Green Card Application Process

With minimal exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications need 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 step. Prior employment to being able to file the Labor Certification application, the company must get a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and show that there are no minimally qualified U.S. workers readily available for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.

In the case of positions that consist of teaching responsibilities, the should record that the selected candidate is the “best certified” for the position. This procedure is typically called “Special Handling.”

In both the “fundamental” and the “unique handling” procedure, the company should finish a formal recruitment process to document that there are no minimally certified U.S. workers available or employment that, when it comes to positions that have a mentor part, that the picked candidate is the best qualified. It prevails that this recruitment procedure should be finished well after the foreign nationwide employee began their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been filed with the Department of Labor, the “concern date” for the applicant is established. This date is essential to identify when somebody can finish 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 required (e.g. EB-1), the filing of the I-140 is the initial step of the green card process.

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 change of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal permanent resident. Instead of looking for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national may also use for 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 suggests that, depending upon one’s nation of birth and EB-category, there might be a stockpile. The backlog exists because more people make an application for green cards in a provided classification than there are offered green card visa numbers. The total variety of green cards is additional restricted by the fact that, with some exceptions, no greater than 7 percent of all permits in a provided choice classification can go to individuals born in an offered nation. The stockpile is upgraded every month by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

Once somebody’s concern date date has been reached, as indicated in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be filed. The 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 received the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin consists of 2 separate tables with concern cut-off dates. The actual cut-off dates are indicated 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 present based on table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a determination whether Table B might be utilized numerous days after the main Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS publishes this information on its website committed to the Visa Bulletin.

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