Author:
Pascal Calarco
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Date Posted: 19:35:02 06/12/07 Tue
Hi Manju --
I am an academic librarian who has worked in the US since graduating back in 1995 for three different universities, to give you some context. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, so caveat emptor.
The first thing is you need to convince your employer (or find a job and employer) to sponsor you for permanent residency, which is probably the hardest hurdle to get through. I left one job because they refused to sponsor me, and found another one that would, and I negotiated that as part of the contract for my acceptance of the position. That is really the only way to do it. Employers don't sponsor people out of the goodness of their hearts, as it is a substantial amount of work, so you have to look out for yourself, first and foremost.
What this involves is hiring you under an H1-B visa (you can start out as a TN-1, but you have to switch to H1-B, as TN status is non-immigrant intent, while H1-B recognizes 'dual intent'). Attorney and filing fees for this part are typically $1500-$2000.
Next, your employer needs to obtain a labor certification (PERM) for you in this position. This can be done as part of the initial hiring process. This typically involves posting the position with the State Workforce Agency, state employment board, local newspaper, and relevant professional journals to test the local market for other qualified US citizen applicants. They are required to interview all US applicants that are minimally qualified for the position. If, after this the finding is that there are no qualified US applicants for the job, your attorney will file for and receive a labor certification for this position for you as the alien worker. This part can be done fairly quickly, perhaps 2-4 months. The PERM program has set a goal of 45 days to try to get these processed, although typically it takes a bit longer.
Next, a I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker is filed. This is the so-called 'green card' application. These can take anywhere from 8-16+ months to process, depending where you live and where it is processed. Two other applications can usually be filed concurrently with the I-140: I-485 'Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status' and I-765 'Application for Employment Authorization.' The first adjusts your status to a permanent resident from H1-B, and the second allows you to obtain work outside of the restrictions that an H1-B carries.
I am currently going through this process with my employer. The PERM process started last August and was finished by the end of October. We filed an I-140 back in February, should have it by Christmas or early 2008. Then we'll file the other two applications, the I-765 should take less time of the two. By next summer with luck I'll be all done. Attorney and filing fees for the whole process, start to finish, is probably around $10k, and it takes about 2.5 years.
So find a job and employer who is willing to work with you on this, and then find a good immigration attorney. Best wishes!
- pascal
>I am a Canadian Librarian working in West Palm Beach
>as a Reference Librarian. I have been working here for
>the last 5 years and would like to apply for a
>permanent status in US.
>
>If anybody has done that or planning to do that, I
>would like to hear from them. Any suggestion will be
>very much appreciated.
>
>Thanks.
>
>Manju Sharma
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