Employment Based Immigration
EB2 & EB3 PERM to Green Card Representation
Employment-Based Immigration with Springdale Law Group
Overview
The EB2 and EB3 visas are both employment-based immigrant visas that provide the recipient with permanent residence in the United States (a green card). As a permanent resident, you have many advantages such as the ability to live and work in the United States, simpler entry and exit from the country, and the opportunity to sponsor your family members for immigration benefits. Additionally, the path to U.S. citizenship is open to you and you may attend school in the U.S. while holding this status.
EB2 vs. EB3 – The Primary Differences
It is important to understand the distinctions between these visas in order to make an informed decision on which one is right for you. The EB2 visa is the second-preference employment visa and it is available to people with advanced degrees or exceptional ability. Advanced degrees encompass master’s degrees or higher (or their foreign equivalent) while those with a bachelor’s (or equivalent) and five years of work experience are also eligible for this visa. Those who qualify as having exceptional ability have shown evidence of their talent in their field with awards, work experience, and other forms of proof. Additionally, this visa can be awarded to those who will work in the national interest of the United States, such as healthcare professionals in under-resourced areas.
The EB3 visa is the third-preference employment visa, and it can be granted to professionals, skilled workers, and unskilled workers. Professionals must possess a bachelor’s degree or higher (or the foreign equivalent) while skilled workers must have two or more years of relevant work experience and unskilled workers must have less than two years of relevant work experience.
Overall PERM-to-Green Card Process Requires the Following Three Steps:
PERM Application at DOL. The PERM labor certification process is typically the most important step in the overall process.
I-140 Petition at USCIS. The I-140 petition is not the green card application itself, but just a preliminary petition to establish which green card line the foreign national can use to obtain a green card.
I-485 Application at USCIS or Consular Processing at DOS. The I-485 application is the green card application itself.
EB2/EB3 Q&A
EB2/EB3 are permanent residency visas (green cards) for skilled professionals or academics.
As an employer, can I petition for EB2/EB3 sponsorship?
As an employee, do I need to be physically in the U.S to apply EB2/EB3?
As an employer, do I need to be under a valid status in the U.S. to apply?
What positions are qualified for EB2/EB3?
Qualified EB3 applicants must be “Professional or Skilled Workers.” These are individuals with a bachelor’s/baccalaureate degree, individuals capable of performing skilled labor requiring at least two years of experience, or individuals capable of carrying out unskilled labor for which their are no American workers available.