Employment-Based Green Cards – Application Process

After you have received an appropriate job deal from a U.S. company (if you need a job deal under your prospective category of lawful long-term home), getting a U.S. green card is a multistage process. Here, employment we’ll provide a summary.

Basic Steps to Receiving U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence Based on Employment

Exceptional Case: Getting a U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence Without Labor Certification

Lawful Permanent Residence for Spouse and Children of Employee

Basic Steps to Receiving U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence Based Upon Employment

In quick, making an application for employment a work based green card includes these actions:

– Your prospective employer requests what’s called a prevailing wage determination (PWD) from the U.S. Department of Labor, utilizing the online FLAG system. The PWD is the Department of Labor’s formal ruling as to just how much money is normally paid to individuals in tasks like the one you have actually been offered. The PWD will normally expire within a year or less, employment so it will be necessary to hire for and file the PERM labor accreditation right after the PWD is issued.
– Your company promotes and recruits for the task you have actually been offered and eventually determines (in excellent faith) that there are no qualified U.S. workers readily available and ready to take the job.
– Your company files a PERM labor accreditation application online, utilizing the electronic USDOL Form 9089.
– You wait the numerous months that the DOL will take to adjudicate the PERM labor accreditation application, and mail the licensed PERM application to your employer (this time frame can extend up to a year if the DOL picks your PERM application for audit).
– Within 180 days of the PERM labor certification approval, your company prepares and submits a petition using Form I-140, released by U.S. and Immigration Services (USCIS).
– After USCIS approves the petition, you wait until a visa is offered. It may be immediately available, if the number of individuals who applied in your classification because same year is less than the variety of visas available; or if too many individuals used, then you might need to wait till your Priority Date ends up being current. (Get details on monitoring your Priority Date.).
– You file a permit application and pay the charges, either utilizing USCIS Form I-485 to «change status,» which ultimately includes an interview at a regional migration office near your home, or by completing several steps to ultimately have an interview at a U.S. consulate beyond the U.S. (through what is called «consular processing»). Which treatment you utilize depends on where you are living now, and if you are in the U.S., whether you are lawfully present or otherwise eligible to adjust status. (For detailed info on these treatments, see Getting a Green Card: Consular Processing vs. Adjustment of Status.).
– If your interview is at a consulate, after approval you enter the U.S. with your immigrant visa, employment at which time you end up being a permanent homeowner. Your green card will get here by mail numerous weeks later on.

Note that in cases when there is no stockpile in your permit category (and everyone’s concern date is existing according to the Department of State’s latest Visa Bulletin), you can submit your I-485 application in addition to your employer’s I-140 petition. If you’re following the consular processing option, you’ll require to wait on I-140 approval from USCIS before preparing your files for employment the visa interview abroad.

Exceptional Case: Getting a U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence Without Labor Certification

If you certify for an immigrant visa category that does not require labor certification, then you will not need to follow all of the steps outlined above.

You or your employer will merely file the USCIS Form I-140 immigrant petition directly with the USCIS Service Center and, once it’s authorized, either file a Type I-485 permit application with USCIS (if you are legally present within the United States and qualified to adjust status) or await guidelines from the National Visa Center (NVC) to prepare you for a visa interview at a U.S. embassy abroad.

Lawful Permanent Residence for Spouse and Children of Employee

If you’re married or have children listed below the age of 21 and you get approved for a green card through employment, your partner and kids can get green cards as accompanying relatives. They will need to provide proof of their family relationship to you, such as marriage or birth certificates.