It’s not always easy finding the right person to fill a vacancy in your business. You might have a specialized role, or you’re just struggling to get the right mixture of skills in the United States. Upon broadening your horizons, you may discover that the right person lives outside of the United States. How do you go about sponsoring a foreign national for their permanent resident status to work in the country?
Step 1: File the Right Paperwork
To get the ball rolling for immigrant visas, the U.S Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires you to obtain an approved Application for Permanent Labor Certification. This comes from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Once approval for this comes in, you then must file Form I-140, an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, on behalf of a foreign national with USCIS. In some cases, the DOL form is not required, so the sponsorship process can commence with Form I-140.
Step 2: File Under the Right Category
While it can seem like an arduous process, having the right workers on board can assist in business growth. Therefore, it can be worth going through the sponsorship process if that’s the likely outcome. Part of this involves ensuring you file under the right category. Congress mandates that all employment-based visas are filed under related categories. These include priority workers, professionals with exceptional ability or advanced degrees, professional or skilled workers, and special immigrants. During the filing stage, there can be examples of jobs that fit into each category, so you can ensure you pick the right one.
Step 3: Understand Your Requirements
Sponsoring an employee can be a daunting process, so it helps to understand your requirements upon filing the petition. It means that you intend to hire the person you are sponsoring when the petition is approved. It also means that you will have an employer-employee relationship, and they have the necessary skills and qualifications to fill your job vacancy.
Step 4: Be Patient
It can be frustrating waiting for an immigrant visa to be approved for your foreign national worker. That’s why many employers are looking at alternative ways to fill their vacancies. The length of time you wait can depend on how you filed your Form I-140. Priority workers and those with exceptional ability will be prioritized over those in lower categories. If your foreign workers is already legally in the United States, they may be able to file an adjustment on their application to permanent resident status, granted their immigrant visa category is currently available.
Step 5: Wait to Hear Back
The final step involves waiting to hear back from the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC). They will contact both the foreign national and you, as the potential employer, to apply for immigrant visas.
It can be a daunting process looking outside of the United States for qualified workers to fill your vacancies. However, when you require a particular set of skills, it can be the best chance you have. Align yourself with experts, fill out the necessary paperwork, and let the wheels of progress turn.
