![]() ![]() ![]() If, after an I-140 is approved for the PERM sponsor, the physician leaves the employer, the original filing date of the first PERM may be recaptured, or carried over, to the new employer, thereby eliminating the need to repeat the quota wait. The physician can work for another employer regardless of whether that employer is located in a shortage area (after completing the required three-year service requirement, in the case of J-1 physicians) however, the physician must return to the PERM-sponsoring employer to complete the process, and both must maintain the intent to continue the employment. permanent resident, which may be several years in the future. With the filing of a PERM application, the physician is required to work for the PERM sponsor in order to complete the process and become a U.S. PERM, NIW, and EB-1-A afford portability in different ways. The second key factor is portability, or the ability to change employers. Thus, an NIW petition can serve to establish a quick priority date to ensure continued work authorization. If the physician establishes a priority date before his/her fifth year anniversary in H-1B status, the physician can extend the H-1B beyond the sixth year. Why is an earlier priority date important? Not only does an early priority date quicken the process for Indian and Chinese physicians in the green card queue, but it can allow the physician to work in H-1B status beyond the six-year maximum time period for H-1B workers. Usually, an NIW-based Form I-140 may be filed sooner than a PERM application, which takes at least 90 days from start of recruitment to filing. A priority date is established by the filing date of a PERM labor certification or a NIW-based Form I-140. A priority date ensures the green card applicant a place in line in the visa quota backlog. The first key factor is obtaining the earliest possible priority date. There are several relevant factors to consider in deciding on a green card strategy. The EB-1-A category is not currently subject to quota delays, so the I-485 can be filed at the same time as the petition. EB-1-A petitions are not reviewed by USDOL however, they require more extensive documentation from the physician, such as scholarly publications, awards and work experience. An EB-1-A petition can be filed either by the physician or the employer. In both of the above paths, physicians from India and China cannot file I-485 until after the quota delay.ĮB-1-A is an immigrant visa category for those possessing “extraordinary ability” in their field of endeavor. Processing times for the green card can be six months or more, after completion of the five-year period of shortage-area employment and the EB-2 quota delay, if any. This process has two steps: (1) the physician’s NIW petition (Form I-140) and (2) the physician’s I-485 application. The NIW requires the physician to work for five years in a medically underserved area or at a Veteran’s Administration (VA) facility. The third step can take six months or more, after completion of the J-waivered three-year period in H-1B and the EB-2 quota delay, if any. As of 2016, the first step normally takes about nine months, and the second step can take between four and ten months. Department of Labor (“USDOL”) (2) the employer’s I-140 petition to the immigration service showing the employer can pay the physician’s salary and (3) the physician’s I-485 application. This process has three steps: (1) employer-driven recruitment and labor certification filing with the U.S. PERM (“Program Electronic Review Management”) is an electronic process for filing labor certification applications for permanent employment-based immigration. Three types of employment-based permanent resident processes are available to physicians. While all physicians may have an immigrant visa petition filed on their behalf at any time, not all nationalities may complete the green card process by filing the I-485 as soon as the I-140 is approved. A J-waivered clinical physician may not file the I-485 or, in the case of a National Interest Waiver (NIW) green card process, obtain approval of the I-485, until after a three-year or five-year service term is completed.Ī second factor lengthening the green card process for physicians is quota delays based on nationality. For a physician, completing both steps can take from 18 months to between five and six years or longer, depending on J-1 waiver issues and nationality. The permanent resident (green card) process for physicians consists of two basic steps: an immigrant visa petition, either Form I-140 for employment-based petitions or Form I-130 for family-based petitions and an adjustment of status application, Form I-485.
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