed to the Visa Bulletin.

In many cases, it may be possible to submit 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.