Employment Based Immigration

There are many ways that people can obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States on their way to becoming citizens. One of these is through applying for an immigrant or permanent work visa (“Green Card”). If you or the person(s) you wish to sponsor for a permanent work visa meet the necessary requirements, your wait time for LPR status, and ultimately for citizenship, will be considerably shortened. However, backlogs in some of these categories are increasing and proper planning is necessary to avoid unnecessary delays.

Contact our office to schedule a consultation and have an experienced immigration attorney evaluate your situation first.

At Muston & Jack, P.C., we have helped people in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, southern California and from places around the world to successfully immigrate to the U.S. by way of the Employment Based Visa Categories (the EB-categories) of visas. These visa categories include the following:

EB-1 Foreign Nationals of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A), Outstanding Professors and Researchers (EB-1B), and Multinational Executives and Managers (EB-1C):

Individuals in this category can petition for permanent residency without having to go through the time-consuming labor certification process.
 
EB-2 Workers with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business: Work visa holders in this category normally must have a job offer and the potential employer must complete the labor certification process. The labor certification involves a testing of the job market to demonstrate that the potential visa holder is not taking a job away from a U.S. worker. In cases where an individual can show that his entry is in the nation’s interest, the job offer and labor certification requirements can be waived.

EB-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals: Employment visa holders in this category normally must have a job offer and the potential employer must complete the labor certification process.   

EB-4 Special Immigrant Visas for Religious Workers: Ministers of religion are eligible for permanent residency as well as professional workers who are employed by bona-fide religious organizations.  Such employees will also be exempted from the Labor Certification requirements of EB-2 and EB-3 candidates.

EB-5 Investor / Employment Creation Visas: Under the 1990 Immigration Act, Congress has set aside up to 10,000 visas per year for alien investors in new commercial enterprises that create employment for ten individuals. There are two groups of investors under the program - those who invest at least $500,000.00 in "targeted employment areas" (rural areas or areas experiencing high unemployment of at least 150% of the national average rate) and those who invest $1,000,000 anywhere else.
 
If a labor certification petition is necessary in your case, our lawyers can advise you and take the proper steps to avoid delays. In the past, wait times for labor certifications through the previously administered Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) process often took years to complete. Labor certification has now been streamlined, however, through the implementation of the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) process. Today, some approvals can be obtained in as little as 45 days from the date of the PERM filing.

More Information on PERM Labor Certification

For answers to other questions about employment visas or the permanent work visa application process, contact the attorneys of Muston & Jack, P.C., in San Jose, California, today and schedule a time when we can meet to talk about securing work permits and visas for your employees.