Steps in the Permanent Residency Process

Green Card via PERM Roadmap

Step 1: Formulate job duties and minimum requirements
The first step in the process is a series of correspondence between the attorney, employer, and employee to establish the crucial details of the job for which the employee is being sponsored. This includes job title, job duties, minimum education and experience requirements, job location, number of employees being supervised, and other important details. The employer must articulate the job requirements based on Department of Labor (DOL) regulations and realistic business practices. It is critical that previous experience and education be properly documented. Changes in the job duties, minimum requirements, or location later down the road could require beginning the process anew.

Overall, this step can take 2-4 months.

Step 2: Request prevailing wage determination (PWD) from DOL
Once the job details have been established, we submit an online Prevailing Wage Request to the Department of Labor (DOL). DOL will determine the prevailing wage for the position in the specified geographic location, based on the job duties, minimum requirements, and other details. If the wage for the position is governed by a collective bargaining agreement, documentation is submitted to DOL to show this.

The prevailing wage determination sets the minimum wage that Elon University must be willing to pay the employee, at the time that the employee becomes a legal permanent resident. Currently, DOL issues a prevailing wage determination in 6-8 months (10 months for union positions).

Step 3: Conduct recruitment
Advertisements will be placed to test the labor market as a required part of the PERM process. This labor market test for PERM purposes must be conducted in conformity with DOL rules. The recruitment stage takes a minimum of 2 months – approximately 1 month for the active advertising period, and then the 30-day required “quiet period.” During this period, outside immigration counsel and Elon’s Immigration Services will continue to work on your application, putting the materials through several rounds of review.

If an able, willing, and qualified U.S. worker applies for the position, we will need to stop the process, wait at least 6 months, and then re-test the labor market, perhaps with modified criteria.

Step 4: Submit PERM to DOL
If the recruitment period ends with no able, willing, and more qualified U.S. workers applying, we will prepare and file the (9089) PERM application and file it with DOL. PERM processing is currently taking about 11-12 months, but could take significantly longer if the case is audited. A chance of the case being audited is small: nationally the audit rate is over 25%.

Based on the above, it is reasonable to expect the Labor Certification stage (steps 1-4) to take approximately 2 years.

Step 5: File I-140
Once the PERM case is certified, an I-140 petition can be filed. This step involves a petition to USCIS to classify the applicant as an Immigrant Worker. Elon University must show that it can pay the employee the offered wage, and the employee document meeting all of the qualifications for the job. This petition must be submitted with the Certified Labor Certification (also called the 9089 or PERM form), which is only valid for 180 days. Whenever possible, external immigration counsel begins preparing the I-140 petition in advance to have it ready to file as soon as the PERM is certified.

I-140 processing times are published at https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/. USCIS “premium processing” is available to reduce the initial processing time to about 3 weeks.

Step 6: File I-485
I-485 is the final application in the green card process and is filed by the employee named in the I-140 petition and by derivative family members (spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21). As long as the priority date remains current, the I-485 can be filed after the I-140 is approved or concurrently with the I-140.

The adjustment of status application focuses on employee’s personal eligibility to receive green card (e.g. absence of criminal history or other grounds of inadmissibility). As a part of the adjustment of status application, a travel/work authorization card can be requested. The work and travel card usually arrives in 4-5 months after filing. At that point, an employee no longer needs their H-1B, though they may continue to use the H-1B until the green card is approved.

Step 7: Attend biometrics appointment
Applicants are likely to receive a biometrics appointment notice about 1-2 months after filing the I-485. This will occur at the USCIS Application Support Center with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence.

Step 8: Prepare for and attend interview with USCIS officer
About 12 months after filing the paperwork, we will receive an approval, a request for evidence, or an interview notice.

During I-140 processing, an immigration officer will review employee’s green card application and all their underlying immigration files. At the time of the interview employee needs to confirm that job offer is still available for them, produce all the original civil documents, immigration status documents (H1B approvals, visa stamps, SEVIS documents) and previously completed medical exam on form I-693 in a closed envelope.  If selected for interview, external immigration counsel will prepare the employee for the interview, if necessary.

ANY TIMING PROVIDED ABOVE IS ONLY A ROUGH ESTIMATE BASED ON RECENT EXPERIENCE. FUTURE PROCESSING CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.

Legal Disclaimer: The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. It is only intended to provide general information and resources about U.S. immigration topics.