THE US EB GREEN CARD STORY

Sep 12, 2021 237 Comments

Posting for the benefit of the community. Based on first hand experience.

Employment based US permanent residency or EB GREEN CARD Starts with a permanent job offer, PERM application and an I-140:

1) Interviews and job offer
2) You have ANY legal status which allows you to stay and work in the US. This is only needed if you are inside the US.
3) your employer files a PERM and this is approved.
4) After PERM, employer files a I-140 (and if applicable you file i-485) .. an I-140 is just an underlying basis for the actual green card application I-485. Some applicants may not be able to file I-485 for years or decades due to backlog and 7% country cap.

Your or your partners( spouse’s) priority date determine when you will receive the green card. You can choose to use either of the dates. Earlier date is better. (Read cross charge-ability rules)

An EB priority date is either the filling date of PERM certificate after approval or filling date of I-140 when perm is not needed.

I-140 is employer specific and stays with the employer. After I-140 is approved, you can extend your h1b beyond 6 years. I140 doesn’t require an h1b or you being in the US. Well it really depends how long you need to wait. ..or where you were born.

PERM is location AND Role specific and stays with the employer and location (same metro area - 50 miles radius of your typical work location) where it was filled. PERM is also EB category specific. You can’t use EB3 perm for EB2 filling and PERM usually takes about 1 year or more to approve. PERM has no value for you unless a I-140 was filled and it has been filled for at least 180 days. After approval AND 6 months of filling you can leave the employer and come back to them (same location, similar role) at a later date and use the same I140 in most cases (see job duties and role).

New employer requires new perm and new I140. If Job duties and role is similar , you may be able to PORT priority date. Changing location or role with same employer also triggers a new perm and i140. So you are pretty much stuck with them until you get a GC. If you have encountered teams with room full of Indians and Chinese, now you know the reasons.

EB1 doesn’t require PERM process. Direct i140.

EB1A doesn’t even need an employer. Applicant can self petition. If you are highly skilled with plenty of evidence to support it, this is the fastest way to enter and receive US permanent residency via an EB route.

You can’t file AOS EAD/AP if your priority date isn’t current by either filling chart or action chart. AP allows you to skip visa stamp requirements. EAD allows you to work more than 1 job, employer or open a business.

If you are able to do EAD/AP(most people other than Indian and Chinese can), you can port your i485 AOS application to a new employer after 6 months of filling and you do not need to file a new perm or i140 with that new employer for a green card eligibility. Read AOS portability rules.

If your priority date is current, you can file your I140 and I485 (AOS) and EAD/AP at the same time (concurrently). Most people other than Chinese and Indian can do this after PERM. As you can see, Rest of World have quite a head start in the EB green card process.

Even if your priority date is current, it can still take months or years before you will receive your green card. This is due to 7% country caps and processing backlogs at USCIS. see USCIS wait times chart.

An Indian who applies for an EB2/3 green card today without an assigned priority date will not receive it unless Congress changes the immigration law.


I’ll welcome questions and clarifications. I’ll update this post with anything new I learn on this thread.

#h1b
#greencard
#i140
#i485
#perm
#backlog
#visa#workvisa

What happens after you receive a Permanent residency / green card :

1. Five years after EB green card, you can apply for US citizenship which also provides you with voting rights.

2. Three years after marriage based green card, you can apply for citizenship.

3. A US citizen can sponsor their parents and siblings for permanent residency.

4. A green card holder cannot sponsor parents for a green card. They can sponsor children and spouse.

5. A green card holder can freely work any job, anywhere in the country. Many other things are easy for green card holders such as mortgage, loans, eligibility for business and startup loans.

6. GC gets you visa free entry to many countries around the world.


Reference:

https://www.cato.org/blog/100000-children-employment-based-green-card-backlog-risk-family-separation

https://www.cato.org/publications/immigration-research-policy-brief/backlog-skilled-immigrants-tops-1-million-over

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/80000-green-cards-are-about-to-disappear-from-the-us/2021/10/14/74c096fc-2cef-11ec-b17d-985c186de338_story.html

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TOP 237 Comments
  • So people who have PD post 2018 should not have any hopes?
    Sep 12, 2021 35
    • Superior Construction
      tvatvt

      Superior Construction

      tvatvt
      My core confusion about immigration to the US is that if they want people to immigrate or not.

      They create a path and then make it so complicated to get through. Either create a simple path or close the damn thing
      Sep 25, 2021
    • @tvatvt touche.
      It's like they want the labor and taxes. But no liability for retirement schemes. Win-win.
      Sep 25, 2021
  • PwC
    dumbaf:(

    Go to company page PwC

    dumbaf:(
    F this. Just marry an American girl and you're set lol
    Sep 12, 2021 23
  • LinkedIn / Eng
    morlock

    Go to company page LinkedIn Eng

    morlock
    I'm not in the visa pipeline. One of my friends mentioned that the GC queue is moving faster because of the pandemic. Can someone explain why? As per my understanding, new people being added or not being added to the queue shouldn't affect wait time for people already in the queue ahead of them.
    Sep 12, 2021 18
    • Superior Construction
      tvatvt

      Superior Construction

      tvatvt
      Well the chances of such thing passing are low. But it at least prevents conflict between ROW and India. Also, it just allows us to file AOS. I dont think that gives us GC.
      Sep 14, 2021
    • Amazon
      wuzz

      Go to company page Amazon

      wuzz
      The house judiciary committee passed it yesterday. Now it has to cross the senate hurdle
      Sep 14, 2021
  • This comment was deleted by original commenter.

  • New
    bxnhskehw

    New

    bxnhskehw
    “After approval AND 6 months of filling you can leave the employer and come back to them (same location, similar role) at a later date and use the same I140 in most cases (see job duties and role).” - I have approved I140 and priority date is 2020. If I leave my employer after 180 days and after 10 years how can I come back to same role and duties? Wouldn’t someone have become manager or gone up in the ladder? What if the company doesn’t exists or got acquired or merged in those 10 years?
    Sep 12, 2021 15
    • Adobe
      hhkswwa

      Go to company page Adobe

      hhkswwa
      Right when there is no restriction switching before gc (180 after i485 is pending) why should there be a restriction after you get gc. If at all there should be lesser restrictions after.
      Oct 11, 2021
    • New
      lcNovice

      New

      lcNovice
      So I think it's because at that point your new employer who files i1485 day becomes future employer for whom you have to demonstrate you wanted to work there indefinitely
      Oct 11, 2021