Chapter 2: Process Overview
- 2 mins
Steps
Overall, the employment-based sponsorship process consists of 3 high-level steps:
- PERM Labor Certification
- Immigrant Visa Petition (I-140)
- Immigrant Visa Application (DS-260 or I-485)
The entire process will be a collaborative process between yourself and your employer, facilitated by your attorney, but generally steps 1 and 2 require actions by your employer while step 3 will require actions performed by you.
The chapters that follow this one will dive deeper into each step, but the following is a high-level overview of what each entail.
PERM Labor Certification
The first step in the process focuses on determining a need to hire a foreign national. In this step, your employer will provide justification for petitioning a foreign national by performing a U.S. Labor Market Test, proving that there are insufficient U.S. workers who are willing, able and qualified to perform the duties required for the job as well as obtaining a prevailing wage determination from the Department of Labor (DOL), ensuring that at least the prevailing wage is being offered for the position.
Immigrant Visa Petition
Once the Department of Labor (DOL) adjudicates the PERM labor certification, the next step in the process is for your employer to file an immigrant worker visa petition on your behalf. In this step, your employer will prove that they have the means to pay you the offered wage as well as prove that you meet the qualifications required for the position as described in the PERM labor certification.
Immigrant Visa Application
Upon approval of the immigrant worker visa petition, the final step in the process is for you to apply for an immigrant visa. Depending on your particular case details, you may be able to complete this step via the adjustment of status process (AOS, I-485), which will allow you to complete an interview and finish your process within the US, otherwise you will need to do a consular interview (DS-260) in your country of birth.
Relevant Links and Further Reading
- USCIS: Employment-Based Sponsorship Overview
- USCIS: Employment-Based Sponsorship Categories
- DOL: PERM Labor Certification
- USCIS: Immigrant Worker Visa Petition
- USCIS: Immigrant Visa Application, Consular Processing: DS-260
- USCIS: Immigrant Visa Application, Adjustment of status: I-485
- USCIS: Consular Processing
- Visa Bulletin
Joel Marquez
Senior Software Engineering Manager @ Microsoft