Greencards

When a company wishes to obtain permanent U.S. residency for an employee, it is required to file a labor certification application with the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL"). The DOL then makes a determination as to whether or not there are sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for the job; whether the employment of the foreign worker will have an adverse effect on the wages and working conditions of United States workers similarly employed; and whether the employer has met the procedural requirements of the regulations.
Once the labor certification is approved, the employer must file an Immigrant Visa Petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"). When the petition is approved, the foreign worker must wait until the visa number is available, in order to be able to either file for Adjustment of Status, if in the United States, or for an Immigrant Visa through the U.S. Consulate/Embassy abroad, if outside the United States.

Immigrant Visa availability is determined by the category the case is filed under (i.e. EB-2, EB-3, etc.), which is determined by the job requirements in the labor certification (Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, two years of experience only, etc.), the date the labor certification was filed, and the nationality of the foreign worker.

To discuss this process in more detail, please contact my office. I am also more than happy to discuss your employment options with your current or future employer, as well!

*Please note that there are other ways to obtain U.S. Legal Permanent Residency through employment without the labor certification requirement, such as: Multi-National Executives and Managers, Persons of Extraordinary Ability (in Science, Art, Education, Business or Athletics), Persons of Exceptional Ability (in Art or Science), Outstanding Researchers and Professors, and Schedule A Nurses and Physical Therapists. Please contact me for further information regarding these potential options!*

A foreign national who wishes to permanently live in the United States can be "sponsored" by certain relatives (U.S. citizen spouse (including same-sex spouse), parent, and sibling(s) over 21, child over 21; or U.S. Legal Permanent Resident spouse or parent).

An "immediate relative" of a U.S. citizen (parents, spouses and unmarried children under 21) does not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the visa petition filed for them is approved by USCIS. An immigrant visa number will become immediately available.

However, all other family members in the remaining categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available, according to the following preferences, as follows:

• First preference: Unmarried, "adult" (over age 21) children of U.S. citizens.
• Second Preference: Spouses of U.S. Legal Permanent Residents, their unmarried children (under age 21), and the unmarried children of U.S. Legal Permanent Residents.
• Third Preference: Married children of U.S. Citizens.
• Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of "adult" U.S. Citizens.

When USCIS approves the Petition for Alien Relative form, the person who filed the visa petition is notified. Then, USCIS sends the approved visa petition to the U.S. Department of State's National Visa Center ("NVC"), where it will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. The NVC notifies the foreign national relative when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is available. Lastly, the foreign national relative will be interviewed at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate abroad, closest to where they are currently residing.

*Please note that a battered spouse or child of a U. S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident spouse or parent may self-petition under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, which was re-authorized by Congress on February 28, 2013.*

Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling on same-sex marriages, not only can a U.S. citizen spouse petition his/her same-sex spouse for a greencard, through an immediate relative family-based petition, but same-sex married spouses can also:

• Apply as a derivative of their spouse, for purposes of nonimmigrant visas, such as H-4 or F-2;
• Apply as a derivative of their spouse, for purposes of immigrant visas (i.e. greencard), such as when their spouse is being sponsored through an employment-based immigration category.
• A U.S. citizen can also petition his/her same-sex significant other for a “fiancé visa”, which would permit the foreign partner to enter the U.S. with intent to marry his/her same-sex partner within ninety days of entry, at which time he/she could apply for a greencard.