fein FILING an EB-2 Eb-3 Green Card APPLICATION WITH VISANOW For EmployeES

Transcription

1 fein FILING an EB-2 OR Eb-3 Green Card APPLICATION WITH VISANOW For EmployeES

2 Welcome to VISANOW We re glad to be your immigration partner. It s our mission to make sure that you have the smoothest, most efficient green card petition experience possible. This guide will walk you through the VISANOW web application, the immigration process and help you to successfully file a green card application. table of contents Green Card Overview The Application Process The Visa Bulletin Citizenship FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 2

3 01 Green Card Overview: EMPLOYMENT-BASED (EB) CATEGORIES Permanent residency, commonly referred to as a green card, gives you the ability to put down roots in the United States and plan for the future. Employment-based green cards are organized into preference categories, which offer individuals with higher skill levels an advantage over lower-skilled applicants. EB-2: Advanced Workers Professionals who hold an advanced degree or its equivalent. For example, an equivalent might be a bachelor s degree plus at least five years of progressive experience (meaning the job responsibilities have increased over time). Foreign nationals with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business. Professionals whose work benefits the national interest of the United States. EB-3: Skilled or Other Workers Professionals with a bachelor s degree (or foreign equivalent) that will fill a role requiring a college degree. Skilled workers with at least two years of training or work experience, who may or may not hold a college degree. Other or unskilled workers filling a job that requires less than two years of training or experience. Important note: Category designation is based on your employer s job position requirements, not your education level. EB-2 Eb-3 Validity Period TOTAL STAY INDEFINITE RENEWALS Physical green card must be renewed every 10 years FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 3

4 02 APPLICATION PROCESS Step 1: ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT Your employer has created an online account with VISANOW, which you can also access. This allows both of you to complete your designated portions of the green card application process, including the submission of information to VISANOW-retained attorneys and uploading documentation to support your case for a green card. Check your inbox for a new user invitation to your account. If you don t see one, please check your spam or junk folder. Note: The sender is noreply@visanow.com. When accessing your account, please add your phone number to your profile. This helps the customer support team contact you if any questions arise. Note: If you ve previously completed a visa application with VISANOW, you may skip this step, as you ll already have access to your account. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 4

5 02 APPLICATION PROCESS Step 2: Complete the Questionnaire case status The Questionnaire needs to be filled out by both you and your employer. You are required to complete the employee information sections, which are the sections visible to you in your account. Your employer also has Questionnaire questions to answer that are accessible from their account. Not all questions will be applicable to your case. Simply input N/A into the field if a question doesn t apply to your situation. Note: The application process cannot progress until the Questionnaire has been completed. You may also click on the View Incomplete Only hyperlink to see only the required questions. The faster you fill out the Questionnaire the quicker your employer and the attorneys can complete the application process. To proceed to the next step: Either you or your employer must submit the Questionnaire to attorney review. Note: If your employer has not finished their portion of the Questionnaire, you won t be able to submit it yet. Case Statuses Questionnaire The Questionnaire helps attorneys gather important application information needed to prepare the case. This needs to be completed and payment must be received before moving on to the next step. Attorney review When a case is in attorney review, it means that an attorney is drafting forms, reviewing documents or finalizing a case. Customer action needed The attorneys can t continue working on the case until either you or your employer completes a specific action. To view the action, log in to your account and view the case or Communication Center to review the action item. Necessary steps may include providing documents, reviewing forms and letters, or making payments. If you are unsure what s needed, please reach out to the customer support team. Sent The completed application was sent to the appropriate government agency for processing. Some applications are sent directly to the applicant if consular processing is necessary. Complete The application has been approved by the government, and the expiration dates are being tracked. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 5

6 02 APPLICATION PROCESS Step 3: UPLOAD SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS VISANOW-retained attorneys will review the Questionnaire within three to five business days. Based on your responses, they ll create a personalized document list that outlines what evidence is needed to support your petition for permanent residency. The green card application process comprises three parts. 1 st ETA 9089 ETA 9089 Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) Labor Certification Establishes that your employer has tested the labor market to ensure there are no willing and able U.S. citizens available to hold the position for which you are being sponsored. 2 nd I-140 Note: On your case dashboard, this process will be split into three individual segments: the prevailing wage request, recruitment activities and the ETA 9089 application. I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker Informs the government of your employer s intent to sponsor you for permanent residency. 3 rd I-485 I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status Requests to change your residency status from nonimmigrant to immigrant. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 6

7 02 APPLICATION PROCESS THE PERM PROCESS 1. REQUEST PREVAILING WAGE DETERMINATION Immigration law requires employers to pay green card holders at least the prevailing wage for the position described in the application once they are granted permanent residency. A Department of Labor (DOL) inspector will use the job description to analyze the duties, skills and requirements associated with the job, and provide your employer with an appropriate salary determination for the specified work and location. Employee documents needed: PERM Experience letters Resume Diploma Transcripts or marksheets Education evaluation (if your degree is from a non-u.s. institution) Generally, once requested, the DOL s prevailing wage determination will be issued within two months. 2. PLACE JOB ADS The second part of the PERM Labor Certification process requires your employer to test the local labor market to ensure there are no willing and able individuals nearby that can perform the role. To do this, your employer must place job ads in a variety of locations and review applicants. Ad placement generally takes one to two months. During this time, the attorneys will assist your employer directly, and you will not be involved in the process. Per DOL regulations, the green card applicant is not allowed to have involvement in the ad placement process. 3. WAIT FOR THE COOLING-OFF PERIOD TO END Once all job postings are completed, employers must wait at least 30 days before moving to the next step in the PERM process. This is known as the cooling-off period. This gives U.S.-based candidates time to respond to advertisements and potentially be interviewed. 4. FILING THE PERM APPLICATION Once all steps of the recruitment stage have been completed, the PERM application is ready for filing. Current ETA 9089 processing time is typically four to six months, but is subject to change. Following submission of the ETA 9089, the PERM application will be approved, audited or denied. The VISANOWretained attorneys keep extensive records in case of an audit. An audit may delay the application by six months or more. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 7

8 02 APPLICATION PROCESS I-140 The I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker Application Form I-140 can only be filed once the ETA 9089 application is approved. Did you know? The I-140 is the only stage of the green card process that can be filed with premium processing, shortening the waiting period from approximately four to six months to only 15 calendar days. Form I-140 document list Employee Documents: All current and previous immigration documents W-2 wage and tax statements Copy of passport Note: Once all the documents are submitted and the forms and letters are prepared, the attorneys will send them to your employer for a final review before submitting them to the proper government agency. Step 4: PETITION FILED WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCY Once the application has been prepared, the VISANOW-retained attorneys will send the completed I-140 form along with all supporting documentation to USCIS. Updates that are received from the government agency will be posted in your Communication Center. I-485 The I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status Application Process The last step in the green card application process is filing Form I-485 to adjust your lawful immigration status. Once adjudication begins, processing time can span from four to 10 months. Note: An approved I-140 petition for EB-2 and EB-3 green card applications doesn t instantly result in a green card. Workers born in China, India, Mexico and the Philippines are assigned a priority date, which is a reserved spot in a queue for a green card. The length of these queues will vary by your country of origin and the green card category. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 8

9 02 APPLICATION PROCESS I-485 Document List Employee Documents: Completed medical exam (I-693) by a USCIS-approved physician Birth certificate Marriage certificate (if applicable) Two identical passport-style photos I-94 Arrival/Departure Form All previous I-797 Notice of Action approval forms Tax returns Divorce decree (if applicable) Military record (if applicable) Arrest record or criminal record (if applicable) Passport Current pay stubs Note: This is not a complete list of documents, and all might not apply to your particular case. Attorneys will upload a list specific to your case once they finish reviewing the Questionnaire. Biometrics Appointment After the I-485 application is submitted, you will receive an invitation for a biometrics appointment to undergo fingerprinting. DEPENDENT CASES Green card applications for dependents cannot be filed until you reach the I-485 stage of the green card process, which is the final stage. For this reason, it s recommended to wait to open dependent cases until you get to the I-485 stage. Note: The filing fees for dependent I-485 cases differ based on each dependent s age. If you have a child under 14 years old, the fees will be lower than that of an older child. Some employers pay these fees for their employees. Travel and work authorization add-on services: Travel (Form I-131) and work (Form I-765) authorization are options to take into consideration when applying for a green card. If the visa becomes invalid or expires before the green card application is approved, these authorizations serve as backups, allowing you to continue to work and travel internationally without difficulty. Note: Adding travel and work authorization to a case is an additional cost, but won t require any additional filing fees. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 9

10 03 The Visa Bulletin C = Current, no backlog Date Listed = Priority Date U = Unavailable information Employment- Based All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINAmainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st C C C C C 2nd C 01JUN13 01OCT08 C C 3rd 15FEB15 01SEP11 22JAN04 15FEB15 01JAN05 Other Workers 15FEB15 01JAN06 22JAN04 15FEB15 01JAN05 4th C C C C C Certain Religious Workers 5th Targeted Employment Areas/Regional Centers and Pilot Programs C U C C C C 01MAY13 C C C USCIS receives a massive volume of employment-based green card applications every year, creating a significant backlog. As a result, the U.S. Department of State issues a monthly Visa Bulletin, which provides updates regarding dates for filing applications and application final action dates. Here s an easy way to decipher the Visa Bulletin tables: C = Current: There is no backlog for the particular category. U = Unauthorized: No green cards can be issued for that category. Listed Date = Filing Application Date/Application Final Action Date Each employment-based green card category has two Visa Bulletin dates, the Filing Application Date and the Application Final Action Date. If one s priority date is current in the Filing Application table, it means that the I-485 may be filed with USCIS, but it will not review the application yet. If one s priority date is current in the Final Action Date table, it means that USCIS will review the I-485 application. Being able to file the I-485 in advance doesn t reduce the processing time for green cards, but it does allow for optional employment authorization and travel authorization applications to be submitted and approved sooner. For monthly Visa Bulletin updates, subscribe to the VISANOW blog at FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 10

11 04 CITIZENSHIP After five years of active green card status, you are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. Becoming naturalized offers a variety of benefits. For more information, read Beyond the Green Card: The Perks of U.S. Citizenship. VISANOW offers citizenship services in three tiers, with varying levels of attorney involvement: AFTER 5 years Self Service An easy, straightforward way to complete the N-400 form yourself. Our online tool guides you step by step through everything you need to assemble your application. Simply fill out our questionnaire, upload your documents, print out your application and send it in. All for free. Attorney Review Want some extra help? Have a VISANOW-retained attorney review your case before you send it in. Your attorney will make sure your application includes the right information and documentation, and will provide feedback on your overall case. After you make the recommended updates, you can submit it for a second review before you print and send. Attorney Representation Put your case completely in an attorney s capable hands. Simply supply the key information and let your VISANOW-retained attorney prepare your application, verify your documents, submit your case to the government and handle any questions that arise. You ll have full access to your attorney, and he or she will proactively update you on your case progress. FILING AN EB-2 OR EB-3 GREEN CARD APPLICATION 11

12 Questions? Contact us at VISANOW.COM Content in this publication is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult a VISANOW-retained attorney or another qualified professional. Website, technology platform and administrative services provided by VISANOW.com, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Legal services provided by VISANOW-retained attorneys. 2016, VISANOW.com, Inc., All Rights Reserved.