At the regional level, the certifying officer will examine the labor certification to see if it meets these requirements. If it does and the state employment security agency recommends that the case be approved, the application will receive approval within a few months. Given that normal labor certifications can take over one year, this can be a significant time-savings.

I-140

A petition used to apply for permanent residence based on employment in the U.S. An I-140 petition is called an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker and permits qualifying employees in the U.S. to apply for an immigrant visa, also referred to as permanent residence, or the "Green Card."

What are The Requirements for an Employment-Based Permanent Residence Petition Using Form I-140?

Evidence of any one of the following:

I 485 (Adjustment of Status(AOS)

Adjustment of status ("AOS") is a procedure that allows an eligible applicant to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States without having to go abroad and apply for an immigrant visa. Another alternative to AOS is Consular Processing. Please review both options carefully before going for either of them. AOS is for applying in US and consular processing is processing applying abroad at US consular office. AOS can't be applied abroad and consular processing can't be applied in US.

AOS has to be applied at the Regional Service Center. for employment based green card. The person must be in status all the times in order to file Adjustment of Status. Exceptions to this are, if the person had stayed illegally for less than 180 days, he/she can apply for AOS. If he/she had stayed illegally for more than 180 days but the priority date is earlier than January 14, 1998 or qualifies under LIFE act, he/she can still apply for AOS by paying $1000 fine. All other persons must do consular processing abroad.

Between the time the adjustment of status is application is filed and the green card is approved, the applicant is considered to be in legal status as an "applicant to adjust status."

Effective July 31, 2002, I-485 (also EAD and Advance Parole) can be applied at the same time as applying for I-140, provided the priority date is current. This rule is effective immediately. There is sixty day comment period on this rule but applicants can still file it immediately.

For those whose I-140 is pending, I-485 can also be filed prior to the approval of I-140. Receipt notice I-797 for I-140 must be submitted along with I-485 application to establish the eligibility.

While it is hoped that it will reduce the total processing time for greencard processing, just in case I-140 is denied for some reason, the person would loose all the filing fees for I-485. This rule also will reduce the necessity to file 7th year H1 extension.

                                                                                                    Back