Perhaps the most widely coveted visa for non-U.S. citizens is the work visa for the permanent resident. This visa is the first step in gaining citizenship for anyone who wants to move to the United States from another country and stay here.
Getting a permanent residency status can actually take up to nine years. It all depends on the visa type and the home country from which they’ve relocated.
As an employer, did you know that you are an integral part of helping your employee gain permanent residency? This is something you should know, especially if you don’t want that star employee to have to move back to their native country simply because a temporary visa has run out.
Most frequently, permanent residency requests fall into two categories – the EB-2 and the EB-3. For the former, the applicant is required to have a master’s or bachelor’s degree with five years of work experience. However, it gets a little tricky because these requirements aren’t based on what the person actually has but what their job requires. The EB-3 is a little less stringent, requiring the applicant to have just a bachelor’s or be a skilled worker with at least two years of experience.
If you have an employee that has relocated from another country, you might be asked to sponsor his or her application for permanent residency. Whether you are or not, here are some of the things that person will need to deal with:
- Labor certification
- I-140 petition
- I-485 form application for new status
Jon Huser
