Employment-based Immigrant Visas/Green Cards
Employment-based immigrant visas (commonly referred to as green cards) allow the holder to live and work in the United States permanently. Seeking the right to live, work and learn in the United States is a complex process that has been made even more difficult by constantly changing laws. Applicants risk permanent bars to immigration for seemingly small errors or oversights.
Attorney Roy Jack Watson, Jr. of our Bedford, Massachusetts, firm, Watson Law Offices, has over thirty years of experience in immigration law. Mr. Watson's thorough knowledge of the employment-based immigrant visa (green card) application process allows us to protect the interests of skilled foreign nationals and their employers. We are able to deal efficiently with the bureaucratic process despite inevitable governmental processing delays, and craft unique and innovative solutions for those with special situations.
The immigrant visa (green card) application process
The factors surrounding any individual's immigration case vary greatly. Most green card applicants already have a temporary or non-immigrant visa, permitting them a limited amount of time in the United States. Since the process of obtaining a green card can take many years (depending on the category and in some cases even your country of birth), it is best to first obtain a temporary employment-based visa, which allows the holder to work lawfully in the U.S. while waiting for approval of the employment-based immigration visa.
For an applicant eligible for a pre-certified classification such as the EB-1 category for persons of "Extraordinary Ability," it is preferable to self petition. Employment-based immigration applications for the majority of individuals require an approved Labor Certification, which must be filed by the employer under the new PERM process for obtaining a labor certification.
Benefits of permanent legal residency
A green card entitles the holder and the holder's spouse and children to live and work permanently, anywhere in the United States. Employment can be for any employer or the holder can be self-employed. Employment-based immigration status does not entitle the holder to vote and the holder will not receive top security clearance.
The primary Employment Based (EB) immigrant visa categories are as follows:
• EB-1(a) / Extraordinary Ability - Applicants with "extraordinary ability and achievements in the arts, sciences, business or athletics" who intend to continue to work in their field. Legacy INS has long maintained that the standard here must be the highest (top 1%), but we have seen top people denied, and less meritorious people approved.
• EB-1(b) / Outstanding Professors or Researchers - Applicants with at least three years of experience as a (tenure track) professor or what is judged to be a comparable level of pure research (not product development) in private industry.
• EB-1(c) / Transferred Multinational Executives or Managers - Applicants who have at least one full year of prior (documented) experience as an executive or (key) manager with the overseas / U.S. employer within the immediately preceding three years.
• EB-2(a) / Advanced Degree Professionals - Applicants who have (and who are doing a job that requires) a Master's Degree or the equivalent. Legacy INS has established a confusing standard of equivalency for this category that contemplates five years of "progressively more responsible" work experience in the field following the attainment of a Bachelor's degree. (NOTE: Labor certification is required, but can we waived by showing the job is in the "national interest," a standard made very difficult by recent precedent decisions.)
• EB-2(b) / Exceptional Ability - Applicants with "exceptional ability in the arts, sciences or business" who have been petitioned for by an employer. Again, labor certification may be waived (as above) if the position is in the "national interest." (NOTE: Legacy INS routinely confuses this standard with the standards for EB-1(a).)
• EB-3(a) / Professional - Applicants who are beneficiaries of an employer's petition who are doing a job that requires the attainment of a specific Bachelor's degree or the equivalent to do a, and who have that degree or the equivalent. This category tracks closely with the standard for an H-1B, non-immigrant visa. Labor certification cannot be waived.
• EB-3(b) / Skilled Workers - Applicants who are beneficiaries of an employer's petition whose job requires a combination of at least two years of specific training, education or work experience. Labor certification cannot be waived.
• EB-3(c) / Other Workers - Applicants who are beneficiaries of an employer's petition who job requires less than two years of specific training, education or work experience. Labor certification cannot be waived. (NOTE: 10,000 visas are reserved for the exclusive use of this category, but the lower standards allow for such large numbers of qualified applicants that backlogs for visas in this category often exceed 10 years. Once again, the issue is not whether you may technically qualify for a visa category, but will you be able to get it in a time frame that makes sense to you.)
• EB-5 / Investor Visas - Applicants who have invested capital or in a business or purchase an existing one may be eligible for this type of visa.
Applications our firm handles for foreign national employees include those for EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and EB-4 employment-based visas. We also represent international investors who seek permanent residence/green cards based the EB-5 category by making a "substantial investment" in a U.S. business that creates 10 or more new jobs. We are also able assist relatives of U.S. citizens and of permanent legal residents with family-based immigration visas in all of the family based categories which would include immediate relative (based on marriage to a U.S. citizen) petitions or those based on the petition of close (U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident) relative.
We provide immigration services to clients nationwide and throughout the greater Metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, area from offices on Route 128 (America's Technology Highway). For more information, or to schedule a consultation with an experienced lawyer, please contact our Bedford office
PERM Labor Certification
Often the first step in obtaining permanent resident status (a green card) involves going through the Program Electronic Management (PERM) process for labor certification. PERM is a relatively new system designed by the government to dramatically improve processing time for labor certification, reducing it from years to a few weeks or months. However, it is also an extremely difficult and complex process that was intentionally created to "cross check" all responses to discover any small inconsistency. A simple error or omission in a nineteen-page PERM form, or poor documentation, may result in denial of the application and substantial delays in progress toward a work visa.
For a company or research institution that relies on the talents and contributions of foreign nationals to accomplish its organizational goals, failure in the PERM labor certification process is really not an option, yet the possibility of failure is high. The employer must prove that, at a prevailing wage determined by the state department of labor, no minimally qualified U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is willing and able to perform the work. When filling out the PERM form it is essential that questions be answered appropriately for the purpose of the application. It is designed to detect inconsistencies and automatically reject an application on that basis alone. The Department of Labor (DOL) certifying officer may approve, deny, or require an audit after reviewing the application. An audit may result in an order for further recruitment efforts on the part of the employer. The consequences of an audit include denial/revocation of a prior approval and could result in the company being required to meet a substantially higher standard for all future petitions adding substantially to future costs.
Everyone wants to move as quickly through the process as is possible, but this desire to move forward often causes those who are not thoroughly familiar with the process to make costly mistakes. Successful applications require a substantial amount of care, preparation and attention to even the smallest details right at the very beginning of the process. Too often, applicants learn that their failure to account for all of the requirements causes them to lose all that they have invested in the process and requires them to begin all over again. Watson Law Offices has over 30 years of experience in processing Labor Certifications. We are thoroughly familiar with the process and all of the "technical" requirements, so that we can guide you successfully and quickly to an approval.
At our Bedford, Massachusetts, immigration firm, Watson Law Offices, attorney Roy Jack Watson, Jr. provides businesses, research institutions, and other employers with legal counsel that is analytical, comprehensive, and allows them to successfully navigate the PERM and green card application processes. If you are an employer, in-house counsel, or prospective immigrant employee, we invite you to contact our office and arrange an interview with Mr. Watson.
In addition to labor certification we assist clients, including a broad range of professionals, with immigrant visas (green cards), temporary employment-based visas, family-based visas, J-1 waivers for foreign medical graduates, naturalization, compliance with employment verification, and assistance in immigration issues that arise during mergers and acquisitions. An immigration lawyer with exceptional depth of experience, Mr. Watson serves clients throughout the Greater Boston area.
