EB-2 · Timeline

If you are on H-1B while you wait

If you are or were in H-1B status, you may be able to stay in H-1B beyond the 6-year limit: in increments of up to 1 year once at least 365 days have passed since your labor certification or I-140 was filed, or in increments of up to 3 years if your I-140 is approved and only the per-country limit keeps you from getting the green card. You lose the 1-year route if your petition is approved and you do not apply for the green card within 1 year of a visa becoming available, unless USCIS excuses it because the delay was due to circumstances beyond your control.^[1]

An H-4 spouse may be eligible to apply for a work permit on Form I-765 once the H-1B worker is the beneficiary of an approved I-140, or once the H-1B worker's stay in H-1B status is authorized under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (AC21). Both must currently be in H-1B and H-4 status.^[1]

From job offer to green card

1. 1

   PERM with DOL

   Your employer gets a prevailing wage determination, recruits, and then files Form ETA-9089, online through DOL's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) or by mail. The date DOL accepts the application for processing becomes your priority date. DOL certifies it, denies it, or selects it for audit.^[2,3,4]

2. 2

   Form I-140

   After certification, your employer files Form I-140 with USCIS. A labor certification expires 180 days after it is certified: USCIS must receive the I-140 within that period and rejects a petition that comes with an expired one. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, USCIS accepts a petition it receives by the next business day.^[5]

3. 3

   Wait for a visa number

   A visa is available to you when your priority date is earlier than the cutoff date for EB-2 and your country of chargeability in the applicable Visa Bulletin chart; "C" means visas are available to all qualified applicants in that category and country, and "U" means visas are temporarily unavailable. To file Form I-485, USCIS requires the Final Action Dates chart unless its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page says the Dates for Filing chart may be used.^[6]

4. 4

   Green card

   There are two ways to finish. If you are in the U.S., you can apply for the green card on Form I-485 without leaving (adjustment of status), if you meet its requirements (see below). If you are abroad, or in the U.S. but want to apply abroad, you apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate (consular processing).^[7]