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Green
Card
A United States Permanent
Resident Card, also known popularly
as Green Card,
is an identification card for a permanent resident
of the United States of America who does not have
U.S. citizenship
We also sponsor Green Cards and labor certification
using PERM (Program Electronic Review
Management process). PERM is a new system
of Labor Certification application.
There are three phases to the Green Card process:
- Labor
Certification (ETA 750 Application for Alien
Labor Certification);
-
Preference Petition (I-140 Immigrant Petition
for Alien Worker); and,
-
Final application for permanent residence (I-485
Application for Adjustment of status).
Step
1 : Labor Certification (ETA 750)
Labor Certification is the first step of the Green
Card process. In the Green Card process, the sponsoring
company is seeking to fill a full time position
with a foreign national worker because of a shortage
of qualified, available, willing and able U.S.
workers.
PERM Application Process
- Prevailing
wage to be determined by state workforce agencies
prior to application filing
- Pre-Application
recruitment will be required for all applications
during the period 30 days to 180 days prior
to filing
- PERM
applications are to be filed directly with DOL
- Applications
may be filed either electronically or by mail
using Form ETA-9089 - Employers must attest
to having met all PERM requirements for the
proposed job opportunity
- DOL
website for completing and submitting the PERM
application form
- Employers
do not submit supporting documentation with
the PERM application but must retain supporting
documentation for 5 years for audit purposes
- No
filing fee at this time, but fees may be implemented
in the future
Step
2: Preference Petition (Form I-140)
Upon
approval of the labor certification, the company
will file an immigrant petition with the USCIS.
The
purpose of the Immigrant Petition is for the USCIS
to verify that the employee meets the requirements
of the job as specified on the application for
labor certification and to ensure that the sponsoring
company has the ability to pay the stated wages.
If
satisfied, the USCIS will approve the I-140 Immigrant
Petition.
*Anticipated
period of time to complete this step: 4 to 10
months
Step
3: Application for Permanent Resident Status (Form
I-485)
Upon approval of the Immigrant Petition, if a
visa number is available for the employee, the
employee will file an Application for Adjustment
of Status with the USCIS.
Visa
availability is based on the country of birth
of the employee and the employee's "priority
date." As noted, the priority date is set
at the time of the filing of the application for
labor certification.
Upon
approval of the Application for Adjustment of
Status and completion of some final steps, the
employee will be a U.S. permanent resident alien
and will receive his or her Green Card in the
mail shortly thereafter.
*Anticipated
period of time to complete this step: 10 to 18
months
We
also sponsor H1 B Visa
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