Green Card Application Process

With restricted exceptions, all EB-2 and employment 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 often the hardest and most arduous action. Prior to being able to submit the Labor Certification application, the employer needs to get a prevailing wage from the of Labor and prove that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees offered for the positions through the completion of a competitive recruitment process.

In the case of positions that include teaching responsibilities, the company needs to document that the chosen candidate is the "finest qualified" for the position. This procedure is typically called "Special Handling."

In both the "standard" and the "special handling" procedure, the employer needs to complete a formal recruitment process to document that there are no minimally certified U.S. workers available or that, employment in the case of positions that have a teaching part, that the picked prospect is the finest qualified. It prevails that this recruitment process need to be completed well after the foreign national staff member started their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has been filed with the Department of Labor, the "top priority date" for the applicant is developed. This date is necessary to figure out when somebody can finish action # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is needed, the concern date is developed with the filing of the Immigrant Petition/ Form I-140.

2. Immigrant Petition

Once the Department of Labor authorizes 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 process.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has been approved by USCIS, the foreign nationwide can look for the modification of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal permanent local. Instead of making an application for the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national 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 submitted until and unless the "priority date" is current. In practice this suggests that, depending upon one's country of birth and EB-category, there might be a backlog. The backlog exists because more people request permits in an offered category than there are available permit visa numbers. The total variety of permits is more limited by the reality that, with some exceptions, no greater than 7 percent of all green cards in a given choice classification can go to individuals born in a given country. The stockpile is updated monthly by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

Once someone's concern date date has been reached, as shown in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be filed. 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 includes 2 different tables with priority cut-off dates. The real cut-off dates are shown 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 decision whether Table B may be used a number of days after the main Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS releases this information on its site dedicated to the Visa Bulletin.

In some cases, it may be possible to file 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 denied, the I-485 will likewise be rejected if filed concurrently.