The Journey From H-1B to Permanent Resident

H-1B status holders may lawfully pursue lawful permanent residence (“LPR” or “green card”)! For most H-1B teachers, this process involves 3 steps:

1. Labor Certification (PERM). This is the employing school district’s test of the U.S. labor market to prove there are no qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers to fill the H-1B teacher’s position. This process can take nearly two years from start to finish. It involves filing a Prevailing Wage Determination for certification with the Department of Labor, executing a prescribed recruitment/advertising process, and filing the form ETA-9089. 

2. Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The school district must file this form within  six months of the PERM (Form ETA-9089) approval. The I-140 classifies the teacher under the appropriate employment-based (EB) category and secures the teacher’s priority date, which is the date the Form ETA-9089 was filed with the Department of Labor. The EB category and priority date - along with the teacher’s country of birth - serve to fix the teacher’s place in line for a green card. 

3. Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status. This is the actual green card application. A teacher may file this application when a spot becomes available according to the USCIS Visa Bulletin. Some teachers can file form I-485 at the same time as the I-140 if they have a specific combination of EB category, priority date, and country of birth. Many teachers, however, may have a lengthy wait until they are eligible to apply if they were born in the Philippines, Mexico, India, and China. In this case, the teacher’s H-1B may be continually extended until they can file for their green card.

If you have questions about sponsoring an H-1B employee’s permanent residence, please feel free to contact me through the “Contact Us” link on my website or by emailing info@pdortegalaw.com.