Green Card & Citizenship | Live & Work in America

If you are currently on an H-1B visa or E-3 visa and curious about what you have to do to get permanent residency (aka a Green Card) then we will try and document the process here for you.

If you are interested in the issues surrounding whether or not you are able to do it and what other visas can transfer to a Green Card, read the specific Green Card and visa posts as they discuss that in more detail. This post is designed to be strictly about the process.

Firstly let us show you the Green Card. The most thing to note is that it is not actually green and it is a plastic card issued to you by the USCIS.

You can read more in the Green Card information post about the EB-2 and EB-3 category of green cards. Essentially EB stands for employment based as this version of permanent residency requires the employer to file.

The EB-2 category is for Post Graduate degree holders like a Masters Degree or Bachelor Degree holders with 5+ years experience in the chosen specialty.

The EB-3 category is for Bachelor degree holders or those with enough work experience in the relevant specialty which was enough probably in the first place to get them their H-1B or E-3 visa without a Bachelors degree.

THE GREEN CARD PROCESS

Step 1: Labor Certification

Application using Form ETA-750 submission via your employer to the Department of Labor.

During this Labor Certification procedure, your employer has to prove to the Department of Labor they were could not find a suitable person for the specific role you are in within the US. They will have to advertise for your position, and sometimes do interviews and other recruiting procedures to prove this under the DOL guidelines.

After this your employer can file an application with the DOL explaning they were unable to find both a suitably qualified and experienced candidate. As a result they wish to sponsor you for permanent residency as you have the relevant expertise.

This process can take many months to years to complete.

The cost of this process with the advertising of the role can obviously range greatly but a rough conservative figure may be $1,000 but if can differ greatly state by state and also with the different DOL offices.

Step 2: I-140 to USCIS & Adjustment of Status ( I-485)
These two can be filed in parallel but form I-485 wont be approved until after you I-140 is accepted
At this time you can also file for EAD ( Employment Authorization Document) and AP ( Advance Parol or Travel Document) , once you file for 485, you will be required to do fingerprinting.

Once your Labor Certificate is approved, your employer will file a Form I-140 -(know as Petition for Immigrant Worker) – on your behalf.

Employer should demonstrate that the company is in a good financial position to capable of paying the salary advertised for the job. For this purpose employer’s financial financial statement and corporate income tax return documents also required.

Also at this point a National Visa Number issued via the Department of State. The Adjustment of Status can only be filed once your Visa Number is available according to the Visa Bulletin released by the Department of State each month.

The applicant is given is granted against per year Quota/per country/per category. So people from China, India and Mexico and those from those countries with just Bachelor Degrees tend to have very long waits into many years before they can complete the process.

Another restriction at this stage is that a person applying for a green card needs to stick with the company, through which his/her green card is getting processed, till he gets his Green card. Otherwise he loses the process, and needs to apply for a fresh application from the beginning.

Spouse/Dependent applications can only be filed once the I-140 is approved for primary applicant.

The I-140 processing fee is constantly changing but is currently $500 for regular and $1,000 for premium processing.
The I-485 fee is $930 (includes work authorization EAD and Advnace Patrol Travel if filed at same time otherwise EAD is $340 and Advance Patrol is $305)
Additionally a $120 medical assessment paid to approved Doctor is required as well as $80 biometric fee.

It should be noted that these fees are multiplied when dependents like spouses and children under 21 are involved.

Get You Passport Stamp and Green Card

I hope this helps your understanding of the Green Card process. It is fairly complicated and is one of the reasons why lawyers start to become more necessary in these times which is unfortunate as that is an added cost to the employer and immigrant.

There are a few great sources of information answering one or both of the questions on the Internet. However the problem is most sites that address the Green Card tend to be vague, spread complete innaccuracies, raise false hopes and often charge usually excessively for services that should not be charged (eg. the DV or Green Card Lottery).

So I will try and create a brief outline of what the Green Card is and isn’t and what are the main ways you can obtain one.

The Green Card itself is an identification card stating that the holder is entitled to permanent resident status in the US. The major benefits include the right to both live and work anywhere in the US. This differs from all the non-immigrant visas which specify where the applicant must work, study, etc. and generally reside. They also are for much shorter periods of time and do not generally give the right to apply directly for US Citizenship.

The holder must maintain permanent resident status, and can be removed from the US if certain conditions of this status are not met. The Green Card actually does have an expiry date which can be extended simply and easily if all general conditions are met. A common period of validity is 10 years (which of course is far longer than the 3 years periods and limited renewals of H-1B and 2 year periods of E-3).

These general conditions are relatively simple like not committing crimes, submitting fraudulent application documents, paying taxes, etc. so most people never run into an issue here.

While a Green Card Application is pending, an applicant obtain 2 documents;

1.Temporary work permit known as the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which allows the ability to work.
2. The second is a temporary travel document, advance parole, which allows you to re-enter the US as technically under normal circumstances during this period you are not allowed to leave.

There are 5 ways you can obtain a Green Card or Permanent Residency and these are as follows;

via a family member
via employment
via investment
via the Diversity or Green Card Lottery
via “The Registry” provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act

According to wikipedia these are the current annual limits and wait times for
the various Green Cards

Category	Eligibility	Annual Quota	Backlog
Family-Sponsored
IR (A U.S. citizen must be at least 21 years of age in order to sponsor his or her parents.)	Immediate relative (spouses, minor children & parents) of U.S. citizens	No Limit
F1	Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age or older) of U.S. citizens	23,400	6-7 years
F2A	Spouses and minor children (under 21 year old) of lawful permanent residents	87,934	5-6 years
F2B	Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age or older) of lawful permanent residents	26,266	9-10 years
F3	Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens	23,400	8-9 years
F4	Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens	65,000	10-11 years
Employment-Based
EB1	Priority workers. There are three sub-groups:Foreign nationals with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics OR Foreign nationals that are outstanding professors or researchers with at least three years’ experience in teaching or research and who are recognized internationally. OR Foreign nationals that are managers and executives subject to international transfer to the United States.	40,000	currently available
EB2	Professionals holding advanced degrees (Ph.D., master’s degree, or at least 5 years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience) or persons of exceptional ability in sciences, arts, or business	40,000	currently available
EB3	Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers	40,000	5 years
EB4	Certain special immigrants — ministers, religious workers, current or former U.S. government workers, etc.	10,000	currently available
EB5	Investors	10,000	currently available
Diversity Immigrant (Green Card Lottery)		55,000
Political Asylum		No Limit
Refugee		70,000

The Application Process has 3 Steps:
1. Application (only with an Investor category would this be done by the person themselves)
2. Avalibility (As the quotas are limited as stated above, even in the application is approved by the USCIS, you still have to wait for a visa number from the National Visa Center. There are additional limitation based on birth country so citizens of India, China, Mexico, etc. tend to have longer wait periods. If this is an Immediate Relative petition
there is no wait time)
3. Ajudication (If done within the US, the form I-485 is require to do an adjustment of status. If done at a consulate or embassy outside the US, then the applicant will receive an I-551 stamp in the passport at the port of entry. In both cases the actual Green Card will be mailed to their US address after several weeks)

A person can apply for US Citizenship after maintaining permanent residency for at least 5 years and can make that application up to 90 days before reaching this date. However this time is shorter for people with political assylum (4 years) and if married to a US citizen (3 years).

To Note:
– There are major tax obligations with being a Permanent Resident and further obligations for a US citizen
– Male Permanent Residents aged between 18-26 are required to register for the Selective Service System (that is should the US Government ever reinstate the military draft for example, you can be called to serve). I hope
this clears up the myths and answers your questions. 🙂

Live & Work in America

The Visa Coach's Guide to US Immigration

Category Archives: Green Card & Citizenship

How To Apply For A Green Card under EB-3 & EB-2 Category (most common for H-1B and E-3 visa holders)