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Immigrant Visa Classifications and Green Card Processing in the US Toolkit
Practical Law Toolkit w-035-0858 (Approx. 7 pages)
Immigrant Visa Classifications and Green Card Processing in the US Toolkit
by Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Maintained • USA (National/Federal) |
Resources related to immigrant visa classifications in the US and related matters, including PERM labor certification, employ-based immigrant petitions, and employer obligations.
In the US, an immigration benefit (visa or status) is either:
- Temporary, which is for a short-term, nonimmigrant visa classification that is limited in duration and scope of activity.
- Permanent, which is for a long-term, immigrant visa classification (green card) that is not limited by:
- how long the status may be held; or
- the activities the foreign national may perform once status is granted.
Most employment-based immigration processes (both temporary and permanent) require employer sponsorship through a petition to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). When an employer sponsors a foreign worker for an immigration benefit, the employer is the petitioner and the foreign worker is the beneficiary. Some permanent classifications allow the foreign national to file the petition on their own behalf. The USCIS must approve the petition before the foreign national may be granted the requested status. (There may be other ways a foreign national might acquire green card status, such as through a family relationship, through the diversity visa lottery, or after acquiring status as a refugee or asylee. These methods are generally outside the scope of this resource.)
This Toolkit contains a collection of resources about immigrant visas in the US, including:
- General resources describing how to:
- set a corporate policy on immigration, gather information to support the immigration process, and evaluate possible classifications and strategies the employer may consider as part of its sponsorship; and
- prepare immigrant petitions and identify admissibility and other post-approval issues.
- Specific resources describing PERM labor certification, a preliminary step in many employer-sponsored green card cases.
- Specific resources describing various immigrant visa classifications and guiding employers and their counsel in preparing and filing petitions or applications for the classifications. The classifications include those:
- not requiring a PERM application, such as those in the employment-based first preference (EB-1) classifications for individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers;
- requiring a PERM application, including those in the employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) classifications; and
- for investors in the employment-based fifth preference (EB-5) classification.