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EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD

See what classifications of employment-based green card is right for you:

EB-1 EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD FIRST PREFERENCE

  • Persons with extraordinary ability (EB-11)
  • Outstanding professors and researchers (EB-12)
  • Certain Multinational Executives or Managers (EB-13)

EB-2 EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD SECOND PREFERENCE

  • Aliens who are members of the profession holding advanced degrees (EB-21)
  • Aliens of exceptional ability (EB-21)
  • National Interest Waiver

EB-3 EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD THIRD PREFERENCE

  • Skilled workers (EB-31)
  • Professional (EB-32)
  • Unskilled worker (EB-33)

EB-4 EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD FOURTH PREFERENCE

  • This category includes religious workers,
  • Special immigrant juveniles (SIJs) and
  • A variety of other special immigrants.

EB-5 EMPLOYMENT-BASED GREEN CARD FIFTH PREFERENCE OR EB-5 INVESTMENT GREEN CARD

– Employment Creation Investor Visa Category
– Must invest in at least $1m in new commercial enterprise that employs at least 10 U.S. workers
– $500K investment where investment is in targeted employment area
– Petitioner must be engaged in business
– Requires substantial documentation of investment, enterprise, capital, job creation.
– The alien must file I-526 petition, which must include all the required evidence

Employment Requirements for all employment based applications:

Employment-based Green card

This is designed to bring highly skilled, specially trained personnel to fill jobs in the U.S. for which American employers cannot find qualified employees.

  1. The job offer must be for permanent, full-time employment at prevailing U.S. wages.  The U.S. Department of Labor defines the prevailing wage rate as the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a specific occupation in the area of intended employment. The employer should consult O*Net website to define job requirements and ascertain the basic requirement for specified position. (*** When examining labor certifications, the Department of Labor is checking to see if the employer created a job description with minimum requirements to suit a particular alien and in effect limit a U.S. job applicant's chance to fill this position. ***)
  2. Employer shall file for prevailing wage determination to define the wage for the employee. Use the Department of Labor website to request Prevailing wage determination.
  3. Most of the employment based green card classifications require labor certification (Form ETA9098 fill-able form) from the Department of Labor before I-140 petition can be filed.

 

 

Adjustment of Status

An application for adjustment of status may be submitted with an I-140 petition in any employment-based category that has a current priority date. If the I-140 is pending more than 180 days, the beneficiary can use the portability provision of AC21, change job, or job offer, and retain the I-140 Petition and adjust status if the new job is in the same or similar occupational classification.

Employment-Based Applicant Not in Lawful Nonimmigrant Status

Any employment-based adjustment applicant who is not in a lawful nonimmigrant status at the time of filing for adjustment is barred from adjusting status, even if the applicant is lawfully present in the United States. For example, a parolee is barred from seeking employment-based adjustment, because a parolee is not a lawful nonimmigrant status.

Employment-based applicants may be eligible for exemption from this bar under INA 245(k).

For purposes of this bar to adjustment, the term “lawful nonimmigrant status” refers to:

  • An applicant in a lawful status classified under the nonimmigrant statutory provisions INA 101(a)(15).; and
  • An applicant in temporary protected status (TPS)

Lawful nonimmigrant status does not include parolees, asylees, or certain other noncitizens who are otherwise authorized to be physically present in the United States.

New Rule

On Jan. 17, 2017, a new rule, “Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers” amending DHS regulations went into effect. The regulatory amendments provide for the automatic extension of the validity periods of certain Employment Authorization Documents (Form I-766) for up to 180 days if the employee:

  • Timely filed to renew Form I-765, Employment Authorization Document (EAD);
  • Is applying to renew such EAD in the same category as the previous EAD (A12 and C19 are considered the same category for this extension); and
  • Is in a category that is eligible for the extension.

 

 

At the Law Offices of Irina Vinogradsky, LLC, full service immigration law firm, we help prospective immigrants and their employers determine whether they are eligible for employment-based green cards, and if so, we guide them through the process.



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