How Long Will It Take To Get My Green Card?
A brief overview of employment-based immigrant visa petition
There are five categories of employment-based immigrant visa petitions. Among them, about 60% foreign workers obtain their green cards through EB-2 (the second preference) or EB-3 (the third preference), and these two categories share many similarities. The second preference could be easier and more straightforward, requiring a foreign national to hold an advanced degree (i.e. a Master’s degree or above). However, the third preference can further be divided into three sub-categories include professionals, skilled workers, and unskilled workers.
- Professionals: with at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field (either U.S. or foreign equivalent degrees are acceptable, but work experience may not be substituted for a bachelor’s degree)
- Skilled workers: with at least two years of experience or training in a related field
- Unskilled workers: with less than two years of experience or training in a related field
The general processes of EB-2 and EB-3 are highly similar. In general, there are three steps for both two preferences:
- PERM: Program Electronic Review Management
- I-140: Petition for Permanent Residency
- I-485: Application for Adjustment of Status (if a foreign national is in the U.S. at the time of filing)
Step 1: PERM Process
This step could be the most important and complicated step of the entire green card process. The employer is required to obtain a prevailing wage first. After that, running ads and conducting recruitment efforts are required before filing a PERM application. The entire PERM Process takes approximately 12–18 months (without PERM audit), from submitting a prevailing wage determination to receiving a certified PERM application.
Step 2: I-140 Petition
Once the PERM application (Application for Permanent Employment Certification) is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor, the employer may file an I-140 petition with USCIS. The I-140 petition is uncomplicated. As long as the employer proves its financial ability to pay the prevailing wage determined by the DOL and the beneficiary’s qualifications for the proffered position, the petition will be approved without any challenges. Also, premium processing is available only for the I-140 petition during the entire green card process. If your case is under premium processing, USCIS will give you a response within 15 calendar days. Otherwise, the regular processing time for I-140 ranges from 6 months to 1 year.
Step 3: I-485 Application
To be noted, I-485 application is available for foreign nationals who are present in the United States at the time of filing the application. If the foreign nationals are outside the U.S., they will need to apply at a U.S. consulate abroad for an immigrant visa.
For most foreign nationals under EB-2 category (except foreign nationals born in China and India), they can file I-140 petitions and I-485 applications at the same time, as their priority dates are generally current when their I-140 petitions are filed. However, for most foreign nationals under EB-3 category, if they file I-140 petitions around the end of each fiscal year (September 30), they may be subject to varied wait periods. Therefore, for most EB-3 foreign workers (except foreign nationals born in China and India), if they are not able to file I-140 and I-485 concurrently in the beginning of the fiscal year, they can submit I-140 petitions first and file I-485 applications subsequently when the priority date is current.
As the priority date may not be current, the processing time of I-485 application can be quite long. Therefore, at the time of filing I-485 applications, foreign nationals can concurrently file I-765 (Employment Authorization) and I-131 (Travel Document), so that they can work in the United States and travel internationally.
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