From H2B Visa to Green Card: Navigating Pathways to Permanent Residency
This article is here to guide you on how to obtain an H2B visa and transition that into a green card. The H2B visa program serves as a valuable resource for employers facing shortages of U.S. workers in temporary non-agricultural positions. It provides the opportunity...
Written by
Visa Franchise
Published on
4 Aug 2023
Table of Contents:
This article is here to guide you on how to obtain an H2B visa and transition that into a green card. The H2B visa program serves as a valuable resource for employers facing shortages of U.S. workers in temporary non-agricultural positions. It provides the opportunity to hire foreign nationals to fill these roles and meet their business needs. The good news is that with strategic planning and meeting specific qualifications, H2B visa holders can obtain a green card, which grants them permanent residency in the United States. We will give you an overview of how the H2B visa program works and how to transition from an H2B Visa to Green Card.
Contents
What is the H2B Visa Program?
The H2B program allows employers to hire nonimmigrants who are foreign nationals admitted temporarily to the US. This employment must be for a specified amount of time, such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peak load need, or intermittent need. This visa is eligible for up to 1 year. In addition, the H2B program requires the employer to present and attest to the Department of Labor to offer an equal or exceeding the minimum or state wages. Also, the H2B program states certain rules that must be followed to protect similar US workers.
What Makes One Eligible for H2B Pisa Programs?
There are two parts to be answered here. First of which is the employer, the employer must pass certain criteria. Firstly, the employer must have a seasonal need, a peak load, or a time that is under half a year. Secondly, the job frame must also be less than a one-year frame of time. Lastly, the employer must be certain that there are no other available candidates for this job in the US. On the other hand, the employee must pass certain criteria of their own. The first of these requirements that should be met by the employee is to have a valid job offer from the employer which is for a certain period. Secondly, you must have the correct clean background and abilities for the job. Lastly, You must have the intention of returning back home before the expiration of your visa.
How You Can Transition From an H2B Visa Program to Getting a Green Card?
An H2B allows foreigners to work in the US for a certain period of time as we already explained. Though in some cases you can get a “Green Card” by having an H2B visa. If the job exceeds the time span of your H2B visa, you might have the possibility of getting a green card. However, you must come back in a permanent position, not a temporary one. To do so your employer must pass the PERM, which is a series of labor certifications. The employer can sponsor you if the job is permanent as stated by US immigration laws. Due to this many employers who sponsor H2B employees for a green card do so with a position that is different from the position the H2B worker is currently holding. However, not all permanent jobs are qualified for you to obtain a Green Card.
What is PERM?
PERM stands for Program Electronic Review Management, which is a process of steps that an employer must follow to prove that no other US citizen is eligible to fill that position and that the employer won’t lower the wage due to them being foreigners. Foreign nationals who wish to obtain a green card through their employer must first comply with the PERM’s extensive regulations. The first of these steps is that the employer must advertise the job position in the area to US citizens. The process also involves the agreement of the state and federal government that the employer will pay the prevailing wage for the location of the foreign national. Once these requirements are met the labor certification application may be filed with the US Department of Labor.
Once the labor certification has been approved by the US Department of Labor, the employer has a limited amount of time to file Form I-140, and thereby for the alien's Green Card with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this article offers you an overview of what is an H2B and Green Card in addition to how to transition from H2B to Green Card. The most important point of this article is that you must have a clean background and ability qualifications to get the H2B. Secondly, you should have a valid job offer and an employer willing to pass the PERM to get you to work for them. Plus, if you don’t have the intention to leave the US while having just H2B you may be denied getting the H2B the following year. Though you must accept the fact that you may not get H2B due to the low numbers distributed throughout the year which is just 66 thousand visa programs, if you don’t get it this year there is always the next. Even if you have a permanent job you may not get a Green Card due to more qualified personnel. Thus, you should seek professional help that will make sure you are ready and qualified to transition from H2B visa to Green Card.
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