Hila Law Group strives to find permanent solutions for both employers and employees to find the clearest and easiest road to make their residency in the United States permanent and allow them to start building a worry-free life so they can instead concentrate on growing and setting their new roots.

Immigrants seeking employment-based visas or green cards are classified in order of preference based on the assumed impact of their work or contributions:

• EB-1: Priority Workers (First Preference) – Foreign nationals with extraordinary ability, academics who are exemplars of their field, and some multinational executives and managers.
• EB-2: Advanced or Exceptional Professionals (Second) – Individuals who hold advanced degrees or of exceptional ability.
• EB-3: Professionals, Skilled, and Unskilled Workers (Third) –Foreign nationals with bachelor’s degrees, skilled workers who can perform labor that requires at least two years of training or experience, and unskilled workers.
• EB-4: Special Immigrants (Fourth) – Religious workers and immigrants with certain other special duties or positions.
• EB-5: Employment Creation (Fifth) –Foreign nationals who invest one million – or half a million in certain locations – in a job-creating U.S. enterprise.

When there is a shortage of U.S. workers to fill a specific position, a U.S. employer can sponsor an immigrant worker through the permanent labor certification process. For the employee to gain entry, the Department of Labor must certify that a shortage of U.S. workers exists in the position they are applying for, and that the employer will pay the prevailing wage. If approved, the workers can be sponsored for an immigrant petition in order to ultimately receive permanent residence.

Our business immigration lawyers help employers complete the intricate steps of the PERM process to support the employee’s entry into the country. As part of that process, we assist them in drafting the employment advertisement and review the candidate’s credentials to ensure that they meet the necessary qualifications.

The I-140 petition is the second step in the permanent residency process for most employment-based immigrants. The petition can be submitted once the worker has been approved for immigration through the PERM labor certification process.

An adjustment of status is the last step for applying for permanent residence in the United States for many immigrant professionals. The process allows you to apply for permanent residency if you are already in the United States. In other words, filing a petition for permanent residency through the adjustment of status process means that you do not need to return to your home country. To apply, if an immigrant visa is available to you based on your country of birth and preference category, you must complete Form I-485, which can be filed in either situation:

• You have already filed your Form I-140 and your application is pending or approved; or
• You can file Form I-485 concurrently when you file your Form I-140.