Permit Application Process

With minimal exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 permit applications require that the employer get a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this action, the Labor Certification process is frequently the hardest and most tough action. Prior to having the ability to submit the Labor Certification application, the company needs to acquire a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor and prove that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees available for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.

When it comes to positions which contain mentor responsibilities, the employer needs to document that the selected candidate is the “finest certified” for the position. This process is frequently called “Special Handling.”

In both the “standard” and employment the “special handling” process, the employer needs to complete a formal recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees offered or that, in the case of positions that have a teaching part, that the picked candidate is the finest qualified. It prevails that this recruitment procedure must be finished well after the foreign nationwide worker began their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been submitted with the Department of Labor, the “priority date” for employment the applicant is developed. This date is very important to determine when someone can finish step # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is needed, the concern 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 initial step of the green card procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has been approved by USCIS, the foreign national can request the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible local. Instead of getting the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national may also request 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 on one’s country of birth and EB-category, there might be a backlog. The backlog exists because more individuals request permits in a given category than there are available permit visa numbers. The total variety of permits is additional limited by the reality that, with some exceptions, no greater than seven percent of all permits in a provided preference classification can go to people born in a provided nation. The backlog is upgraded every month by the U.S. Department of State and is published in the Visa Bulletin.

Once someone’s priority date date has been reached, as indicated in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be filed. The concern date is the date on which the Labor Certification was submitted with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor employment Certification was required, USCIS received the I-140 .

Note that the Visa Bulletin includes two different tables with priority 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 might accept the I-485 application if the concern date is current based upon table B “Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications.” Note that USCIS will make a determination whether Table B may be used a number of days after the main Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS releases this info 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, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will also be rejected if submitted concurrently.