By The USA has the largest population of immigrants as compared to any other country in the world. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s migrants, or more than 40 million Americans, were born outside of the United States. The reason is that it’s not the need of the individuals only, but the USA as a whole also needs immigrant workers to become a part of its workforce due to many reasons.
According to research released in 2022 by the American Immigration Council, the U.S. will require immigrant workers in the future as the country’s aging workforce and rising health care service demands lead to an anticipated spike in job opportunities (AIC). But to get immigrant workers to be a part of the workforce, they need to go through certain procedures. This process includes labor certification approval, I-140 immigration petition, and I-485 application to adjust status.
Step-By-Step Process
1. Labor certification
The initial step in getting an employment-based green card is receiving this certification. The employer completes the PERM labor certification procedure by contacting the Department of labor. PERM is the procedure whereby the company demonstrates that the foreign worker is not displacing any U.S. citizens who are competent for the positions in question. This green card phase can be completed by providing evidence such as a newspaper ad that the business could not find a suitable American employee for the post.
2. I-140 Immigration Petition
Once the department has approved the certification, employers may receive the Immigrant Petition (Form I-140), which can be filed with USCIS. The I-140 application is the initial stage in the green card process in situations where a PERM is unnecessary (such as EB-1). This step fulfills two purposes: it confirms that the green card applicant has satisfied the requirements for the employer listed on the PERM application and confirms that the business can pay the employee the promised salary.
Whether the company chooses, normal or premium processing will affect the time the USCIS takes to complete the I-140 petition. While premium processing may be completed in as little as 15 days, regular processing can take between 6 and 9 months. But here, it is important to know that the fee charged for standard processing is $700, and for premium processing, it is $1,225.
3. Adjustment of Status
The foreign citizen may submit a Form I-485 to request the adjustment of status from non-immigrant to lawful permanent residence once USCIS has accepted the I-140 application. A foreign individual may register for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas in place of filing for adjustment of status.
Unfortunately, this procedure takes a lot of time since there are only a limited amount of green cards available for each category and each nation. As a result, some candidates have been waiting for the USCIS to complete their 1-485 applications for more than ten years.
But after processing and approval of your I-485 application, the whole process gets completed. The individual receives an employed-based green card from the United States and a stamp on the passport to be permitted.
Conclusion
As many individuals have a dream to work and live in the USA, a large pool of applicants apply for employment-based green cards. As a result, more than 1.2 million individuals were waiting in line for their process to complete and get the employment-based green card. But to get this done, many firms take care of these procedures and ensure that the company fully complies with all federal laws and regulations. These firms help in getting the procedure completed as soon as it is possible to allow the companies to welcome the new immigrant worker and also help the immigrant worker to start their work.
