Applicants submits required documents (Passports, Birth Certificates etc) and questionnaire forms.
EB-3 could be divided by four large procedures:
- Department of Labor (DOL)
- The employer submits Form 9089 to DOL (Department of Labour) for a foreign immigrant applicant .
- DOL will review the application and issue Labour certificate (LC), Audit or Denial.
- US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
- Once the Labour certificate (LC) is issued, the employer can file I-140 application upon the decision of the foreign immigrant applicant. The immigrant applicant can choose either I-140 regular processing ($700) or premium processing (Additional $2,500). The premium processing guarantees faster response (15 days) from USCIS whereas the regular processing will take up to more than 6 months to be processed. Processing time varies time to time and is solely up to the U.S Government.
- Department of State (DOS)
- Once I-140 Application is approved and one’s priority date (presented in the I-140 approval notice) becomes current, the petition will move to the Department of State (DOS) and National Visa Center (NVC) will issue a Visa Fee Invoice to the applicant. Then, the applicant can pay the visa fees through online and start online DS-260 application (Personal information, Family Information, U.S entry history, Work/Employment History etc).
- US Consulate General/ Embassy
- After online DS-260 application and required civil documents are submitted, the immigrant petition will be forwarded to a U.S consulate located the foreign immigrant applicant’s country. The interview usually scheduled within a month from the notice issuance.