Green Card 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 process is frequently the hardest and most difficult step. Prior to having the ability to file the Labor Certification application, the employer should 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 duties, the company needs to document that the picked applicant is the “best qualified” for the position. This procedure is commonly called “Special Handling.”

In both the “standard” and the “unique handling” procedure, the employer must complete an official recruitment process to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. workers available or that, in the case of positions that have a mentor component, that the selected prospect is the finest certified. It prevails that this recruitment procedure must be completed well after the foreign nationwide 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 essential to determine when somebody can complete step # 3, employment i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is required, the priority 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, 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 very first 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, employment the foreign national can obtain the adjustment of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal long-term homeowner. Instead of using for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national may likewise obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be filed up until and employment unless the “top priority date” is existing. In practice this implies that, depending on one’s country of birth and EB-category, there might be a backlog. The backlog exists due to the fact that more people obtain green cards in a provided category than there are readily available permit visa numbers. The total number of permits is further limited by the reality that, employment with some exceptions, no more than 7 percent of all permits in a given can go to people born in an offered nation. The stockpile is upgraded each month by the U.S. Department of State and is published in the Visa Bulletin.

Once somebody’s priority date date has been reached, as shown in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be submitted. 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 received the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin includes two separate tables with top priority cut-off dates. The actual cut-off dates are suggested 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 concern 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 released. USCIS releases this details on its website committed to the Visa Bulletin.

In many cases, it may be possible to file the I-140 and I-485 at the exact same time. This is not always suggested, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will likewise be denied if filed concurrently.