Permanent Residency
Employment-Based Sponsorship (PERM)
International employees, in tenure-track or full-time lecturer roles, in the U.S. on H-1B visas are eligible to be sponsored for certain categories of Legal Permanent Residency by Loyola. “Sponsorship” generally means the sponsoring department at Loyola will conduct a PERM Recruitment and file a Foreign Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. It also means that the department is required to pay all associated legal and filing fees of the PERM Recruitment step.
While there are a variety of employment-based (EB) categories that are eligible for employment-sponsorship, Loyola will support PERM sponsorship for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.
The PERM process:
- Labor Certification from the Department of Labor. This involves requesting a Prevailing Wage from the National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC), conducting a test of the labor market to see if there are any qualified U.S. workers (“recruitment period”), and filing for a labor certification (ETA-9089) with the Department of Labor.
- Filing an Immigration Petition for Alien Workers (I-140) with USCIS within 180 days after receiving the approved ETA-9089 from the Department of Labor.
- Once the beneficiary’s priority date on the U.S. State Department’s visa bulletin becomes current, the beneficiary can file an I-485 with USCIS to adjust their status to permanent resident
Loyola does not typically support sponsorship of the EB-1 since it is the most difficult category of EB to qualify for. It is either reserved for “Extraordinary Ability Individuals” or Outstanding Professor/Researchers.”
Benefits: If the candidate qualifies, they can expect a much quicker pathway to their green card, particularly for individuals from India and China. Based on current processing times, the entire process can be completed in 1-3 years.
Considerations: The employee must be pursuing tenure or tenure track. It is quite expensive, difficult to qualify for, and there are no refunds if denied.
EB-1B (Outstanding Professor/Researcher): Loyola will allow EB-1B (Outstanding Professor/Researcher) sponsorship for candidates who are already eligible for PERM sponsorship. Individuals seeking EB-1B sponsorship must work with LUC’s external immigration counsel, Zulkie Partners.
Since the EB-1B is so difficult to obtain, and requires LUC to file an I-140 Petition for Alien Worker on behalf of the candidate, those interested must first engage in a consultation with Zulkie Partners to see if they meet the EB-1B criteria. The consultation fee of $600 may be paid by either the candidate or the sponsoring unit.
- If Zulkie Partners determines that the candidate does not meet EB-1B criteria, the EB-1B green card process cannot proceed. A sponsoring unit may then use the PERM process to sponsor their candidate for a green card.
- If Zulkie Partners determines that EB-1B is a viable option, the candidate and sponsoring unit may determine how all applicable fees will be paid (i.e. candidate may be reimbursed by their sponsoring unit upon approval). The high-cost estimate is $10K to $12K.
- If the EB-1B petition is denied, the employee can still have a PERM application filed on their behalf.
EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability): If a candidate believes they will qualify for the EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability), then they can self-sponsor for this type of green card and are responsible
ISSS refers those interested in this process to Zulkie Partners, Loyola's outside counsel on immigration matters. Once the process has been initiated by the sponsoring department, ISSS will connect them to Zulkie. Zulkie will then work with the department to determine which PERM process is most appropriate for them and the beneficiary.
The PERM process should be started no later than the end of the employee’s third year in H-1B status. If the host department and employee would like to begin sooner, they should consult Faculty Administration and ISSS.
Please contact International Scholar Coordinator, Abby Mensing (amensing@LUC.edu), to request the PERM Request Form and begin the process or to discuss sponsoring for EB-1.
Employment-Based Sponsorship (PERM)
International employees, in tenure-track or full-time lecturer roles, in the U.S. on H-1B visas are eligible to be sponsored for certain categories of Legal Permanent Residency by Loyola. “Sponsorship” generally means the sponsoring department at Loyola will conduct a PERM Recruitment and file a Foreign Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. It also means that the department is required to pay all associated legal and filing fees of the PERM Recruitment step.
While there are a variety of employment-based (EB) categories that are eligible for employment-sponsorship, Loyola will support PERM sponsorship for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories.
The PERM process:
- Labor Certification from the Department of Labor. This involves requesting a Prevailing Wage from the National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC), conducting a test of the labor market to see if there are any qualified U.S. workers (“recruitment period”), and filing for a labor certification (ETA-9089) with the Department of Labor.
- Filing an Immigration Petition for Alien Workers (I-140) with USCIS within 180 days after receiving the approved ETA-9089 from the Department of Labor.
- Once the beneficiary’s priority date on the U.S. State Department’s visa bulletin becomes current, the beneficiary can file an I-485 with USCIS to adjust their status to permanent resident
Loyola does not typically support sponsorship of the EB-1 since it is the most difficult category of EB to qualify for. It is either reserved for “Extraordinary Ability Individuals” or Outstanding Professor/Researchers.”
Benefits: If the candidate qualifies, they can expect a much quicker pathway to their green card, particularly for individuals from India and China. Based on current processing times, the entire process can be completed in 1-3 years.
Considerations: The employee must be pursuing tenure or tenure track. It is quite expensive, difficult to qualify for, and there are no refunds if denied.
EB-1B (Outstanding Professor/Researcher): Loyola will allow EB-1B (Outstanding Professor/Researcher) sponsorship for candidates who are already eligible for PERM sponsorship. Individuals seeking EB-1B sponsorship must work with LUC’s external immigration counsel, Zulkie Partners.
Since the EB-1B is so difficult to obtain, and requires LUC to file an I-140 Petition for Alien Worker on behalf of the candidate, those interested must first engage in a consultation with Zulkie Partners to see if they meet the EB-1B criteria. The consultation fee of $600 may be paid by either the candidate or the sponsoring unit.
- If Zulkie Partners determines that the candidate does not meet EB-1B criteria, the EB-1B green card process cannot proceed. A sponsoring unit may then use the PERM process to sponsor their candidate for a green card.
- If Zulkie Partners determines that EB-1B is a viable option, the candidate and sponsoring unit may determine how all applicable fees will be paid (i.e. candidate may be reimbursed by their sponsoring unit upon approval). The high-cost estimate is $10K to $12K.
- If the EB-1B petition is denied, the employee can still have a PERM application filed on their behalf.
EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability): If a candidate believes they will qualify for the EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability), then they can self-sponsor for this type of green card and are responsible
ISSS refers those interested in this process to Zulkie Partners, Loyola's outside counsel on immigration matters. Once the process has been initiated by the sponsoring department, ISSS will connect them to Zulkie. Zulkie will then work with the department to determine which PERM process is most appropriate for them and the beneficiary.
The PERM process should be started no later than the end of the employee’s third year in H-1B status. If the host department and employee would like to begin sooner, they should consult Faculty Administration and ISSS.
Please contact International Scholar Coordinator, Abby Mensing (amensing@LUC.edu), to request the PERM Request Form and begin the process or to discuss sponsoring for EB-1.