Green Card Application Process

With restricted exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 permit applications need that the employer get a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this action, the Labor Certification process is often the hardest and most tough step. Prior to being able to file the Labor Certification application, employment the company must get 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.

In the case of positions that consist of teaching tasks, the company must record that the picked candidate is the “best certified” for the position. This process is commonly called “Special Handling.”

In both the “basic” and the “special handling” procedure, the company should finish a formal recruitment procedure to document that there are no minimally certified U.S. workers offered or that, when it comes to positions that have a teaching element, that the chosen candidate is the very best qualified. It prevails that this recruitment process must be completed well after the foreign national staff member started their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been filed with the Department of Labor, the “concern date” for the applicant is established. This date is necessary to identify when somebody can finish step # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is needed, 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 filed with USCIS. In cases where no Labor employment Certification is required (e.g. EB-1), the filing of the I-140 is the primary step of the green card procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has actually been approved by USCIS, the foreign nationwide can get the change of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible homeowner. Instead of applying for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide might likewise apply for 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 “top priority date” is existing. In practice this indicates that, depending on one’s nation of birth and EB-category, employment there might be a stockpile. The backlog exists due to the fact that more individuals use for employment permits in a given category than there are readily available permit visa numbers. The total number of green cards is additional restricted by the truth that, employment with some exceptions, no greater than seven percent of all green cards in an offered preference classification can go to people born in a given nation. The stockpile is updated monthly by the U.S. of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

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

Note that the Visa Bulletin includes two separate tables with concern cut-off dates. The actual cut-off dates are shown in table A “Application Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases.” However, in some instances, USCIS might accept the I-485 application if the concern 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 may be utilized numerous days after the main Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS releases this information on its website dedicated to the Visa Bulletin.

In many cases, it might be possible to submit the I-140 and I-485 at the very same time. This is not always advised, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is rejected, the I-485 will likewise be rejected if submitted simultaneously.