Business and Employment-Based Immigration

One of the major goals of immigration law in the United States is to admit people with specific, needed skills, or workers for industries where there is a shortage of available U.S. workers. If you're looking for more information on employment immigration in Philadelphia, Tran Law Associates can help you determine what, if any, impact your skill set will have on your chances of successful immigration.

Employment-based and business petitions can be for temporary or permanent stays. In employment-based petitions, an employer must prove that the intended foreign national worker would not displace a qualified and available U.S. worker. However, if a foreign national possesses extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, business, education, or athletics, that person need not be sponsored by any employer. They may be admitted to the United States on his or her own merits as long as he or she intends to continue to work in the field of extraordinary ability and this work will substantially benefit the United States. The best way to determine the merits of your specific case is to speak directly with an immigration attorney.

Most employment-based immigration petitions, whether for temporary or permanent stays, require proof that the labor conditions in the area where the foreign national will be working is such that the employer had to look abroad for employees. With H-1B visas, the employer must prove the existence of certain labor conditions. With EB-2 and EB-3 visas, the employer must obtain a labor certification. Labor certifications require more documentation than labor conditions approvals, and with labor certifications employers must, among other things, advertise the job as a way of proving that no qualified U.S. worker was available.

With employment-based visas, there may be a waiting period even after your application is approved, as there are only a limited number of work visas available each year and demand for visas often exceeds supply.

Other employment-based immigration categories include visas for registered nurses and temporary agricultural workers. There are also 'work' visas that do not require a sponsoring employer, such as R visas for religious workers and J visas for individuals who come through an exchange program. People such as au pairs can come to the United States on J visas. R visa holders need to be a member of an approved religious institution, however, and J visa holders need to belong to an approved exchange program.

With all employment-based immigration petitions, including I-129 and I-140 petitions, U.S. immigration authorities want to ensure that employers are not overlooking available U.S. workers, and are not hiring foreign workers in order to pay lower wages than U.S. workers would accept.

When submitting petitions for business immigration, it is important to provide all requested documentation to prove that the intended foreign national employee is qualified for the job, and that the employer could not find a qualified U.S. worker. If you are interested in any of these employment-based statuses, speak with a qualified local immigration attorney. If you are in Philadelphia, employment immigration issues can be handled by Tran Law Associates.

Business and Employment Immigration in Philadelphia