| |
|
Immigration Services for Businesses, Corporations and Their Employees |
|
AHMAD LAW OFFICES, P.C. provides immigration law representation for both employers and future/current employees in all immigration law contexts:
B1 (Visitor for Business)
E1/E2 (Investor/International Trade)
H1B (Professional and Specialty Occupation Worker)
H2A (Temporary Shortage/Seasonal Workers)
J (Cultural Exchange Worker)
L1A and L1B Intra-company transferees, including executives, managers, etc.
O and P (entertainers and artists)
TN (Canadian and Mexican Workers under NAFTA)
R1 (Religious Workers)
EB 1-5 (Employment Based workers)
|
|
|
|
We understand that the process often seems complicated for individuals and employers. Our goal is to make the procedure as easy, quick and trouble-free as possible. |
TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANT VISAS
- Priority Workers: First Preference
Foreign nationals who fall into the following categories are classified as priority workers and no labor certification is necessary for them:
1) Foreign nationals with extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics who have obtained sustained national or international acclaim, whose achievements are recognized through extensive documentation, who intend to work in the area of their extraordinary ability, and/or whose contributions would substantially benefit the United States in the future. (These foreign nationals do not need an offer of employment to pursue their application.);
2) Foreign nationals who are professors and researchers who have received national or international recognition as outstanding in their specific field, who have a minimum of three years of teaching experience or research in their field, and who have been offered tenure-track teaching or research positions; or
3) Foreign nationals who are multinational executives or managers who have been employed in executive or managerial capacities with the sponsoring employer for a minimum of one year in the three years preceding their application and who intend to continue to work for the sponsoring employer, a subsidiary or affiliate.
- Professionals Holding Advance Degrees and Aliens of Extraordinary Ability: Second Preference
Foreign nationals holding advanced degrees or the equivalent and aliens of exceptional ability can obtain visas in this Immigrant Visa category. Labor certifications are necessary for these foreign nationals. A foreign national must have earned an advanced degree; a master's degree; or a bachelor's degree plus five years of experience with increasing responsibility in his field; or have exceptional ability in the arts, sciences or business.
- Skilled Workers, Professionals Holding Basic Degrees (Bachelor's Degrees) and Other Workers: Third Preference
This category includes foreign nationals who are skilled workers with a minimum of two years of training or experience who are not seasonal or temporary, professionals with baccalaureate degrees and other workers, including unskilled laborers, who are not seasonal or temporary. These immigrants need labor certifications.
- Special Immigrants: Fourth Preference
Foreign nationals classified as special immigrants include: some medical doctors who have practiced continuously in the United States since 1978, long-term United States government workers abroad, battered spouses and religious workers. These job-related visas do not require labor certifications.
- Immigrant Investors: Fifth Preference
Foreign nationals who invest a minimum of $1,000,000 in a United States commercial enterprise that maintains or provides full-time employment for at least ten United States workers can obtain Immigrant Visas in this category. Foreign nationals who invest at least $500,000 in targeted employment areas can also qualify for visas in this category. The investment must last for at least two years before the investor can obtain an Immigrant Visa. Passive investments do not qualify for this visa category. No offer of employment or labor certification is needed for this category.
- The Process of Obtaining Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
Getting an Immigrant Visa through an employment-based visa requires two steps: The first is a labor certification petition (required for the second and third preference categories only); the second is an Immigrant Visa petition and adjustment of status for those in the United States, or consular proceedings for those outside of the United States.
- The Labor Certification Petition
The labor certification petition is required for the second and third preference categories. The employer petitions the Department of Labor to certify that a shortage of qualified and available United States workers exists for the position and that the immigrant's employment will not adversely impact wages or working conditions in the United States.
An employer needs to actively recruit United States workers for the position in a publication that is most likely to produce a qualified United States worker. The employer cannot place unduly restrictive requirements on the position that favor the foreign national. Candidates for the position can be rejected only for legitimate business reasons. If the recruitment process produces a qualified United States worker for the position, the labor certification will not be issued even if the foreign national is more qualified for the position.
Employers seeking labor certification must also prove that the wage they are offering is no less than the average wage paid to United States workers with comparable employment duties where the job is offered. The foreign national must fulfill all of the requirements for the position by the time the petition is filed.
- Precertified Occupations: Schedule A
Active recruitment is not required for certain positions. Two major groups of jobs currently fall into this category because the Department of Labor believes that hiring foreign nationals for these jobs does not adversely affect the United States worker or wages. These are Group I, Physical Therapists and Professional Nurses, and Group II, Aliens of Exceptional Ability in the sciences or arts.
- Jobs with a Surplus of United States Workers
These are jobs the Department of Labor has determined have a sufficient number of United States workers available for employment and that hiring of foreign nationals would adversely affect United States working conditions. These jobs are usually low wage positions that require limited education or experience. They currently include the positions of clerks and typists, short-order cooks, hotel and motel cleaners, taxi cab drivers, domestic workers, and nurses' aides. Though labor certification usually cannot be obtained for these positions, it is possible to file the information normally requested for a labor certification and to request a waiver of the Schedule B disqualification. Schedule B waivers are often granted for live-in domestic employees.
|
