How To Sponsor an Employee for Permanent Residence

Each year, approximately 140,000 people, nearly all of whom are visa holders, qualify for lawful permanent residence (LPR) through employment, a process known as employment-based (EB) green cards.

Thousands of U.S. employers currently hire foreign workers on EB visas for skilled or professional jobs. Many of these jobs require advanced degrees or exceptional abilities in the high-technology or STEM fields, including software developers, computer systems analysts, and information systems analysts.  

Employers rely on these workers and see no potential for filling their roles with qualified U.S. citizens or residents. The application process for hiring these workers involves sponsoring them by petitioning for their green cards and permanent resident status.

For legal help in the process and to stay up-to-date on changing immigration laws, talk to an experienced immigration lawyer.

Industry Needs for Foreign Workers

Robert Nadalin, an immigration attorney in San Diego, says there is a need for these employees. For proof, he says, look no further than the student enrollment of our graduate schools. “In a lot of our graduate programs, 50 percent to 70 percent of the students are from somewhere other than here,” he says.

“If somebody needs a physicist or an electrical engineer or bio-scientist with a doctorate, there are U.S. kids who go through those programs too. However, at the graduate level, a larger percentage of those persons are often foreign students. With employers, I think their first preference would be to hire a U.S. worker, but sometimes there aren’t enough people with those skills, so the employer ends up needing to step into this work visa sponsorship process just to fill the available job.”

There are different visa categories for foreign workers, including temporary and immigrant visas. H-1B visas are for temporary workers, and they must return to their home country after their visas expire. EB-1 to EB-3 visas are immigration visas for permanent residency. For permanent residency, there are additional eligibility restrictions.

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The Labor Certification Application Process

EB-1 visas for priority workers do not need labor certification. These include:

• EB-1A for extraordinary ability
• EB-1B for outstanding professors
• EB-1C for multinational executives

EB-2 and EB-3, the second and third preference categories, are for workers holding advanced degrees or with exceptional abilities. For these preference categories, employers must qualify through the permanent labor certification process (PERM) with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

The PERM process requires:

• Prevailing Wage Determination (about 6 months)
• Job Recruiting (2-4 months)
• Application for Permanent Employment Certification (12-16 months)

To prove the need for a foreign priority worker, the employer must demonstrate that there is no U.S. worker who is able, qualified, and willing to accept the job offer at the prevailing wage for that position in the local area. The employer must also show the hire will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

With employers, I think their first preference would be to hire a U.S. worker, but sometimes there aren’t enough people with those skills, so the employer ends up needing to step into this work visa sponsorship process just to fill the available job.

Requesting a Prevailing Wage Determination

The employer requests a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) from the DOL. This provides the minimum salary the employer must pay for the position, based on wage statistics. This can take longer if the employer requests that the DOL reconsider the PWD rate.

The employer must try to recruit U.S. workers for the applicant’s position and keep rigorous documentation in the event of an audit. Next is filing Form ETA-9089 with the DOL. Processing times can vary greatly. As of May 31, 2026, the DOL is currently processing applications from April 2025, which is about a 13-month processing time.

“Most of those cases are ultimately approved,” says Nadalin of the labor certification process. “I think the DOL knows that. It’s kind of DOL’s way of getting their pound of flesh to protect the U.S. job force.”

Nadalin cautions that labor certification “is a process that’s onerous, tedious — honestly, start to finish, often takes more than 18 months to go through. Employers are reluctant to incur all that expense and time unless it’s a highly skilled worker who’s critical to the business operation. Most of the time, if an employer is willing to go through all that, we kind of already know on the front end that they’re likely to get approval. It’s just a matter of going through those required steps.”

Employer costs can run $10,000 to $30,000 for the entire process. These high costs typically leave less-skilled workers shut out of obtaining a green card.

Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

After PERM certification, the employer can file an immigration petition with USCIS. This is an additional process that can take months or years, depending on the worker’s home country, preference category, and other factors.

Employers file Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, submit documentation, and pay the filing fee. Filing fees cost $715 for standard processing, plus asylum program fees. There is an additional fee of $2,965 for priority processing. The petition process can take about 4-6 months or more.

After approval, applicants must wait for their visa priority date to become available. According to the U.S. State Department’s visa bulletin, the priority date is current for EB-2 visas from most countries. However, there are EB-2 and EB-3 backlogs for applicants from China (about 5 years) and India (more than 12 years).

When a visa is available under the priority date, the worker files Form I-485 for adjustment of status if they are inside the U.S. For workers outside the country, processing is through the local U.S. embassy or consulate in their home country. This can take an additional 9 months to 2 years.

Although H-1B visas are for temporary employment, employers can petition for lawful permanent residency for temporary workers. Most of these visa holders do need to go through PERM labor certification and file for an adjustment of status to get a permanent resident visa.

National Interest Waiver Option

An alternative to the PERM process is the National Interest Waiver (NIW), which is available only to EB-2 preference category workers. The immigrant or employer may petition a waiver of the job offer and labor certification when it is in the national interest of the U.S.

NIW takes less time but can be more subjective. Immigrants can also self-petition without the employer petitioning on their behalf. For more information about NIW petitioning, talk to a local immigration law attorney.

Immigrant Petition Help for Employers

The process for retaining an employee with a green card was already complex. With increased enforcement and limited visa availability across all areas of U.S. immigration, employers should consult an experienced immigration attorney for legal advice.