EB 2 PERM: Employment-Based, Second Preference Immigration

Brief Introduction 

• All Second Preference applicants must have a labor certification approved by the DOL, or Schedule A designation, or establish that they qualify for one of the shortage occupations in the Labor Market Information Pilot Program
• May be eligible for this employment-based, second preference visa if you hold an advanced degree or its equivalent, or a foreign national who has exceptional ability
• The job you apply for must require an advanced degree and you must possess such a degree or its equivImmigrationalent (a baccalaureate degree plus 5 years progressive work experience in the field)
• You must be able to show exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business​
• Aliens seeking a national interest waiver should request that the Labor Certification be waived because it is in the interest of the United States 

Process 

• First step:
  • Employer who wishes to hire a foreign worker must file with the US Department of Labor for Permanent Labor Certification using Program Electronic Management Review (PERM) System
  • Employer will need to go through an extensive recruiting process to ensure that no qualified American workers are available to take the position
  • Going through this process the right way is key, as raising suspicion may trigger an audit from the Department of Labor, possibly delaying your application by up to a year and a half
• Second step:
  • Receive a PERM form from the Dept. of Labor
  • Employer must complete and file form I-140, the petition for the EB-2 visa
  • Must wait for priority date (based on when the application is received by Dept. of Labor
• Third step:
  • If outside US, one-on-one interview with consulate is required
  • If inside, can simply file for an Adjustment of Status using Form I-485

Timeline

• Currently overall takes more than 11 months to process
• If PERM Labor Certificate is required then the timeline expands to anywhere from 8 months to 2 years
• May also opt for the premium processing service, paying an additional $1,410 to shorten your processing time to 15 days
• Once the petition approved, you must wait for your priority date to be current – it will be current in most countries except China and India, as it may be several years before your priority date is current in those two countries
• I-485 will then be submitted which takes around 11 to 35 months to process, depending on which service center the case is submitted to.​​