Orlando Green Card Attorney
Trust Your Case With An Experienced Orlando Green Card Lawyer
When an individual has been issued a green card, he or she has authorization to live and gain employment in the United States permanently. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue an individual a permanent resident card that will serve as proof that an individual has been granted authorization to live in the United States.
There are preferences the government adheres to when determining if a green card should be granted, which include the following:
1st Preference: Those who are interested in becoming immigrants due to employment or an offer of employment can apply for permanent residency.
2nd Preference: Priority employers, such as those who demonstrate extraordinary capabilities, which may include professors, researchers, managers, and other executive positions.
3rd Preference: Professionals who have an advanced degree or outstanding ability in their field of study.
4th Preference: Those who have special skills such as religious titles or vocations.
5th Preference: Investors and entrepreneurs that have the potential to create jobs in the United States.
If you are in the Orlando area and want to know more about how to get a green card, contact Colombo & Hurd today. From Lake Mary to Lake Buena Vista, we serve Orlando and its surrounding areas.
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At Colombo & Hurd, our Orlando Green Card Lawyers have extensive experience in obtaining green cards for our immigrants here in Orlando and across Florida. There are two categories of green card applications: family based and employment based. Family-based applications can be filed by parents, children, siblings, or spouses of the foreign national, while employment-based applications typically require a U.S. sponsoring company. Our Orland green card lawyer has extensive experience representing individuals in both family and employment-based green card applications.
Family Immigration Green Cards
While the family-based green card applications largely depend upon the relationship between the Petitioning individual and the beneficiary, the country of origin is also an important consideration. Applications for spouses and children are generally given shorter wait times are those are immediate relatives, while applications for parents or siblings face longer wait times. Individuals from countries such as India and China face significant delays and long wait times due to the volume of applications received in those countries. Other countries, such as Romania, have shorter wait times for the same reason. Immigration updates the visa bulletin on a monthly basis to help estimate the current wait times for each country and each type of green card application. A family-based immigration application has two parts: the first part is the I-130 application, and the second is the green card portion of the application, which can either be done by consular processing abroad or through adjustment of status within the United States. The I-130 application evidences the relationship between the Petitioner and Beneficiary. The consular application or adjustment application is focused on the Beneficiary’s biographical background.
Can I Get a Green Card through Employment?
There are a variety of employment based green card applications that can lead to a green card , but the majority of them require that the beneficiary have a degree and experience within the field. As an individual must have a U.S. sponsoring company for employment based green card applications (with the exception of the National Interest Waiver and the Extraordinary Ability Green Card), the company must first determine whether it has the capacity to sponsor a green card application, and if so, which type of application would best fit the company as well as the beneficiary’s background. A U.S. sponsoring company must go through several steps for a foreign national to be able to obtain an employment based green card. First, the company must determine the position, wages, and job description in order to file a prevailing wage application. It must determine whether it has the financial capacity to pursue the application on behalf of the beneficiary. Next, the employer must go through a recruitment process to identify if there are any qualified and eligible U.S. workers that would be able to fill the position. During the recruitment process, the company must place job advertisements for the position. If the company is contacted by a prospective employee, the company must in good faith interview the applicant and must maintain records to indicate why it did not select that job applicant for the position. If there is a job applicant that qualifies for the position, then the company must offer the job to the applicant and forego the green card application. If there are not, the employer can proceed with filing the application on behalf of the foreign employee.
If eligible for a National Interest Waiver or an Extraordinary Ability green card, the beneficiary may Self Petition. While the National Interest Waiver is the Beneficiary’s claim that allowing him to forego the normal channels of a labor certification process and obtaining a U.S. sponsor is in the national interest of the United States, an extraordinary ability application notes that the applicant has risen to the top few percentage within his or her field by meeting at least three out of ten enumerated criteria warranting a green card. In spite of the fact that a labor certification and job offer is not specifically required, both applications still require the Beneficiary to show the work they plan to do in the United States.
The application process is extensive and requires legal analysis every step of the process as the job description and requirements must be listed carefully. A company without much experience with filing green card applications may unwittingly note a requirement in the job description that will likely trigger an audit by the Department of Labor. For example, several employers require Spanish as a language, especially in states such as Florida. However, a specific language requirement in a job description often triggers the Department of Labor to conduct an audit to check for potential misuse of the green card application process.
If you have a U.S. company that would like to sponsor your application, or alternatively, if you are a U.S. company hoping to sponsor a foreign national, we recommend consulting with an experienced Immigration attorney to be able to understand the regulations and requirements of an employment based green card application.
