There are different categories of the employment-based immigrant visa of the United States and EB2 green card is the second preference category. EB2 green card allows foreign nationals to reside permanently in the United States. The eligibility of getting an EB2 immigrant visa is holding an advanced degree, exceptional ability, or National Interest Waiver.
The foreign workers are allowed a fixed number of green cards every year by the United States. That foreign workers are required by the U.S. employers for vacant positions in their companies. Let’s have a look at the categories of EB2 visas.
Category of EB2:
1). Advanced Degree:
The applicant who is looking for employment in the U.S. must have a U.S. master’s degree or higher or foreign equivalent. If the applicant has a U.S. bachelor’s degree then he must have at least 5 years of experience in his field. All advanced degrees are not eligible, applicants must be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Foreign Labor Certification Process in this regard. There are some pieces of evidence that the applicant must submit to the U.S. authorities as proof of having an advanced degree.
- Providing copies of original transcripts.
- Other official documents related to your degree.
- Certified copies of certificate, diploma, or degree that you have.
- If the degree is obtained from outside the U.S. it must be evaluated from any educational evaluation agency.
- In the case of a bachelor’s degree, there must be an experience letter from a current or previous employer.
2). Exceptional Ability:
The applicants must have exceptional ability in the field of business, science, and arts. applicant must hold “a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered” in these fields in the United States. In order to qualify, it has some eligibility criteria let’s have a look.
- The applicant must have a job offer from any U.S. employer.
- In the field of business, arts, and science, applicants must have exceptional ability.
- The requirements regarding health and character must be met by the applicant.
- There must be an employer who is willing to sponsor the applicant through PERM or labor certification.
3). National Interest Waiver:
If the applicant believes that his job is related to the national interest of the United States, then he may apply for a foreign labor certification waiver. There are some cases in which it applies.
- When there is a shortage of healthcare staff in the U.S. and the applicant is a physician who is willing to do the job full time.
- If the applicant is an entrepreneur and he is indispensable for the U.S.
Those applicants who wanted to apply under the national interest waiver category must have any job offer from the U.S. employer and must submit the Form I-140 along with the proof of the national interest as well.
EB2 Green Card Process:
1). PERM or Labor Certification Step:
PERM is known as “Program for Electronic Review Management” this process is done by giving evidence (such as an advertisement) to fail in finding a qualified worker in the local market of the U.S.
2). Filing The Form I-140:
The second step is to filing Form I-140 the filing fee for the regular process is $700 and for premium processing fee is $1225.
3). Filing The Form I-485:
After the approval of the PERM or Labor Certification and I-140 petition by the USCIS, applicant file Form I-485 that the last step comes for completion of the application for the green card.
EB2 Green Card Processing Time:
One common question arises in mind that how long does it take for eb2 to get a green card? It takes 8 months to 2 years for PERM or Labor Certification. If you file Form I-140 on a regular process then it takes a time about 6 months for processing. If you chose premium processing for Form I-140 then the processing time will be reduced from 6 months to 15 calendar days. The applicant has to wait for his priority date to become current after approval of Form I-140. Then after that applicant file Form I-485. Normally it takes about 6 months for processing depending on your service center.
EB2 Green Card Processing Time For Indians:
The government of the U.S. issues around 3000 EB2 green card to Indians every year. The prediction of EB2 green card processing time for Indians is at least 20 years. Furthermore, the maximum processing time is 151 years and the average processing time for Indians is about 40 years.
This is due to a long queue for Indians joining the EB2 green card. There is one possibility to get a green card fast that if the immigration law of the U.S. is changed.
If you need more assistance in this regard don’t hesitate to contact immigration professionals and get all answers of your query.
