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1 Green Card Application Process

With restricted exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 permit applications require that the employer acquire a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this action, employment the Labor Certification process is often the hardest and most arduous action. Prior to being able to submit the Labor Certification application, the employer needs to acquire a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers offered for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.

In the case of positions that consist of mentor tasks, the employer needs to document that the chosen candidate is the "best certified" for the position. This procedure is commonly called "Special Handling."

In both the "standard" and the "unique handling" process, the employer must finish an official recruitment process to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees offered or that, in the case of positions that have a mentor component, that the selected candidate is the very best certified. It prevails that this recruitment process must be finished well after the foreign national employee started their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been submitted with the Department of Labor, the "priority date" for the applicant is established. This date is necessary to determine when someone can complete action # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is needed, the top 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 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 permit procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

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

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be filed till and unless the "concern date" is existing. In practice this indicates that, depending on one's nation of birth and EB-category, there may be a backlog. The backlog exists because more individuals obtain permits in a given category than there are readily available green card visa numbers. The total number of is additional restricted by the fact that, with some exceptions, no greater than 7 percent of all green cards in an offered preference category can go to individuals born in an offered nation. The backlog is upgraded monthly by the U.S. Department of State and is published in the Visa Bulletin.

Once someone's concern date date has actually 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 filed with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor Certification was needed, USCIS received the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin contains 2 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 circumstances, USCIS may accept the I-485 application if the priority date is current based upon table B "Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications." Note that USCIS will make a decision whether Table B might be used several days after the official Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS releases this information on its website dedicated to the Visa Bulletin.

Sometimes, it may be possible to submit the I-140 and I-485 at the same time. This is not constantly recommended, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is rejected, the I-485 will also be denied if filed simultaneously.