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Have you heard that it takes five years, six years, maybe more, to get a green card through sponsorship by a U.S. employer? If so, you probably heard correctly....back in the day.
Historically, the demand for green cards in the most popular employment-based category (i.e. the third preference or "EB-3" category) has been much higher than the supply. As a result, after starting the process, foreign nationals had to wait several years before they could get a green card.
However, in the last year or so, the Department of State visa bulletin has reflected that the supply and demand for employment-based green cards has leveled out, thus eliminating the multi-year wait that existed previously.
Also, newly implemented procedures now allow for many foreign nationals to apply for green cards (and thus receive employment and travel authorization) even before a green card is actually available to them. To that end, the Department of State has created two separate charts on the visa bulletin: a "Dates for Filing" chart (indicating when a foreign national may apply for a green card) and a "Final Action Dates" chart (indicating when a foreign national's green card application may be approved).
And the news gets even better!
The March 2016 visa bulletin, released this week, shows a "C" for "Current" in the "Dates for Filing" chart for the employment-based third preference category for all countries except China, India, Mexico and the Philippines. This means otherwise eligible foreign nationals may now apply for their green cards and obtain the benefits of work and travel authorization.
To find out how to become eligible for a green card in the EB-3 category, or if you have any other immigration questions, feel free to contact our office at 786-406-1744 or info@ratzanlaw.com.
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