DuPage County Employment-Based Status Lawyers

Legal Assistance with Adjustments to Employment-Based Immigration Status in Lombard and Bloomingdale

Foreign nationals who are present in the United States may apply for adjustment of status under an employment-based (EB) permanent resident visa. To initiate the process, the employer most often needs to file a Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Employment-based visa applications are complex, and there are numerical limits based on the preference category for which you are applying. For this reason, it is important to work with a skilled immigration attorney to ensure that your adjustment to employment-based status is processed smoothly.

At Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices, we have extensive experience with employment-based visas and all other matters related to immigration. Our award-winning lawyers regularly practice before USCIS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and we have strong track record of success in dealing with these agencies. When processing an adjustment to employment-based status, we work closely with both the employer and employee to educate them on the process, ensuring they know what to expect and what requirements are necessary to secure a successful outcome.

Requirements for Adjustment to Employment-Based Status

To qualify for an adjustment of status to an EB visa, an employee must be physically and lawfully present in the United States, and they must meet several other requirements. If the employee is outside the U.S., he/she must be processed through a U.S. consul overseas. Common scenarios in which a temporary resident might apply for permanent employment-based status include foreign nationals in the U.S. on student visas or temporary H-1B visas who receive a job offer from a qualified employer.

For an employer to sponsor a foreign national for an EB visa, they must usually meet the following requirements:

• The employer must be located in the U.S. (although the company can be foreign-owed);
• The offer must be for a permanent, full-time position;
• The employer must obtain U.S. Department of Labor certification that there are no qualified American workers available to fill the position; and
• The employee must meet the minimum educational and/or vocational requirements for the position being offered.

As when applying for family-based status, there are preference categories for EB visas as follows:

• Priority workers (EB-1), which include people with extraordinary abilities in business, education, science, art, or athletics, as well as professors, researchers, and multinational executives or managers;
• Persons with exceptional ability or who hold advanced degrees (EB-2);
• Skilled and professional workers (EB-3);
• Special Immigrants (EB-4), which include religious workers, broadcasters, some U.S. government employees, members of the U.S. armed forces, Iraqi or Afghan translators, and Special Immigrant Juveniles; and
• Investors who are involved in new commercial enterprises in the United States that will create at least 10 full-time jobs (EB-5).

There are numerical limitations to each category, and processing times are dependent on the number of qualified applicants. In certain categories, waiting times may extend several years until a person's priority date is reached.

Maintaining Status while Your EB Visa Application is in Process

While an application for adjustment to employment-based status is being processed, it is important for a person to maintain their temporary legal immigration status. After applying for adjustment of status, a person will usually be eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) while awaiting the issuance of an EB visa. The EAD is valid for one year at a time, and allows the applicant the flexibility to work for any employer during the processing period.

Another issue that may sometimes arise involves the need to travel outside the country, such as for a family emergency. In these cases, a person can apply for an Advance Parole, which provides the authorization to leave the country without going "out of status." While the EAD and Advance Parole are helpful, it is usually recommended to maintain temporary non-immigrant status (such as by extending an H-1B visa) while an EB visa application is processed.

Contact Our Naperville Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Attorneys

Adjustment to employment-based status is a complicated process with multiple parties involved and numerous variables to account for. At Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices, we put our experience to work to help employers and EB visa applicants navigate these complexities, and we take steps to ensure that there are no pitfalls that could jeopardize the success of a petition. For a free consultation with one of our experienced Illinois immigration lawyers, contact our office today at 630-932-9100.