Employment Based Immigrant Applications

The majority of foreign nationals wanting to acquire a Permanent Resident Card through an offer of employment do so through Employment Based 1st or highest category, EB-1, is reserved for those that are outstanding researchers, executives or managers, or a very select group of extraordinary individuals.

EB-2 and EB-3 are differentiated by the education and experience required, with a job that requires at least a Bachelor’s degree plus five years of experience, or in the alternative a Master’s degree (and usually some experience) qualifying for EB-2, while lesser requirements for the job would fall to EB-3, which would still require at least a bachelor’s degree (with some exceptions). The EB-2 category has been faster to process then the EB-3, with visas immediately available for all countries except China and India. The EB-3 category is currently backlogged for all countries, and varies in length of time depending upon the country. Usually, India, China and the Philippines have a longer wait, with India the slowest or longest wait, currently nearly 11 years (EB-2 for India is currently a 6 year wait). The length of the retrogression changes without warning and be moved forward or backwards, sometimes very little and sometimes by years.

Once the Department of Labor certifies that there are no qualified US workers for the position, an I-140 may be filed and once approved, a Permanent Resident Card application may be filed if the priority date is current. The processing time for the actual Permanent Resident Card varies greatly, from several months to many months. Approximately 90 days after the application for a Permanent Resident Card is made, the immigration service will issue a work authorization card which also serves as a travel document.

Employment Based Immigration Visas can be complex. Let GoffWilson provide the timely advice and thorough expertise you need. Contact us Now.