The Process for Obtaining an Immigrant Visa Based on Employment Sponsorship

The process for obtaining an immigrant visa based on employment sponsorship involves several steps:

1. Job Offer: First, an employer must offer a job to the foreign national. The job must be full-time and in a specific occupation. The employer must also obtain a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to show that there are no qualified U.S. workers available for the job.
2. Petition: Once the job offer has been accepted and the labor certification received, the employer must file an immigrant visa petition on behalf of the foreign national with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This petition is called Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.
3. Priority Date: The USCIS will assign a priority date to the immigrant visa petition based on the date of receipt. The priority date is important for determining when a visa will be available to the foreign national.
4. Visa Availability: The U.S. Department of State (DOS) publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin that shows the availability of visas for different categories of employment-based immigrants. When the priority date for the foreign national's petition becomes current in the visa bulletin, a visa will be available to the foreign national.
5. Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing: The foreign national may then either apply for adjustment of status (if he or she is already in the U.S. in a nonimmigrant status) or for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad (known as consular processing).

It is important to note that not all employment-based immigrants are eligible for a visa immediately. Some categories of employment-based immigrants, such as those in the EB-3 category, have a lengthy waiting period for visa availability. Additionally, there are annual numerical limits on the number of visas available to certain categories of employment-based immigrants.

If a foreign national is not eligible for an immigrant visa based on employment sponsorship, he or she may want to consider other options for obtaining legal status, such as family-based sponsorship, asylum, or Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Consulting with an experienced immigration attorney can help the foreign national determine the best course of action.