As an employer, you may come face-to-face with a situation in which you want to sponsor an employee for permanent resident status. If you find yourself in this situation, you and your soon-to-be employee need to take on a variety of steps.
First things first, you should contact the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to request an approved Application for Permanent Labor Certification. Upon approval by the DOL, the employer is ready to take on the next step: filing form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Can you file for any employee?
Employers have the opportunity to sponsor a current foreign national employee or prospective hire that is currently living inside or outside the country and may qualify under one of the many employment-based (EB) immigrant visa categories.
There are four categories and they include:
- EB-1 – Priority Workers
- EB-2 – Persons with Exceptional Ability or Professionals with Advanced Degrees
- EB-3 – Professional or Skilled Workers
- EB-4 – Special Immigrants
What does this mean to an employee or job candidate?
By filing a petition, you prove your intention to hire the employee upon approval. With this in place, the employee will have the opportunity to apply to immigrate to the country once they reach the front of the line.
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into sponsoring an employee for permanent resident status. If you have any questions or concerns about the process, you’ll want to learn more about the steps you should take and your legal rights as an employer.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “I am an employer: How do I sponsor an employee for U.S. permanent resident status?,” accessed Feb. 09, 2018