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The audit request and Request For Evidence (RFE) are normal parts of the immigration process and are no cause for fear. The story is a familiar one: You have planned for years on immigrating to the U.S. You have used up resources and spent months compiling documentation and completing forms for your application. Finally, you file your application. But a few months later, you receive an audit request or a Request For Evidence (RFE). You may start to panic at this moment, thinking something is wrong or that your application is under unfair scrutiny. But do not panic. Alpha Global Biz is here to help. Audit Request When you are in the PERM process with the Department of Labor, all applications are subject to randomized audit requests. This is the primary reason an audit is requested, and the Department of Labor simply considers this a measure of quality control. Usually, when an audit is requested, the Department of Labor simply wants to make sure that the employer has followed all the necessary steps to sponsor your visa. Because the process is randomized, Alpha Global Biz assists the employer in preparing an audit response file with all of the required documentation for each of the clients at the time the Labor Certification Application is filed. By doing this, the employer is ready to make a timely and stress-free response to the Department of Labor’s request. Request for Evidence When you apply for a Green Card, it is possible that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will make a Request for Evidence (RFE). RFEs are sent when the officer reviewing an application has follow-up questions about an application. This might have to do with something the officer finds confusing about your history, your income, or something else entirely. But it is no reason to panic. USCIS is only seeking clarification to make sure they understand your situation to make the correct decision regarding your application. While it may seem daunting when you first receive the RFE letter, Alpha Global Biz’ network of experienced staff is ready and able to help you through the process to make sure the attorney files a timely and sufficient response. While receiving an audit request or an RFE can feel frustrating at first, it is no reason to be anxious. Alpha Global Biz has an experienced network of legal professionals that are here to assist you in this process. You can learn more about this topic on our YouTube channel here.

No. You can search for employers who will sponsor immigrants for the EB-3 unskilled process through job databases, such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter. By doing so, you may be able to find an employer who is willing and able to sponsor you. But, because the process is highly detailed and technical, the majority of employers rarely assist immigrants seeking EB-3 unskilled sponsorship. This lack of knowledge may lead to complications and ineffective assistance which could result in a denial. In other cases, you will find many jobs that will state “No Visa Sponsorship Offered.” Due to the skill and experience of the Alpha Global Biz team, we are well equipped to assist you in navigating the job market for employment sponsorship without running into these issues. Alpha Global Biz’ expertise allows for a streamlined process taking the stress off the immigrant to ensure everything is correct on their side as well as the employers. To see the employers and jobs Alpha Global Biz works with, create an account here.

For foreign nationals already in the United States, the EB3 process has two distinct phases: (1) Labor Certification; and (2) Employment-based visa / Adjustment of status. Labor Certification The Labor Certification phase is done through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and usually takes six to nine months from the date of filing. The burden of this phase falls on the employer, who has to show that they have been unable to find American workers for the position so that they may hire the intending immigrant. The Employer will have to do a “Labor Market Test,” to receive approval from the DOL before they can file a Labor Certification application. Employment-based Visa (EB) The EB phase begins once the Labor Certification has been approved and is done through the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). This phase includes what is called a “concurrent filing.” The “concurrent filing” includes an I-140 which is filed by your employer to show they would like to sponsor you, an I-765 (Work Authorization form) which will give you the right to work in the United States, and an I-485 (Adjustment of Status form) which will lead to a green card. The I-140 will not give you any special rights other than to apply for work authorization and to adjust status. It usually takes around nine months from the date of filing to receive Work Authorization, and around two years from the date of filing to receive approval for a green card. Once your Work Authorization has been approved, you can begin working for your employer. The total time from filing the Labor Certification Application to getting a green card will, therefore, take around two-and-one-half to three years. However, all cases move at different speeds and the cases can take shorter or even longer.

We know how difficult it can be as you wait for your EB-3 case to be completed. Luckily, you can always check your case’s progress online to determine where in the process it is. Many of our clients find it useful to see what month’s applications are currently being processed in order to determine a more specific timeline for their case. From the time your application has been filed by your employer, we estimate a six-month window for it to be approved. If the application is audited for any reason (this is usually due to random audits imposed by the Department of Labor), it could add an additional three months to the timeline. However, the process from applying for your green card to your receipt of it will usually take between one year to 18 months, unless you are from a handful of countries which carry a longer timeline of about two years (we’ll advise you if that’s the case). Prior to receiving your green card – about 7 to 9 months into the process – you should receive your work authorization. Bear in mind that COVID-19 has been slowing the system in general; while the government is making efforts to unclog the backlog of applications, we are still experiencing some delays as of March 2022. Our best advice: be patient. Just as the officers processing EB-3 cases move at different paces, so does each case. So make sure you consider the timeframes we’ve provided here as general guidelines only for when you can expect your case to be completed.

All visas are at some level conditional. Your right to live in the US can be revoked at any time if you commit a serious enough crime. One particular scenario to avoid is committing workplace fraud, meaning that if an employer has sponsored your visa, that you are actually working at their company. If you fail to uphold your contract, you may be held liable and your EB-3 and/or green card may be in jeopardy. Another important thing to note: you must work for your employer for a significant amount of time as part of this process. At Alpha Global, that means you have contracted to work for a year at your employer. If you leave before having completed that year, this may negatively affect your green card application and any future application for U.S. citizenship.

Can I adjust status via EB3 if I entered the United States without authorization? No. If you entered the U.S. without being inspected and admitted at an airport, or at a land border crossing station, you cannot adjust status (get a green card) from within the United States via the EB3 visa. Some family-based visa categories allow you to apply for a waiver of your unlawful entry, but that waiver is not available for employment-based EB3 visas. What if I entered without inspection, but then I applied for asylum? Asylum cases are very complicated, and success depends on the unique facts of each case. At some point in your asylum case, you might receive work authorization or an eventual asylum-based green card. But that does not excuse your unauthorized entry if you want to apply for a green card through the EB3 process. The EB3 visa and green card are not available if you were not inspected and admitted into the U.S. What if I entered without inspection, but then I received TPS after entry? You cannot adjust status via EB3 even if you were granted TPS after you entered the U.S. without inspection. Before 2021, some EB3 applicants who had TPS could adjust status depending on what state they lived in, even if they entered the U.S. without inspection. But in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this is no longer possible, no matter where a TPS holder lives. If a person originally enters the U.S. without inspection, the grant of TPS at a later date is not considered a lawful admission that makes a person eligible to adjust status. How about if I have TPS, then travel on TPS advance parole and re-enter the United States lawfully? No, not if you are applying for an employment-based EB3 visa. If you last traveled and re-entered the U.S. on TPS advance parole prior to August 20, 2020, you might be able to adjust status through a family-based application as an immediate relative. But this is not available for employment-based EB3 visas, because you need to show you originally entered the United States lawfully, prior to receiving TPS, to qualify for an employment-based EB3 visa.

There are four distinct groups of individuals who may be impacted by the retrogression of the EB-3 Unskilled (Other Workers) category.   ·      Group 1: People who have LC approvals but I-485s have not been filed. o   Filing I-485s before the retrogression takes place will allow the applicant to be eligible for the green-card based Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole (EAD/AP) – making the applicant eligible to work using an approved EAD. Until the priority date becomes current again, the I-485 Green Card application will remain pending.   ·      Group 2: People who have pending I-485 applications, and LCs were filed AFTER the cut-off. o   You are impacted by the retrogression. You will still receive your EAD/AP and you can work using the EAD. However, the filed I-485 will remain pending and a green card will not be issued until your priority date is current again.   ·      Group 3: People who have pending I-485 applications, and LC was filed BEFORE the priority date. o   You are not impacted by the retrogression. You will get your EAD/AP and you can work using the EAD. Because your priority date is still current, your I-485 will continue to be processed.   ·      Group 4: People who do not have LC approvals (i.e., LC is being prepared or LC is pending). o   If the EB-3 Other Workers category is still retrogressed by the time of LC approval, our outside counsel will file the I-140 immigrant petition first. The I-485 application can be filed later, when your priority date becomes current.   What should you do in the meantime? In the meantime, it is important to make sure you maintain legal status while in the USA. You should also be in touch with your attorney to make sure that you have what you need to file when the priority date becomes current again. In short, be patient, maintain a legal status, and be ready. What happens after my priority date is current again? Once your priority date is current again, you will be able to move forward with your process by filing the applications for work authorization, travel authorization, and a green card.

Waiting is difficult. Especially when it has to do with life altering matters. The EB3 process can be a long and difficult process requiring great patience.  Certain pressure points can be especially difficult for employers and intending immigrants alike. Working with various governmental agencies that seem entirely indifferent to your situation can leave one feeling stuck an endless holding pattern. But Alpha Global Biz is here to make the process as smooth and streamlined as possible. For employers, the most difficult part is the recruitment stage. Employers are currently having to go through an 8-9 month process filing paperwork with the Department of Labor and their State Workforce Agency before they can legally file a Labor Certification (“LC”). But this stage is an area where Alpha Global Biz’ expertise shines. Not only can Alpha Global help with the heavy lifting and coordination of deadlines at this stage, but Alpha Global is actively encouraging and recommending policy changes to DOL to speed up and streamline this process. For immigrants, waiting for LC processing can be difficult. The Department of Labor provides almost no feedback on your process, and your LC can be stuck in the “Under Analyst Review” status for 9 months. Add to that the potential 3-4 months if you get an audit, and it may feel like you will never even get the chance to apply for a green card. Compound, on this the stress of needing to maintain valid status in the USA, and it can be a difficult period. But Alpha Global is always actively monitoring the DOL updates to their processing times and works hard to present accurate expected timelines to clients. But after all the waiting, eventually the day comes. Alpha Global does not take clients who appear to be ineligible for the EB3 process. It may take a year from the time your LC was filed to when your green card application is finally in the mail. But eventually the government has to deal with your application and acknowledge your eligibility. Although the waiting is hard, Alpha Global is active to mitigate any potential problems and aims to improve this process through congressional inquiries and policy proposals to make sure our clients are successful in their journey to getting a green card.

Overview For most looking to emigrate to the United States, family and employment-based visas are the two primary options. Without family currently living in the United States, family-based immigration is not a practical possibility for many candidates. Employment-based visas offer more flexibility for those looking to establish life in the U.S. on their own account. The Employment Based (EB)-3 visa category is gaining popularity among multiple audiences because it is a viable choice for individuals that want a green card pathway with limited time, it is subjectively an easier route for adjustment of status cases, and it has a significant impact on the business community. What is EB3? This visa category results in obtaining a Green Card and includes 3 sub-categories: Skilled, Other (Unskilled), and Professional Worker. To qualify for this visa type, no qualified American workers can be readily available to fill the posted position. Once overwhelmingly popular among middle-aged individuals living outside of the United States, the EB-3 category has now become increasingly favorable among younger individuals primarily in pursuit of high skilled roles, now hoping to adjust status to obtain work and permanent residency faster. The EB-3 visa supplies an alternative pathway for permanent residency, giving non-immigrant visa holders added options outside of OPT (Optional Practical Training) or an H1B visa, and offers a shorter process than for those that do consular processing. By applying for the EB-3 visa while in the U.S on a current non-immigrant visa, the applicant can continue using their non-immigrant visa while going through immigrant visa processing. While many individuals endure the lengthy and stringent process of obtaining high skilled employment sponsorship, EB-3 applicants undergo a process that doesn’t limit their work in the United States to their verified interests and talents. These applicants can fill various vacant positions in food service, janitorial service, and manufacturing; often starting work within 1-3 years of the start of their process. With no requirement to prove work history or formal education, this category has been a longstanding, plausible possibility for people looking to work in the United States and earn a path to citizenship in less time than other visa options. Economic Impact For the business community across the country, its undeniable how beneficial this visa category is as it has steadily supplied workers for hard to fill jobs that American workers have shown little interest in performing. In a post-pandemic economy, almost every industry is in critical need of unskilled laborers. The EB3 unskilled visa can routinely supply long term labor solutions in a shorter turnaround timeframe to the most fragile U.S. industries. As the United States develops methods to support its competitive edge in the global economy against countries like Canada and Germany, using the legal immigration system to strengthen the workforce is one of the best ways to keep diverse skillsets, talent, and attraction. As it relates to business, most of the policy proposals and media attention go to high skilled immigration while the EB3 category upholds the backbone of the American economy: unskilled, blue-collar work. Immigrating to the United States is not a final destination for many but for those in search of a green card pathway, a fast and practical way for adjustment of status, or a way to immediately contribute to and strengthen a local economy, EB3 Unskilled is the best choice. The EB3 visa has gained popularity in a time where financial security and global mobility are two of the most highly regarded assets, as individuals across the globe recognize the value and flexibility that this visa category supplies far beyond others. To learn more about EB3 Unskilled or to see if you are a suitable candidate for this visa, click here.

Although the EB3 visa has only three major categories (Professional, Skilled, and Unskilled), there are 23 total sub-categories under the EB3 visa. EW3 is the specific category for unskilled workers who are new arrivals. Other notable sub-categories include EW9 for spouses of EW3 holders, EW8 for unskilled workers adjusting status, and EW0 for the children of EW3 or EW8 holders who are adjusting status. The important thing to know is that your EB3-based Green Card will not state “EB3” under Category but will show one of these more specific EB3 sub-categories. You can see the Department of Homeland Security website for a full list of all the specific visa categories. The list of all EB3 sub-categories appears below: Third: Skilled workers, professionals, and needed unskilled workers