Chapter 7: Frequently Asked Questions
- 3 minsThe following is a list of questions that I am frequently asked regarding my experience. I will continue to update this list as I recall or receive more questions.
If you have any other questions not listed here or addressed in the previous chapters, feel free to reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter.
Who is eligible for an employment-based permanent residency sponsorship?
I highly encourage you to consult an attorney to look at your specific situation to determine whether an employment-based sponsorship is a pathway that is available to you.
Generally, there are two aspect that should be considered:
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The first is whether you are eligible for a sponsorship based on any of the sponsorship preferences. In my case, I was eligible based on the third preference (EB-3), under the skilled worker and professional sub-categories. The EB-3 preference also contains an unskilled workers sub-category which does not require a college degree, nor does it have a 2+ years of experience requirement, so this sub-category should cover most other situations. If you have an advanced degree, you may also qualify for the EB-2 preference.
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The second aspect to consider is whether you are eligible based on the immigration requirements. There are really no immigration requirements to begin and go through the majority of the process (an employer can attempt to sponsor anyone, regardless of their immigration situation), but you may run into inadmissibility issues in the final step (interview) if you have any immigration issues (multiple unlawful entries, accrued unlawful presence, have a criminal record, etc.). Determining your eligibility based on your admissibility will be best assessed by an attorney; I highly recommend consulting one and presenting your specific immigration details for the most accurate answer. In some cases, there are exceptions to some of the common inadmissibility issues which an attorney will be able to point out.
How long does the process take?
Although it is impossible to provide an accurate timeline (too many variables), please refer to Chapter 6: Process Timeline to see an outline of my timeline to use an example of one possible timeframe.
How much does the process cost?
Unfortunately I do not have an estimate for the total cost of the process. In my case, I was fortunate to have an employer willing to pay for the entire process so the final cost was not visible to me. The part that I did pay for myself was the travel to my birth country for the consular processing step (flight/hotel/food).
Do be aware that there are laws regarding who is allowed to pay for each step. If an attorney represents both you and your employer, then U.S. law dictates that the employer must pay for the PERM Labor Certification costs and cannot offload that cost to the foreign national (you). However, the I-140 application costs do not have that same restriction. I suggest communicating with your employer and attorney to clarify what the costs will be and who will pay for what.
How did you ask your employer to sponsor you?
I am fortunate to work for a large company that hires a substantial number of foreign employees and has a standardized process that analyzes immigration needs when onboarding a new employee and thus I did not have to initiate the conversation myself. When I joined my company, I had an initial consultation with an attorney that my company’s legal team retained to explore immigration options for me and from this consultation the plan to move forward with a permanent residency sponsorship (as well as try our luck with the H1-B lottery simultaneously) was born.
If your employer does not have a similar system in place, I recommend starting the conversation with someone at your company that you trust (your manager, someone in HR, etc.) and asking if this is something they are willing and able to do. Continue to follow-up throughout the process and really drive the process forward (no one will care as much about seeing it through as you will, so be sure to stay on top of it every step of the way).
Joel Marquez
Senior Software Engineering Manager @ Microsoft