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Candidates for the EB-2 visa, an employment-based visa, are classified based on their skills, background, and knowledge. An EB-2 green card is available for those emigrant toilers who fall into the United States they would rather choose the second preferred variety. They are available for individuals who fall into the following EB-2 visa categories. One of the requirements for EB-2 visa applicants is having a job from a sponsoring U.S. employer. The remaining requirements are outlined in the guide below. The EB2 Visa is an employment-based visa that grants an unconditional green card to entrepreneurs with innovative ideas that will spur economic growth, who possess an advanced degree or exceptional ability. Therefore, while the EB2 Visa is not the same as a Green Card, it is a pathway to obtain one.
The EB-2 can be divided into the following sub-categories:
• Advanced Degree: Foreign workers in this subcategory must have more than a bachelor’s degree, such as a Master’s or Doctorate, or its foreign equivalent. One equivalent is a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of work experience in the field. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Certification Process must approve workers in this category.
• National Interest Waiver: Foreign workers in this subcategory are seeking to have the Foreign Labor Certification Process waived because it is in the na-tional interest of the United States to do so. Unlike the other EB-2 green card categories, these workers do not need an employer sponsor and may self-petition for an EB-2 visa. Learn about qualifying for an EB-2 National Interest waiver.
Immigrants seeking an EB-2 green card under the Exceptional ability or National Interest Waiver categories must additionally meet at least three of the following re-quirements:
• Official academic record of a degree
• Documentation of at least ten years of work experience in the field
• Professional licence or certification
• A salary that indicates the person that has exceptional ability in the field.
• Be a member of related professional association
• Peer or government recognition of achievements in the field
• Any other comparable evidence of exceptional ability
Category process for EB-2
To successfully receive an EB-2 green card, applicants and their employers must follow a three-step process.
• The first step is for the employer who wishes to hire a foreign worker to file with the US Department of Labor for Permanent Labor Certification using the Program Electronic Management Review (PERM) System.
• The employer must certify that a job opening is available in a specified pro-fessional field, the job is also available to US workers, the employer needs a foreign worker, and the pay is at a prevailing industry rate.
• Your employer will need to undergo an extensive recruiting process to en-sure no qualified American workers are available to take the position. Going through this process correctly is critical, as raising suspicion may trigger an audit from the Department of Labor. This could delay your processing time for up to a year and a half.
• If the employer meets the requirements, the Department of Labor will issue the necessary PERM form. EB-2 green card applicants seeking a National In-terest Waiver (NIW) may skip this first step.
• After receiving the PERM form, the employer wishing to sponsor a foreign worker for an EB-2 green card must complete and file form I-140, the petition for the EB-2 visa. After receiving the petition, the applicant must wait for their EB-2 priority date to be eligible to proceed to the next step. The priority date depends on when USCIS received the application.
It changes over time depending on how many visa applications are being pro-cessed. Applicants need to be aware of retrogression in the priority date. It occurs when more applicants for an EB-2 green card are available than the allocated green cards. When applicants can proceed to the final step, they may follow one of two different procedures.
If the applicant is not in the United States, they must be interviewed at a U.S. Con-sulate office in their home country. The consular office will process the application from there and determine whether the individual qualifies for an EB-2 green card.
Consular processing is done through a one-on-one interview with a consular officer who will ask specific questions about your employer, your occupation, and your ar-rangements in the US. If the officer clears you, you can travel to the US and get stamped as a legal permanent resident.
If the applicant is already in the United States on a different visa, they must adjust their status to the EB-2 using Form I-485.
Applicants will then be told to go to a USCIS Application Support Center for security processing, which generally requires fingerprinting and taking your picture. Some applicants may be required to attend an interview. The final decision will be mailed to the applicant once it is available.
The total processing time varies tremendously depending on your country of origin and the service centre that processes your I-140. On average, however, the petition takes about six months to process.
If you are required to get a PERM Labor Certification, that could take anywhere from eight months to two years depending on whether your employer is audited after the recruitment process. To ensure the best chances of avoiding an audit, make sure you work alongside an immigration attorney.
If six months is too long to wait for your I-140, you may consider opting for the pre-mium processing service. The USCIS offers this optional feature and shortens your petition processing time from about six months to 15 calendar days for a fee of $2,805
Once USCIS approves your petition, you must wait until your priority date is current. For most countries, the date will be current as soon as the petition is approved. However, for EB-2 processing time for India and China, the dates may not be cur-rent for several years. The only way to expedite this process is to port your green card petition from EB-2 to EB-1, which is no easy task.
After your priority date is current, you can submit your I-485, which will take around six months to process. Again, like the I-140, this depends on the caseload of your service centre.
All told, without premium processing, the total EB-2 processing time can range from a year and a half to several years. Because this varies from case to case, speak with your attorney to better understand how long you can expect to wait for your EB-2 visa.
At Adam Bernards we provide consular assistance for all the categories of US visas. Consular services give you ease of processing for a lesser fee and for a quicker processing timeframe in contrast to USCIS filings. However, it is imperative you choose the firm that has gained substantial experience in consular based services. We analyse and strategize your concern deeply and translate them into the services providing you with a percentage of chance of success of your applications. We are transparent with the processes and make our clients aware of their case status at every stage in the process. We are thoroughly dedicated to our clients needs and in achieving the best outcome for our clients.
Call us today at 0207-100-0505 to discuss your case with our lawyers and schedule a free consultation.
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