JOBS THAT WILL GET YOU EASIER ENTRY AND A “QUICK?” GREEN CARD IN THE US
By Donna Scarlatelli, Esq.
Let’s start out by rehashing an old favorite topic – the H-1B visa. Unless you are going to be transferred to the States as a manager of a multi-national company, or make a substantial commercial investment and put yourself at the unmerciful mercy of the US Consul, then the most likely credible option for short-term admission as something more than a tourist is the H-1B. The H-1B applies to professionals and the visa is limited by Congress to 65,000 new visas every federal fiscal year. That starts on October 1. You can apply for the visa up to six months ahead; that’s April 1. But each year the spots get captured earlier and earlier. Last year the quota closed on May 19. We predict that this year, most, if not all, of the 65,000 will be spoken for within the first couple of weeks of April. So, if you are lucky enough to have a US employer who will file in April and wait for you until October, and you meet the professional requirements, then you are lucky indeed.
That brings us to green cards. The bad news is that there are no longer any magic occupations that will get you a speedy green card. Nurses and physical therapists are still favored because they appear on a schedule of shortage occupations and can avoid the labor certification process with the Department of Labor before you get to the Immigration Service. But the quota in this category is no longer wide open. So, while they are still strong ways to immigrate, they are not the immediate answers that they once were.
The good news is thatthe second preference category (EB2) green cards for jobs remain open. This means that if you hold the equivalent of an American advanced degree, and have the sponsorship of a US company in a job that requires this advanced degree, then you can get your green card relatively quickly- approximately 8 to 12 months. The speedy process is thanks to the current Department of Labor alien labor certification system known as PERM. PERM is now working well and a good immigration strategist can secure an approved labor certification in about 4 months. With those applications that will qualify for EB2, once the PERM is granted, the remaining immigration process moves along quickly as well. The better news is that the Immigration Service allows one to qualify in EB2 even without the advanced degree if the sponsoring employer indicated an alternative requirement of a bachelor’s degree plus five years of progressive work experience. Therefore, many potential immigrants may qualify based on the combination of their education and professional experience.
So, what jobs would qualify for EB2? Here the Department of Labor holds most of the cards. The job must carry a Zone 5 classification in its occupational listing to be included as one that requires an advanced degree. In this ever-challenging game of labor certifications, the Department of Labor has been revising its list of Zone 5 jobs and steadily decreasing the number of those positions which qualify. Some of the more manageable jobs still include Engineering Managers, Private Sector Executives, Counselors, Economists and Post-Secondary Teachers. Some catch-all jobs like marketing research and financial analysts or computer software or hardware engineers or network administrators are now classified as Zone 4 and don’t make it into the EB2 category.
If you are seriously thinking of trying to qualify for a quick green card, I suggest you go to and look at the job listings and review the descriptions included in the generic titles and then the job zone. You might be surprised at what you can squeeze into. Also included in this site are jobs indicted as “in demand.” That will help you realize that it is very possible to prove to the Department of Labor that there are no qualified, available, able or willing American workers for that job being offered to you. But, if it’s not a Zone 5 job, you can expect to wait about 3 to 5 years for your green card. Of course, you can always consider the top category for green cards of extra-ordinary ability, outstanding professors or researchers or multi-national managers or executives. But that’s a different article. Happy hunting! Call me if you get lost!