Permit Application Process
With restricted exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications require that the employer get a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For petitions requiring this step, the Labor Certification process is typically the hardest and most difficult action. Prior to being able to file the Labor Certification application, the company must acquire a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor and employment prove that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees readily available for the positions through the conclusion of a competitive recruitment process.
When it comes to positions which contain mentor employment tasks, the employer should record that the is the „best certified“ for the position. This procedure is typically called „Special Handling.“
In both the „standard“ and the „unique handling“ procedure, the employer should finish a formal recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally certified U.S. employees available or employment that, in the case of positions that have a teaching element, employment that the selected candidate is the best qualified. It prevails that this recruitment procedure must be finished well after the foreign national employee started their position at the University.
As quickly as the Labor Certification has been filed with the Department of Labor, the „priority date“ for the applicant is developed. This date is crucial to determine when someone can finish step # 3, i.e. the Adjustment of Status. (If no Labor Certification is required, the top priority 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 required (e.g. EB-1), the filing of the I-140 is the initial step of the green card procedure.
3. Adjustment of Status or employment Obtaining an Immigrant Visa
Once the I-140 application has been authorized by USCIS, the foreign national can make an application for the change of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal long-term citizen. Instead of obtaining the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national might likewise 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 „priority date“ is existing. In practice this suggests that, depending on one’s nation of birth and employment EB-category, there may be a backlog. The stockpile exists since more individuals request green cards in a given classification than there are offered green card visa numbers. The overall number of permits is further limited by the reality that, with some exceptions, no more than seven percent of all permits in a given choice category can go to people born in an offered country. The backlog is updated 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 suggested in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be submitted. The top 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 got the I-140 petition.
Note that the Visa Bulletin contains two separate tables with top priority cut-off dates. The real cut-off dates are suggested 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 top 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 may be utilized several days after the official Visa Bulletin is released. USCIS publishes this details on its website committed 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 constantly suggested, employment even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will likewise be denied if filed simultaneously.