How many eb3 visas per year

After your employer files the request for labor certification, DOL will ordinarily take four to six months to issue a decision. After your employer submits a petition Form I to USCIS, the agency will likely take between three and 15 months to issue its decision.

Waits of up to three years are not unheard of. Although the waits can sound alarming, a long wait might not actually make a difference in your case.

Your place in line on the waiting list, which could itself be several years long, has already been secured based on the date your employer submitted the labor certification application for you your priority date. The date shown on the chart in your category 3rd preference reflects the priority dates of people finally receiving visas. So, for instance, if you were to see a date of "01NOV20," you would know that people whose labor certifications were filed on or before November 1, were at last receiving visas.

Counting forward from that date to your own priority date, you can get a rough idea of how much longer you might wait. After your priority date has become current, the subsequent timeline depends on whether you'll be doing consular processing from overseas or adjustment of status within the U.

With consular processing, you'll receive some forms to fill out, and then some weeks after returning them, you'll be called for a visa interview at your local U. With adjustment of status, you'll need to take the initiative and submit your own application , several months after which you'll be called in for your green card interview.

As you can see, the entire process can take several years to complete. See a Lawyer The processing time for an EB-3 visa can vary based on many factors, not all of them within your control. Timeframe to Get a Nonimmigrant U. Talk to a Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Practice Area Please select EB-1 Green Card. EB-1 Sport Professionals.

EB Professor Green Card. EB-3 Unskilled Green Card. EB-5 - Investment Green Card. F1 Student Visa under Form I Family Sponsorship. Form I Work Permit. Form N - Citizenship.

H-1B- Graduate Visa. L-1 Visa - Intra-Co Transfer. O-2 Visa - Entourage. P Visas - Arts and Sports. R1 Visas - Religious Worker. Help With Scholarly Articles. Learn About Retrogression. Calculating High Salary. Bureau of Labor Statistcis. FLC Area Code. Law Offices of Chris M. Visa: Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country. Overview Every fiscal year October 1 st — September 30 th , approximately , employment-based immigrant visas are made available to qualified applicants under the provisions of U.

Employment based immigrant visas are divided into five preference categories. Certain spouses and children may accompany or follow-to-join employment-based immigrants. The First Steps toward an Immigrant Visa: Labor Certification and Filing a Petition To be considered for an immigrant visa under some of the employment-based categories below, the applicant's prospective employer or agent must first obtain a labor certification approval from the Department of Labor.

NOTE: Persons with extraordinary abilities in the Employment First preference category are able to file their own petitions. A job offer is required and the U. Applicants may apply for an exemption, known as a National Interest Waiver , from the job offer and labor certification if the exemption would be in the national interest.

In this case, the applicant may self-petition by filing the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I, along with evidence of the national interest.

All such workers generally require labor certification approved by the Department of Labor. Government Abroad see number 3 below. Labor certification is not required for any of the Certain Special Immigrants subgroups. Special Immigrants receive 7. Employment Fifth Preference E5 : Immigrant Investors Immigrant Investor visa categories are for capital investment by foreign investors in new commercial enterprises in the United States which provide job creation.

Select Immigrant Investor Visas to learn more about this employment-based category. Once received, the NVC will assign a case number for the petition.

After the appropriate fees are paid, the NVC will request that the applicant submit the necessary immigrant visa documents, including application forms, civil documents, and more. Learn more about National Visa Center visa case processing. Based on your approved petition, your spouse and minor unmarried children, younger than 21, may apply for immigrant visas with you. Like you, they must also fill out required application forms, obtain required civil documents, pay the required fees, and undergo medical examinations.

Same-sex spouses of U. Consular officers at U. Numerical Limitations All categories of employment-based immigrant visas are issued in the chronological order in which the petitions were filed until the annual numerical limit for the category is reached. The filing date of a petition becomes the applicant's priority date.

Immigrant visas cannot be issued until an applicant's priority date is reached. In certain heavily oversubscribed categories, there may be a waiting period of several years before a priority date is reached.

Check the Visa Bulletin for the latest priority dates. Fees Fees are charged for the following services:. Note : Fees must be paid for each intending immigrant, regardless of age, and are not refundable. Fees should not be paid to the NVC or paid at the U. Embassy or Consulate where you have your visa interview unless specifically requested.

Applicants will be provided with instructions by the NVC on where and when to pay the appropriate fees. Department of State. Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U. Department of State of the views or products contained therein. If you wish to remain on travel. Cancel GO. Skip to main content.