EB2 Green Card – EB2 Advanced Degree – PHD Green Card

EB2 Green Card
When looking at the various visa options that we’ve covered, the EB-2 Green Card visa is very much a strategic play to become a permanent resident. Let me explain it this way; the H-1B graduate visa is a relatively fast and easy visa to get if you have a bachelor’s degree or higher such as a master’s degree, doctoral degree or postdoctoral academic education at a university. Subject to availability, an H-1B visa petition can be prepared in 2-4 weeks, filed and a decision can be made in a further 2 weeks. There is a little more to it than outlined but the overall point is well made.

In contrast, EB-2 Green Card visas can take many months to prepare, file and get a decision on, so long in fact that an employer will not typically wait (EB-2 processing time is possibly over a year) for an employee to be able to start work. Therefore, what many aliens do is get their H-1B visa taken care of because of the relative speed of processing and these H-1B visas have an initial visa duration of three years. Now the employer and the employee can work together while the EB2 Green Card visa is processed.

EB-2 Green Cards by way of employment are classified into categories, the only reason for this classification is because each category of Green Card are given their own quotas The three main categories are the EB1 Green Card for Aliens of Extraordinary Ability, EB-2 Advanced Degrees -EB2 Green Card for aliens who are members of the “professions” typically requiring an advanced academic degree (technology, scientist, chemistry, physics mathematics, engineer, computer science, etc.) and the EB3 green cards who are aliens of exceptional ability, a determination typically requiring an Associate Degree (equivalent to half an undergraduate BA) or higher degrees.

EB-2 Advanced Degree Green Card Visas Rarely Backlogged including EB2 Masters Degree and PHD Green Card

Each year US Immigration (USCIS) allocates approximately 40,000 green cards for a U.S. immigrant visa to each category. As you might imagine, the EB1 green card visas and EB2 green cards are rarely all used up each year, but for the EB3 green card visa applicants in this category can often backlogged for 3-5 years, so there is clear incentive to qualify for the EB2 advanced degree green card if the education and job opportunity is there.

In order to qualify for the advanced degree EB-2 Green Card visa there are a few steps the applicant has to go through so let me run through them.

Labor Certification (PERM)

Even though a US Employer can hire any graduate alien under the H-1B graduate visa program without regards as to whether there are any suitably qualified Americans available when it comes to petitioning that immigrant for a green card it’s a different story. For the EB2 greencard visa aliens seeking permanent residency, the employer is required to go through a process called Labor Certification also known as PERM.

This is a process where by the employer is required to advertise this permanent vacancy to the US work force through a series of advertising requirements and only if no suitable qualified aliens are found is the employer then allowed to hire an alien. The process of Labor certification is monitor by the Department of Labor (DOL) and it’s the DOL that issues the certificate or permit to the employer. The employer is then required to submit that certificate with the petition to USCIS as proof that the employer successfully completed the Labor certification process.

There’s no doubt about it PERM can be a real hassle, nevertheless it’s our job to take as much of the hassle out of the entire process as possible.

Qualifications vs. Job on Offer

It is important that professionals with the advanced PHDs or Masters degrees are matched with a job where the minimum qualifications are of an advanced nature. For some professions this is very easy to identify such as a lawyer must have documentation of a law degree and a law degree is an advanced degree therefore qualification and job are a perfect EB2 Green Card visa match. Equally so a Medical Doctor taking up employment as a Medical Doctor must have a PHD, there are no exceptions, therefore another perfect match.

However, there are some professions where the demarcation lines are less clear, for example, an experienced and knowledgeable marketing executive earning $300,000 per year may not even have a degree and it’s less clear whether that particular marketing position or a similar role would necessarily require any advanced degrees or a BA plus five years work experience. It’s also worth noting that if this marketing executive had twenty years experience as a professional but had no degree diploma then the EB2 green card visa would be unlikely to be a good fit. So it’s really important that the advance qualifications are the minimum requirements generally for that position.

We can talk over your individual case and discuss which of the EB green card classifications would be right for your particular needs.

Chris M. Ingram, a U.S. Immigration Attorney, is originally from Northampton, England. He earned his BA (Hons) in Law from De Montfort University, Leicester, UK, in 1994. In 1996, he completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (PGDLP) at De Montfort School of Law, followed by a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Huddersfield University, UK, in 1998. After relocating to the United States, Chris was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2003 and has been a proud member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) since 2004.

Having experienced the U.S. immigration process firsthand with his wife and three children, Chris M. Ingram founded his law firm with a mission to ensure that every client receives the best possible immigration experience. He recognized the need for accessible and comprehensive immigration education, leading him to develop one of the most informative online platforms available today.

The Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram website now features:

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