Permit Application Process

With limited exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications require that the company obtain a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this step, the Labor Certification procedure is typically the hardest and most strenuous action. Prior to having the ability to submit the Labor Certification application, the employer must get a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees readily available for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.

When it comes to positions which contain mentor tasks, the company needs to record that the selected applicant is the “finest qualified” for the position. This process is typically called “Special Handling.”

In both the “fundamental” and the “special handling” process, the employer needs to complete an official recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees readily available or that, employment when it comes to positions that have a teaching element, that the picked candidate is the very best certified. It is common that this recruitment procedure must be finished well after the foreign national worker began 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 candidate is established. This date is necessary to identify when someone can finish step # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is required, the top priority 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, employment the Immigrant Petition (Form I-140) can be submitted 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 green card procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has actually been authorized by USCIS, the foreign nationwide can request the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible citizen. Instead of the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide might likewise use for employment an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be filed until and unless the “priority date” is present. In practice this suggests that, depending upon one’s nation of birth and EB-category, there might be a backlog. The stockpile exists since more individuals use for permits in a provided category than there are available permit visa numbers. The overall number of green cards is more limited by the fact that, with some exceptions, no more than seven percent of all permits in a provided choice category can go to people born in an offered nation. The backlog is updated monthly by the U.S. Department of State and is published in the Visa Bulletin.

Once someone’s concern date date has 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 submitted with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor Certification was needed, USCIS got the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin contains 2 different tables with top priority cut-off dates. The actual cut-off dates are indicated in table A “Application Final Action Dates for -based Preference Cases.” However, in some instances, USCIS may 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 used several days after the main Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS releases this details on its website committed to the Visa Bulletin.

In some cases, it might be possible to file the I-140 and I-485 at the same time. This is not always advised, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will also be denied if filed concurrently.