After months of searching, you may have found the ideal candidate to fill your open position. The one hiccup, if you view it as such, is that this candidate may be a foreign national without a legal status in the United States. Rest assured, you may be qualified to sponsor them for an employment-based visa, so long as you are willing to put in the effort. With that being said, please read on to discover how to handle sponsoring a foreign worker and how one of the seasoned Lancaster, PA work visa lawyers at Lupton Law LLC can help you and your prospective employee benefit from this work relationship.

What types of employment-based visas require sponsorship?

First of all, the employment-based visa category allows certain foreign nationals to gain permanent resident status in the United States through their employment. At the same time, their prospective U.S.-based employer must be qualified to sponsor them in this job position. These sponsored visas are further divided into different preference categories, which read as follows:

  • EB-1, priority workers: individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
  • EB-2, professionals with advanced degrees of exceptional ability: individuals with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business.
  • EB-3, professionals/skilled workers: individuals with a baccalaureate degree or the ability to perform labor for which qualified workers are unavailable in the U.S.
  • EB-4, special immigrants: religious workers, certain physicians, Panama Canal Company, Canal Zone Government, or U.S. Government in Canal Zone employees, etc.

The fifth employment-based visa category is EB-5, the immigrant investor program. However, it does not require sponsorship. It is designated for foreign nationals investing significant capital in their own U.S.-based company and creating jobs for American workers.

How do I go about sponsoring a foreign worker for a visa?

To sponsor a foreign worker for an EB-4 visa, you must file Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Overall, Then, specifically for EB-2 and EB-3 visas, you must undergo the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) labor certification process with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Overall, you must submit Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, for all sponsored employment-based visas besides the EB-4. This is arguably the most critical petition. With that said, both you and your prospective employee must make a diligent effort to prepare documentation to submit alongside your form. As far as you are concerned, you should gather the following pieces of proof:

  • Proof of your ability to pay your prospective employee the offered wage.
  • Proof that you provided your prospective employee with an official job offer.
  • Proof that you have undergone the PERM labor certification process, if required.
  • Proof of your company’s tax returns and other relevant financial statements.
  • A valid form of payment of the mandatory $715 filing fee.

If you have made it this far, please do not hesitate to seek further information from one of the competent Lancaster, PA work visa lawyers. The team at Lupton Law LLC is willing and able to guide you through your future legal processes.