Posted on: 26-03-05 10:27:38
An employer sponsored Green Card is always for a future position.
Before the days of the H-1B/L-1 mess, Green Card was the default way to sponsor foreign workers.
The process was very simple - a company would recruit a foreign worker, file an immigrant petition for him/her, it would take between 2 - 4 months to get an approval, and then the person would go to the nearest consulate, get the "Green Card" stamped on the passport and come to the US.
However, as more and more foreign workers were sponsored this way, the queues increased and from months, it started taking years.
Obviously, employers cannot wait for years to hire a foreign worker.
That's when the H-1B program was expanded to include temporary froeign workers.
The H-1B program has been in existence since the early 1950s, but was mostly used for some very specific areas like research, etc.
But now, it became the default way of hiring a foreign worker, esp. in the high-tech industry rapidly growing in the 80s and 90s.
So now, there are two ways of getting an employer sponsored GC -
1. The "old" way where you stay in your country, and the employer completes the sponsorship - this process takes years now and therefore, no one uses it.
2. The "new" way where you work for an employer on H-1B, and they sponsor a GC simultaneously.
When the GC process is complete, you do an AoS (Adjustment of Status) from H-1B to GC.
Note that there is no requirement that the GC job and the H-1B job be the same or even identical.
You can work for the same company in one position, and your GC can be sponsored for a different position - although the company will have to prove that you have the required education and skills for the GC position.
Clear as mud? 
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
What is this "Labour Certification" business? I overheard someone saying that in April they are passing a law, or some such rule, that "Labour Certification" will have to be completed within a stipulated time frame, and that this will help faster processing of GC or whatever.
Anyone know more about all this.
Thanks.
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Diogenes
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The Cynic
DtC --
Quote:A "labor certification" is getting approval from the US Federal and State DoL to hire a foreign worker.
Orginally posted by DiogenestheCynic
What is this "Labour Certification" business?
The basic requirements are -
1. The foreign worker should have the minimum education and experience to perform the job as per the job description.
2. The company should be paying the worker at least the "prevailing wage" for that type of work - the prevailing wage being determined as per state and federal DoL for that type of work in that location.
3. The company has to prove that they have made sufficient efforts to find and hire local workers and could not find anyone to fill the position as per required educational and work experience.
There are several other nuances, but the above are the basic tenets.
Once the LC is approved, the company can file with the BCIS (formerly INS) for an immigrant petition for the worker (I-140).
Quote:Yes, I believe you are referring to the PERM regulations.
I overheard someone saying that in April they are passing a law, or some such rule, that "Labour Certification" will have to be completed within a stipulated time frame, and that this will help faster processing of GC or whatever.
See -
http://www.murthy.com/perm.html
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
A way to get US green card without employment is to prove that if you get green card you will be an asset to U.S. economy. It is called NIW( national interest waiver)under category EB-1 . I have seen some people applying for it from India and getting it.
http://www.usvisanews.com/niw.shtml
This does not require labor certification.
As I understand, LC is then a form of approval that has to be got by the potential employer. I also then assume that it is not a new thing, right? I mean, getting "Labour Certification" is, and has been, a necessary step in the whole process of hiring a non-US resident.
Quote:
Orginally posted by pratickm
3. The company has to prove that they have made sufficient efforts to find and hire local workers and could not find anyone to fill the position as per required educational and work experience.
How do they do that? What evidence do they give?
Quote:
Orginally posted by pratickm
Once the LC is approved, the company can file with the BCIS (formerly INS) for an immigrant petition for the worker (I-140).
You mean like an H1B?
Quote:
Orginally posted by pratickm
Yes, I believe you are referring to the PERM regulations.
Would that help make it easier, or faster for anyone to get an H1B? How?
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Diogenes
====================
The Cynic
Quote:True, but this is not as easy as it sounds
Orginally posted by rajukhade
A way to get US green card without employment is to prove that if you get green card you will be an asset to U.S. economy. It is called NIW( national interest waiver)under category EB-1 . I have seen some people applying for it from India and getting it.
http://www.usvisanews.com/niw.shtml
This does not require labor certification.
You have to be a really gifted and internationally acclaimed researcher or professional to qualify under this.
Usually, only professors and researchers with international acclaim are able to qualify under this.
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
Quote:Yes.
Orginally posted by DiogenestheCynic
As I understand, LC is then a form of approval that has to be got by the potential employer.
Quote:Yes, for employment based categories.
I also then assume that it is not a new thing, right? I mean, getting "Labour Certification" is, and has been, a necessary step in the whole process of hiring a non-US resident.
It is not necessary for family based, refugee, or the NIW category (being discussed earlier).
Quote:Proof of job advertisements, responses from prospective candidates, interview transcripts and reasons why other candidates were not suitable.
How do they do that? What evidence do they give?
A lot of the LC process can be short-circuited by those employers who routinely hire foreign workers by using a process called RIR (Reduction in Recruitment).
But the PERM regulations are making RIR obsolete now.
Quote:No, an H-1B petition is called petition for non-immigrant worker.
You mean like an H1B?
OTOH, the application for a GC worker is called petition for immigrant worker
Quote:PERM is the new process for LC - it does not affect the H-1B process.
Would that help make it easier, or faster for anyone to get an H1B? How?
AFAIK, the H-1B process remains the same LCA-based process.
Although now-a-days, an LCA takes only a few days by using the "fax-back" system.
OTOH, in the GC process, the LC stage typically takes the longest.
PERM is designed to address this.
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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."
-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"
