Opportunities:

  • Employer will pay for all fees incurred in the process of preparing the PERM application, including attorney’s fee, USCIS filing fee and recruitment fee.
  • Generally, an “advance degree” is required for EB2 visa. But the “advance degree” requirement can also be satisfied through 1) bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of progressive work experience, or otherwise 2) meeting “exceptional ability” criteria.
  • In fact, if successfully claiming exceptional ability, no college or advanced degree is required.
  • Currently, EB2 has the shortest visa backlog for aliens born in almost all countries other than India, meaning that alien workers filed under EB2 enjoy the fastest route to US permanent residency.
  • Unlike EB1A or NIW, EB2 (PERM) doesn’t require documentation of extraordinary ability or original contributions to the field.

Challenges:

  • As a beneficiary of the PERM process, you must stay with the employer for a long time. Otherwise the employer may not have incentive to keep your petition live after you change your job and may in that case withdraw your petition unless your I-140 has approved for more than 180 days or your adjustment of status application based on the I-140 has been pending for more than 180 days.
  • Without an advanced degree, you must have 5 years of progressive experiencein the proposed occupation, or otherwise satisfied the criteria set forth in “exceptional ability” before applying for PERM.
  • EB-2 foreign nationals generally must have a job offer and the job opportunity must be a full time, permanent position, except for filing under the National Interest Waiver category.
  • The mandatory pre-filing recruitment process for PERM is rigorous and can be complicated. Department of Labor may audit the recruitment process.
  • The employer must document ability to pay the the prevailing wage for the intended employment at the time of immigration petition.

Service we offer:

  • Carefully analyze the proposed position and beneficiary’s background, revise proposed job duties and job requirements to obtain appropriate and acceptable prevailing wage determination, to avoid pitfalls which could jeopardize the PERM application.
  • Provide recruitment instructions and guide the employer through the recruitment process, making sure the employer comply with the complicated PERM recruitment timeline
  • Draft recruitment reports and business necessity memo (if applicable) in case of being audited or requested for information by the certifying officer.
  • Draft I-140 petition letter to be submitted to obtain USCIS’ approval