With minimal exceptions, all EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications require that the company acquire a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. For employment petitions needing this action, the Labor employment Certification process is often the hardest and most strenuous action. Prior to being able to file the Labor Certification application, the employer must obtain a fundamental wage from the Department of Labor and prove that there are no U.S. employees readily available for the positions through the conclusion of a competitive recruitment procedure.

In the case of positions which contain teaching tasks, the employer must document that the picked candidate is the "best certified" for the position. This procedure is commonly called "Special Handling."

In both the "basic" and the "special handling" procedure, the employer should finish a formal recruitment procedure to record that there are no minimally qualified U.S. employees offered or employment that, when it comes to positions that have a mentor part, that the picked prospect is the very best qualified. It is common that this recruitment process need to be completed well after the foreign nationwide worker started their position at the University.

As quickly as the Labor Certification has actually been filed with the Department of Labor, the "top priority date" for the applicant is established. This date is essential to determine when somebody 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 authorizes the Labor Certification, the Immigrant Petition (Form I-140) can be submitted with USCIS. In cases where no Labor Certification is needed (e.g. EB-1), the filing of the I-140 is the primary step of the green card procedure.

3. Adjustment of Status or Obtaining an Immigrant Visa

Once the I-140 application has been authorized by USCIS, the foreign nationwide can apply for the adjustment of their non-immigrant status (Form I-485) to that of a legal irreversible local. Instead of obtaining the Adjustment of Status, a foreign national may likewise request an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.

The I-485 Adjustment of Status application can not be submitted till and unless the "concern date" is current. In practice this suggests that, depending upon one's nation of birth and EB-category, there might be a stockpile. The stockpile exists due to the fact that more people use for green cards in an offered category than there are offered permit visa numbers. The total number of permits is more restricted by the reality that, employment with some exceptions, no greater than 7 percent of all green cards in an offered choice category can go to people born in a provided country. The stockpile is updated every month by the U.S. Department of State and is released in the Visa Bulletin.

Once somebody's priority date date has actually been reached, employment as indicated in the Visa Bulletin, the I-485 can be submitted. The priority date is the date on which the Labor Certification was filed with the Department of Labor, or, if no Labor Certification was needed, USCIS got the I-140 petition.

Note that the Visa Bulletin includes two separate tables with 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 concern date is existing based on table B "Dates for Filing of Employment-based Visa Applications." Note that USCIS will make a decision whether Table B may be utilized several days after the main Visa Bulletin is published. USCIS publishes this information on its website devoted to the Visa Bulletin.

In many cases, it might be possible to file the I-140 and I-485 at the very same time. This is not always advised, even if it is possible. If the I-140 is denied, the I-485 will also be rejected if submitted concurrently.