Green Cards Through Employment

 Green cards through employment are granted to up to 140,000 persons per year under US immigration laws. This includes employees and their immediate family members (spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21). Persons born in a particular country cannot use more than 7% of the quota in any of the 5 employment-based (EB) categories. This has led to long backlogs in the EB categories for persons born in India and China.

President Trump has suspended the issuance of immigrant visas for most people in the employment-based categories until the end of 2020. However, those who are lawfully present in the US may adjust their status within the U.S.

You can stay up-to-date with the waiting times in the Visa Bulletin by subscribing to our Free E-Mail Newsletter. Also, see our Coronavirus – Immigration Updates page.

In general, before an EB-2 or EB-3 preference petition on behalf of a prospective immigrant can be submitted to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), an employer must obtain the approval of a PERM application issued by the US Department of Labor. This is a determination that no minimally-qualified US workers are ready, willing and able to fill the job, and that the employment of an immigrant will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of US workers.

Client Reviews

For some categories of employment-based green cards, the employer need not go through the PERM process.  These include persons in the EB-1 category, those in the EB-2 category who qualify as Persons of Exceptional Ability or for National Interest Waivers, and Schedule A shortage occupations including Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists.

Those who qualify as Persons of Extraordinary Ability or for National Interest Waivers may “self-petition” for green cards through employment without employer sponsorship.

Green Cards Through Employment is divided into the following sub-topics:

• Videos – Green Card Through Employment
• Success Stories – Green Card Through Employment
• EB-1 Priority Workers
• EB-2 Professionals with Advanced Degrees
• EB-3 Professionals, Skilled and Other Workers
• Green Card Through Employment: General Resources
• Practice Advisories on Green Card Through Employment

Videos – Green Cards Through Employment

• How to Obtain a Green Card Through Employment – Immigration Attorney Carl Shusterman (former INS Attorney, 1976-82) explains the EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and EB-4 preference categories and how to obtain permanent residence through each of these categories.

 

 

• Green Cards Through Employment: An Overview – Immigration Attorney Carl Shusterman (Former INS Attorney 1976-82) gives an overview concerning employment-based immigration to the United States.

 

 

• Employment-Based Green Cards: An Overview – Attorney Carl Shusterman (Former INS Attorney 1976-82) explains employment-based visa categories: EB-1 (priority workers), EB-2 (advanced degrees), EB-3 (professionals, skilled and unskilled workers), EB-4 (religious workers, et al), EB-5 (investors).

 

 

• Visa Bulletin: Employment-Based Categories – Attorney Carl Shusterman (Former INS Attorney 1976-82) explains the movement of the employment-based priority dates on the monthly State Department Visa Bulletin.

 

Success Stories – Green Cards Through Employment

• Options for an Extraordinary Employee
• Saving a Client from an EB-5 Denial
• Overturning the Denial of a PERM Application
• Winning an I-140 Appeal
• Overcoming the Denial of an I-140 Petition
• Registered Nurse Upgrades from EB-2 to EB-3
• Representing Clients in Various Cities Across the U.S.
• Helping a Person Qualify for a National Interest Waiver
• Helping a Physician Achieve Permanent Residence
• Green Card for a Person of Extraordinary Ability
• Helping a Client Qualify as an EB-1 Outstanding Researcher
• Erroneous I-140 Denial is Overturned
• Saving a Science Superstar from Deportation
• Establishing That a Job Offer is Permanent
• Saving a Nurse From Being Deported
• Helping a Nurse Remain in the U.S.
• Helping an Immigrant Overcome Attorney Error
• Saving a Scientist’s NIW from Revocation
• A Hardship Waiver for a Physician
• Repairing a Broken Immigration Case
• Registered Nurse: “It Never Hurts to Ask”
• Researcher and Systems Engineer: “What a Difference a Day Made”
• Professional Athlete – “Curveball: The Immigration Officer Who Knew Too Much”
• Employment-Based Immigration: Cancer Research Center
• Physician/Researcher: “Who is Extraordinary?”
• Employment-Based Immigration: 100 Registered Nurses
• Engineers and Nurses
• Physician: Exceptional Hardship – Mexican Immigrant: Alternate Chargeability
• Artist Wins Right to Stay in US

Green Cards Through Employment Resources

• The Rules for Immigrants Wanting to Work in the United States on a Permanent Basis (4-06-20)
• Checklist of Required Initial Evidence for Form I-140 (USCIS)
• Foreign Labor Application Gateway – FLAG (USDOL) (May 2019)
• USCIS Publishes Final Rule for Certain EB Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Programs (11-18-16)
• Successor-in-Interest Determinations in Adjudication of Form I-140 Petitions Memo (9-28-16)
• Litigation for Business Immigration Practitioners (6-06-16)
• Responding to a Request for Evidence (5-25-16)
• Employment-Based Adjustment of Status through Section 245(k)
• Employment Authorization Documents (EADs)

Practice Advisories on Green Cards Through Employment

• Litigation for Business Immigration Practitioners (8-20-18)
• Mandamus Actions: Avoiding Dismissal and Proving the Case (3-08-17)
• Failure to Appeal to the AAO: Does it Bar all Federal Court Review of the Case? (9-26-16)
• Practice Tip: Mandamus May Get Results When Nothing Else Works (9-14-16)
• Practice Tip: When to Appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) (7-27-16)
• Practice Tip: Responding to a Request for Evidence (5-25-16)
• Practice Tip: Building the Record for Employment-Based Petitions (4-01-16)

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