U.S. Permanent Residence
Goel & Anderson regularly assists the foreign national employees of its corporate clients, as well as individual clients, obtain permanent resident (“Green Card”) status. We develop sophisticated enterprise-wide strategies for corporate clients, prepare comprehensive solutions and plans for individuals and their family members, prepare all the paper work necessary for their case, and serve as a liaison between our clients and the relevant government agencies. We represent clients who sponsor dozens of employees annually for permanent residency, as well as scientists, performers, athletes and business people who we help to meet the government’s criteria for “highly specialized and accomplished individuals.” We also work especially hard to permanently unite families in the U.S.
There are many paths to U.S. permanent residence, a few of which are discussed in more detail below:
- Permanent Residence through PERM Labor Certification
- Permanent Residence for Multinational Managers and Executives
- Permanent Residence for Extraordinary Ability Foreign Nationals
- Permanent Residence for Outstanding Researchers and Professors
- Permanent Residence through a National Interest Waiver
- Permanent Residence for Investors Permanent Residence for Nurses and Physical Therapists
- Permanent Residence for Family Members
- We invite you to contact our office to discuss which options are best suited to you or your employees.
Permanent Residence through PERM Labor Certification
An employer can successfully sponsor an employee for a “Green Card” when it can prove that they can find no U.S. workers who are available, willing, and able to fill the position, and the sponsored individual's employment will not not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly situated U.S. workers. To do so, the employer must complete a process commonly referred to as PERM or Alien Labor Certification. Applications for Labor Certification are filed with the U.S. Department of Labor’s PERM system, an attestation and audit system under which employers seeking permanent labor certification advertise and recruit prior to filing their labor certification application. While Labor Certification would seem especially difficult to accomplish in the current market, Goel & Anderson continues to successfully navigate through DOL and USCIS regulations and policies to obtain permanent residence status for employers and employees. More info.
Permanent Residence for Multinational Managers and Executives
Individuals who have worked a minimum of a year as a manager or executive in a foreign office of their employer (or its parent, subsidiary, or affiliate) may obtain a “Green Card” without going through the PERM labor certification process. The employer must also demonstrate that the employee is, or will be filling, a managerial or executive role in the U.S. While the “EB-1” Multinational Managers and Executives category is most often appropriate for employees in the U.S. holding L-1A visa status, Goel & Anderson also successfully obtains approval of EB-1 cases for managerial and executive-level employees holding other nonimmigrant visas. More info.
Permanent Residence for Extraordinary Ability Foreign Nationals
An individual may apply for a Green Card in the “Extraordinary Ability” category with or without a sponsoring employer as long as the foreign national can prove he or she works among the individuals at the very top of their field of endeavor, e.g., the arts, athletics, business, science or education. The foreign national must prove that he or she has reached the very top of their field by presenting evidence in the form of awards, publications, letters of support documenting original contributions to the field, media articles about the foreign national, or other indications of achievements. Goel & Anderson has created strategies to help artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and business executives develop and present successful extraordinary ability cases to the USCIS even under challenging circumstances. More info.
Permanent Residence for Outstanding Researchers and Professors
Another way an employer can sponsor a foreign national for a Green Card without going through the PERM labor certification process is if it can prove that the individual’s background in an academic field is “outstanding.” The employer must demonstrate that the professor or researcher is internationally recognized as an outstanding individual in his/her specific academic area of teaching or research by presenting evidence of awards, publications, letters of support documenting original contributions to the field or achievements, media articles about the foreign national or other compelling proof of their international stature. More info.
Permanent Residence through a National Interest Waiver
A foreign national may apply for a Green Card in this category with or without a sponsoring employer as long as he or she can prove that his/her work and prospective accomplishments are in the national interest of the United States and the work will benefit the United States as a whole, he/she has an outstanding background, and requiring labor certification is not in the national interest. More info.
Permanent Residence for Investors
Businesses and wealthy individuals often require specialized immigration planning that is tailored to their unique needs. Goel & Anderson regularly develops highly sophisticated plans for individuals and businesses with short term needs in the U.S., as well as wealthy investors who seek permanent residency in the U.S. for themselves and immediate family members. Goel & Anderson also has deep experience coordinating case strategy with international tax and financial professionals to ensure that clients consider all the relevant economic implications associated with investing in the U.S. More info.
Permanent Residence for Nurses and Physical Therapists
Registered nurses and physical therapists are designated as ‘Schedule A” occupations and benefit from an expedited path toward lawful permanent residence; those professions bypass the U.S. Department of Labor’s PERM recruitment process system normally required for labor certification. To qualify, the foreign-born nurse has to possess a diploma in nursing and an unrestricted and unencumbered nursing license from the nurse's home country (if the nurse was educated outside the United States). Nurses from foreign countries must meet one of two licensing/certification requirements: possession of license in the state of intended employment in the U.S., or successful completion of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) certification program. Foreign-born physical therapists must possess the equivalent of a four-year U.S. degree and have all the qualifications necessary to take the physical therapist licensing examination in the state in which he or she proposes to practice physical therapy. More info.
Permanent Residence for Family Members
Goel & Anderson takes great pride in its history of helping United States citizens and permanent residents petition for (or “sponsor”) close family members in order to allow them to become permanent residents of the United States. Typically family members face lengthy waiting periods in the permanent residency process, which is why Goel & Anderson develops sponsorship strategies that save time and money (to say nothing of anxiety) for clients and their families. By working directly with our clients to understand their issues, we develop pragmatic, comprehensive and flexible solutions to their individual immigration needs. More info.