Part 4 EB3 – Annual Quota

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

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Part 1 EB3 Green Card – Introduction

Part 2 EB1 Green Card Requirements

Part 3 EB3 Green Card Labor Certification

Part 4 EB3 Green Card Annual Quotas

Part 4 – Annual Quota

Welcome to the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram. We’re delighted to have you join us for our fourth and final video in this presentation series on the EB3 Green Card.

In this presentation, we’re going to focus on the EB3 green card annual quota.

So as not to distort the US home grown job market, Congress set an annual numerical limit on a number of aliens that could be granted a green card this way. Without a numerical limit, US companies could recruit too many qualified aliens, leaving a possibility of many Americans unable to find work. The EB3 green card annual quota is 40,000.

In addition to the annual quota on the number of aliens that may be brought in, US employers are required to pay the American prevailing wage for any jobs offered, so as not to depress the US labor market. Even with these restrictions, the sheer volume of alien employees who have secured US employment has outstripped the 40,000 annual quotas to the extent that there is now a significant backlog creating a waiting time of some years before green cards become available for people who file now.

Reviewing this diagram, 1^st equals EB1 green cards, 2nd equals an EB2 and 3^rd equals an EB3. The 40,000 quotas are divided in various regions of the world so as to prevent one area from unduly exhausting the quota.  In this example, US Immigration (with the exception of cases from India) is reviewing cases that were filed in 2006. Thus, anyone filing a new EB3 application could be waiting six years for his or her filed case to receive attention.

Clearly, no US employer is going to wait six years to recruit anyone, unless they can secure their services in the interim. The H-1B graduate visa is a non-permanent work visa that can be used initially for up to six years. However, the H-1B is only available to aliens who have the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree (and, perhaps surprisingly, fashion models).

Therefore, aliens in the lower end of the EB3 qualification requirements, for example, those with the equivalent of a two-year professional qualification, these aliens will not be able to qualify for a H-1B to hold them in the US until their EB3 can be processed. There is a possible way through though. Spouses of the E2 investment visa holder are entitled to a work permit for as long as their investing spouse continues to run a qualifying E2 business.

Therefore, not only can the E2 visa spouse accept employment but they can also be sponsored for their EB3 green card, and in the fullness of time transition from their spouse’s E2 work permit smoothly into their EB3 green card, if all of the criteria discussed in this series can be met.

For those unmarried aliens, their best option is to top-up their education to that of a Bachelor’s degree at home or within the US. Topping up your education in the US has the advantage of enabling you to qualify for a post graduation one-year work permit, which could be a vital step towards securing the H-1B visa and then ultimately, your EB3 or EB2 green card.

We hope you enjoyed this presentation series and that you take the time to review related areas such as the E2 visa, the H-1B graduate visa and F-1 student visa links.

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
[Cross Streets 4th and Wilshire]
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa and O1 Visa and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.

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