EB-3: Employment-Based Immigration – Skilled Workers - Professionals and Other Workers.

                                       Takbir hossain 

You may be eligible to be classified as a skilled worker, professional, or other worker depending upon your education, skills and work experience.

Eligibility

Several immigrant visa categories are based on employment. Your education, skills and work experience are some of the factors used to determine if you are eligible for a specific type of employment-based visa.

Skilled Workers

• You must be able to demonstrate at least two years of job experience or training, not of a temporary or seasonal nature. Relevant post-secondary education may be considered as training;
• You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States; and
• A labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer are required.

Professionals

• You must be able to demonstrate that you earned a U.S. bachelor’s degree (or its foreign degree) related to the occupation, and that this degree is the normal requirement for entry into the occupation. Education and experience cannot be substituted for a bachelor’s degree;
• You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States; and
• A labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer are required.

Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)

• You must be able to perform unskilled labor (requiring less than two years training or experience), that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States; and
• A labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer are required.

For more information, visit our EB-3 Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3 and Visa Availability and Priority Dates pages.

Petitions for certain classifications must be filed with an original individual labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). For information on the filing requirements and fees for a labor certification request with DOL, please visit the Foreign Labor Certification page at the U.S. Department of Labor website.

Premium processing is available for eligible classifications. For information, see our How Do I Use the Premium Processing Service? page.

How to File

Your employer must:

• Read the instructions for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers;
• Obtain an approved Application for Permanent Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), if required for the specific visa category;
• Complete and sign Form I-140;
• Pay the filing fee, if applicable; and
• Provide all required evidence and supporting documentation.

As part of the application process, your employer must be able to demonstrate an ability to pay the offered wage as of your visa priority date.

Want status updates about your case? Learn how to create a USCIS online account to stay informed.

After You File

Once we receive your Form I-140, we will process your petition and you will receive a:

• A receipt notice confirming we received your application
• A biometric services notice, if applicable
• A notice to appear for an interview, if required
• A notice of a decision

Forms and Fees

• Form I-140
• Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee.
• Form I-907
• Find the fee information on Our Fee Schedule page. 

 What is the Foreign Labor Certification Process?

The actual process for the Foreign Labor Certification varies depending upon the program being used. This Web site contains information regarding the process for filing for each of the programs under the Department of Labor's (DOL) jurisdiction. The filing of applications is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee. However, the employee can benefit from understanding the program being utilized in his/her behalf. In general the Department of Labor works to ensure that the admission of foreign workers to work in the U.S. will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages and working conditions of U.S. workers. Once a Foreign Labor Certification application has been approved by the DOL, the employer will need to seek the immigration authorization from USCIS.

What do I do after DOL approval?

When an employer receives an approved labor certification from DOL, the employer will be required to file an I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker 

https://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-129.pdf

or an I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-140.pdf

with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The certified application must be included when the employer files for approval to hire workers either temporarily (I-129) or permanently (I-140). For detailed instructions on USCIS forms, refer to the USCIS forms website.

How long will the employment-based visa process take?

Depending upon the nature of the program the process for filing could vary between months and years. To be of assistance, we have provided on our Web site the current processing times in the DOL regions and states. Currently, the process to obtain an employment based temporary labor certification (H-2A, H-2B) usually may take months through the state agency and the DOL regional office. However, H-1B processing usually only takes seven working days. The process to obtain an employment based permanent labor certification can sometimes take up to several months after completing the necessary recruitment steps and filing the application with the National Processing Center. The PERM Processing Times are updated monthly and available for view at http://icert.doleta.gov.

For the employment-based permanent visa, the USCIS may take up to an additional 9 months to process the request. USCIS will provide "premium processing" for some visa categories with an additional fee.