Green card through employment is a three step process:

1. First, the employer files with the State Alien Labor Certification Section (Form ETA 750 A & B) for preliminary approval. After processing, the State sends the application to the US Department of Labor for issuing Labor Certification Approval.

2. Once the Labor Certification is approved by the US Dept. of Labor, the Employer files with the INS (Form I-140) for qualifying the alien for an immigrant visa.

3. If the candidate is in the United States: Applicants seeking to adjust status in the United States may file Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) and Form I-765 (Work Authorization) together with their I-140 Petition.

4. If the candidate is abroad: once the I-140 is approved the candidate/employer will receive Forms DS-169 and DS-230 Part 1 to be filled and returned to the consulate with their registration record and police record. Once these documents are received the candidate must bring the following to the interview

a. Passport
b. Recent Photos
c. DS-230 Part 2
d. Health Diagnosis
e. Registration Record
f. Police Record
g. Guarantee of Employment
h. Application Fees

Contd.. (1)

RIR (Reduction In Recruitment) Processing:

To participate in RIR processing, ads for the job offered must be run within the last 6 months in a newspaper of general circulation. If you have run ads, attach copies of them to your application. If ads must be run specify:

1. Name of Newspaper of wide general circulation for your job location.

2. Phone Number of the newspaper.

TYPICAL DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED AS TO THE EMPLOYER

* Employer’s Legal Name, Trade name, Tax ID# Address, Phone No., Fax No., E-mail.

* Name of Supervisor.

* Name of person to sign the application, and his/her Title.

* Recent year tax return or financial statement prepared by accountant.

* Number of employees.

* Certificate of Incorporation, Company brochure (if available).

Contd.. (2)

TYPICAL DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED AS TO THE JOB OFFERED

* Job Title.
* Salary per hour/per month/per year and overtime rate.
* Job description (what the employee will primarily do).
* Job location (unless it is the same location).
* Hours of work.
* Minimum qualifications required for the job (education, experience).
* How many positions are open?
* How many employees presently work (the capacities).

TYPICAL DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED AS TO EMPLOYEE (ALIEN)

PROCESSING TIMES

Currently the Vermont Service Center is processing I-140 petitions in about 8 to 10 months. However they are approving I-765 petitions during this time granting temporary work authorization to the applicant. Generally work authorization is granted for a period of one year. If the applicant is unable to adjust status in that time they may apply for an extension of their work authorization pending the approval of the I-485 application. Processing of the I-485 application is taking approximately 12 to 18 months from the date of approval of the I-140.

Contd.. (3)

THE NEED FOR NURSES

Currently there is a shortage of nurses in the United States. As a result the Department of Labor has included nurses in their Schedule A which means that immigrant registered nurses (RN’s) are not required to obtain labor certification before filing with the INS to process their Green Cards.

It is necessary to show that the RN has a prospective employer willing to offer the RN a position and act as an I-140 petitioner, however based on the demand for nurses this does not seem to be a problem. Therefore any person who is a registered nurse and wishes to immigrate to the United States or is currently an RN in the United States and wishes to become a permanent resident should take advantage of this opportunity and file for their Green Card today.

November 2002 Priority Dates
1	15/Mar/1999	EB1	C
2A	15/Aug/1997	EB2	C
2B	01/Mar/1994	EB3	C
3	15/Nov/1996	Other	C
4	01/Nov/1990	4	C
		5	C