What does employment immigration cover?
Employment immigration covers every route to working in the United States that rests on a job, a career record or an investment. Some routes are temporary and some are permanent. An employment immigration lawyer helps the worker and the employer choose the route and then prove it. Broadly, the field divides into nonimmigrant work visas, which last for a set period, and immigrant categories, which lead to a green card.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decides most petitions, and its Working in the United States pages list every category. The Department of Labor certifies wages and, for many green cards, the absence of qualified US workers. The State Department issues visas at consulates abroad and publishes the monthly visa bulletin that governs green card queues.
- Temporary work visas The H-1B visa covers specialty occupations and the L-1 intracompany transfer visa covers staff moved from abroad. The O-1 visa for extraordinary ability and the E-2 treaty investor visa complete the list.
- Employment-based green cards EB-1 serves extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers and multinational managers. EB-2 serves advanced degrees and exceptional ability, and EB-3 serves skilled workers and professionals.
- Investor green cards The EB-5 investor green card, based on a qualifying investment that creates full-time jobs for US workers.
Which employment visa is right for my situation?
The right employment visa depends mostly on who is sponsoring you and on what you already have. That might be a degree, a job offer, a year with an overseas branch of the company, national acclaim or capital to invest. Most people qualify for one or two routes, not all of them.
| Your situation | Routes that usually fit |
|---|---|
| A US employer wants to hire you for a degree-level job | H-1B, then PERM and an EB-2 or EB-3 green card |
| You have worked a year for the company abroad | L-1, then EB-1C for managers and executives |
| You have sustained acclaim in your field | O-1, then EB-1A or an EB-2 National Interest Waiver |
| You are investing in a business you will run | E-2 if your country has a treaty; EB-5 for a green card |
These are starting points. For example, a person with a strong academic record might fit the H-1B and the O-1. The choice between them affects cost, speed and flexibility later, so an employment immigration lawyer should weigh both before anything is filed.
Who files the petition, the employer or the worker?
The firm acts as an employment immigration lawyer for employers and workers in Glendale and across Los Angeles County. In most employment cases the US employer is the petitioner and the worker is the beneficiary. The employer signs the forms, makes the wage commitments and takes on the compliance obligations that come with them.
That shapes how we run a case. The employer and the worker both have a real interest in the outcome, and their interests usually line up. Sometimes they might not, for example on who pays for which step. In that case, the firm explains at the start whom it represents and what each side can expect.
A few routes are self-petitions. The EB-1A and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver let you file for yourself. Similarly, the E-2 and EB-5 rest on your own investment rather than a job offer.
How do you move from a work visa to a green card?
Most people move from a work visa to a green card in three stages. First comes an approved basis for the green card, then a place in the queue, and finally the application itself. Meanwhile, the work visa keeps you here lawfully.
- Labor certification, where required For most EB-2 and EB-3 cases, the employer first completes PERM labor certification with the Department of Labor. This tests the job market for qualified US workers.
- Immigrant petition The employer, or you in a self-petition, files Form I-140 with USCIS. Investors file Form I-526E or I-526 instead.
- The queue Your priority date waits until a visa number is available for your category and country of birth.
- Final application Adjustment of status on Form I-485 if you are in the United States, or consular processing at an embassy abroad.
The details of each category, including who can skip labor certification, are on the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 green cards page.
How long do employment-based cases take?
USCIS can often decide a temporary work visa within weeks when premium processing is available. By contrast, an employment-based green card can take anywhere from about a year to many years. The longest waits come from the annual limits on green cards, not from the agencies themselves.
Each category has a yearly allocation, and no single country can use more than a set share of it. People born in countries with high demand, such as India and China, often wait far longer than people born elsewhere in the same category. The State Department publishes the current position every month.
Processing times and visa bulletin dates change without notice. At the consultation you get the realistic range for your category and country, including the slow version.
Can you change to a work visa without leaving the United States?
Often, yes. If you are in the United States in valid status, USCIS can usually approve a change of status to a work category. It does so on the same Form I-129 petition the employer files, so you never need a visa interview.
There are limits. Some statuses, such as a visitor who entered under the Visa Waiver Program, do not permit a change of status inside the country. Anyone who has fallen out of status may also have to finish abroad, and a work visa lawyer can confirm which rule applies before the employer files. In addition, a change of status does not give you a visa stamp. The first time you travel afterward, you will need to apply for the visa itself at a US consulate before returning.
What goes wrong in employment immigration cases?
Most problems in employment cases come from a mismatch between what the paperwork says and what actually happens at work. Others come from gaps in status that nobody noticed at the time. An employment immigration lawyer looks for both before the agency does.
- The job changes, the petition does not A new worksite, a different role or a change in hours can require an amended petition. Working outside the terms of your status can count as a status violation.
- Gaps between jobs Losing a job starts a short grace period, not an open-ended one. What you do within that period decides whether you stay in status.
- Evidence that describes, rather than proves Requests for Evidence often follow petitions that assert qualifications without documenting them. Letters, contracts and records carry more weight than adjectives.
- Travel at the wrong moment Leaving the country while a change of status or an adjustment application is pending can abandon it. Ask your employment immigration lawyer before you book.
What does an employer take on when it sponsors a worker?
An employer that sponsors a worker takes on real obligations. It must pay at least the wage the Department of Labor requires, keep public records for some categories, and tell the agencies about material changes to the job.
For H-1B workers, the employer files a Labor Condition Application and must keep a public access file. For PERM, the regulations require the employer to pay the costs of labor certification itself, rather than passing them to the worker. Employer sponsorship is not reserved for large companies. Smaller employers, including family-run businesses, sponsor workers successfully all the time; they simply need to know these obligations before they sign.
What does employment immigration cost with this firm?
The firm quotes each employment matter as a flat fee, agreed in writing before any work begins. That fee does not change because a case takes longer than expected. USCIS and the other agencies set the government filing fees, including any premium processing fee, and you pay them separately. Where the law requires the employer to bear a cost, the fee agreement says so.
More detail is on the fees and consultations page. The first consultation with an employment immigration attorney is free and takes roughly thirty minutes, in person, by phone or by video.