Green Card Application Process
With restricted exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications need that the employer acquire a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions needing this action, the Labor Certification procedure is frequently the hardest and most arduous action. Prior to being able to submit the Labor Certification application, the employer needs to obtain a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor and prove that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees readily available for employment the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.
When it comes to positions that consist of mentor responsibilities, the company needs to record that the chosen candidate is the “finest certified” for the position. This procedure is commonly called “Special Handling.”
In both the “basic” and the “special handling” procedure, the company should complete a formal recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers readily available or that, in the case of positions that have a mentor element, that the picked candidate is the very best qualified. It prevails that this recruitment process should be completed well after the foreign national worker started their position at the University.
As quickly as the Labor employment Certification has actually been submitted with the Department of Labor, the “concern date” for the candidate is established. This date is necessary to determine when somebody can finish step # 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 is needed (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 national can use for the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible homeowner. Instead of requesting the Adjustment of Status, a foreign nationwide may 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 filed until and unless the “concern date” is current. In practice this suggests that, depending upon one’s country of birth and EB-category, there may be a stockpile. The backlog exists since more people make an application for permits in a provided category than there are available permit visa numbers. The total number of green cards is more limited by the fact that, with some exceptions, no greater than 7 percent of all permits in an offered preference category can go to people born in an offered nation. The stockpile is upgraded each month by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.
Once someone’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 filed with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor Certification was required, USCIS received the I-140 petition.
Note that the Visa Bulletin consists of two 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, employment in some circumstances, USCIS might accept the I-485 application if the concern date is current based on table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a decision whether Table B might be utilized a number of days after the official Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS publishes this details on its site dedicated to the Visa Bulletin.
In some cases, it might be possible to submit the I-140 and I-485 at the very 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 simultaneously.
