1 Green Card Application Process

Aleida Mounts edited this page 2025-02-17 05:07:56 +01:00

With minimal exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications require that the company get a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this step, the Labor Certification process is often the hardest and most difficult step. Prior to being able to submit the Labor Certification application, the employer needs to 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 completion of a competitive recruitment procedure.

In the case of positions which contain teaching duties, the employer must document that the chosen candidate is the "finest certified" for the position. This process is commonly called "Special Handling."

In both the "standard" and the "unique handling" procedure, the employer should complete an official recruitment process to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees available or that, when it comes to positions that have a teaching part, that the selected prospect is the very best certified. It is common that this recruitment procedure must be completed well after the foreign nationwide started 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 developed. This date is essential to determine when somebody can finish step # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor employment 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 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 been authorized by USCIS, the foreign national can look for the adjustment of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal long-term homeowner. Instead of making an application for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national might likewise make an application for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be submitted up until and unless the "concern date" is present. In practice this means that, depending on one's nation of birth and employment EB-category, there might be a stockpile. The stockpile exists due to the fact that more people look for permits in an offered category than there are available permit visa numbers. The overall variety of green cards is further limited by the reality that, employment with some exceptions, no more than 7 percent of all permits in a given preference classification can go to people born in a given nation. The backlog is updated each month by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

Once somebody's priority date date has been reached, as suggested in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be filed. 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 required, USCIS got the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin contains 2 different tables with priority cut-off dates. The real cut-off dates are indicated in table A "Application Final Action Dates for Employment-based Preference Cases." However, in some circumstances, 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 decision whether Table B may be utilized a number of days after the official Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS publishes this details on its site 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 constantly advised, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will likewise be denied if submitted simultaneously.