Employment Based Green Cards Lawyer for Salt Lake City

The most common path to an employment-based green card in Salt Lake City involves three sequential steps. First, the employer files a PERM labor certification with the U.S. Department of Labor, confirming that there are no qualified, available U.S. workers for the role at the prevailing wage and that hiring the foreign worker will not negatively affect similarly employed U.S. workers. Second, after the PERM is approved, the employer files a Petition for Immigrant Worker (Form I-140) with USCIS to show that the position qualifies in the appropriate employment category, that the foreign national meets the job’s minimum requirements, and that the employer can pay the offered wage. Third, once the I-140 is approved and an immigrant visa is available based on the worker’s priority date, the employee can apply for a green card either through Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) in the United States or through consular processing abroad, and in some categories the I-140 and I-485 can be filed together when the visa category is current.The I-140 and I-485 may be filed concurrently in some cases. The team at Buhler Thomas Law manages the full employment-based green card process for employers and employees across Utah.

PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) is the U.S. Department of Labor process most employers must complete before sponsoring a foreign national for an EB-2 or EB-3 employment based green card. In PERM, the employer conducts a structured recruitment and obtains labor certification to show there are no qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers for the role at the required prevailing wage and that hiring the foreign worker will not harm similarly employed U.S. workers. PERM is not required for every employment based category; many EB-1 cases such as extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational managers and executives, as well as EB-2 national interest waiver cases, can be pursued without labor certification.

Buhler Thomas Law handles PERM labor certification filings for employers throughout Utah.

Form I‑140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, is the petition an employer files with USCIS after a PERM labor certification is approved to classify the foreign national in the appropriate employment‑based category and to show that the worker meets the job’s minimum requirements and that the employer can pay the offered wage. Approval of the I‑140 is a critical step because it confirms the worker’s eligibility for the employment-based green card category and allows them to move forward toward filing for permanent residence when their priority date (usually the PERM filing date) is current on the Visa Bulletin. Buhler Thomas Law prepares and files I-140 petitions for employers of all sizes, working closely with both the employer and the employee throughout the process.

A priority date is your place in line for an immigrant visa. In PERM based EB-2 and EB-3 cases, it is usually the date your employer files the PERM labor certification; in EB-1 and EB-2 National Interest Waiver cases, where there is no PERM step, it is generally the date USCIS receives the I-140 petition. Your case cannot move to the final green card stage until that date becomes “current” on the U.S. Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin, which can mean long waits for applicants from high demand countries for employment-based green cards such as India and China. Because of this, it is important to understand and track your priority date, and the immigration attorneys at Buhler Thomas Law help clients follow the Visa Bulletin and plan their filings around current and anticipated priority date movement.

When the Department of Labor audits a PERM application, the employer must provide extensive back up documentation showing exactly how recruitment was conducted, what applicants applied, why any U.S. workers were rejected, and that the job requirements and wage comply with DOL rules. If the employer’s audit response is late, incomplete, or inconsistent with the original PERM filing, DOL can deny the PERM labor certification or impose supervised recruitment, which can add many months of delay to the overall employment-based green card process. Having counsel like Buhler Thomas Law prepare and submit the audit response helps ensure the recruitment file, business necessity evidence, and employer statements are properly organized and presented.

EB-2 is the second employment-based preference category, available to professionals with advanced degrees (master’s or higher, or a bachelor’s with at least five years of progressive related experience) and to individuals with exceptional ability in their field. EB-3 is the third preference category and covers skilled workers in positions requiring at least two years of training or experience, professionals with bachelor’s degrees, and certain unskilled workers. EB-2 also includes the National Interest Waiver subcategory, which allows qualifying individuals to self-petition without employer sponsorship or PERM. Buhler Thomas Law can help you identify which category applies to your credentials and offers the most efficient path toward permanent residency in Salt Lake City.

The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a subcategory of the EB-2 preference that allows highly qualified individuals to self-petition for an employment-based green card without employer sponsorship or PERM labor certification. To qualify, applicants must demonstrate that their work is in a field of substantial merit and national importance, that they are well-positioned to advance that work, and that waiving the standard job offer and PERM requirements would benefit the United States. NIW petitions are commonly pursued by researchers, scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals, academics, and entrepreneurs with a demonstrated record of impact. Buhler Thomas Law can evaluate whether you meet the NIW criteria and help build a strong, well-documented self-petition.

Adjustment of Status is the process for someone already inside the United States to change from a temporary (non-immigrant) status to lawful permanent resident status by filing Form I‑485 to obtain a green card. In most employment based cases, this is done after the employer’s I‑140 petition is approved and an immigrant visa is available based on the worker’s priority date, and many applicants file applications for work authorization and advance parole at the same time. A crucial point is that a person generally should not leave the United States while the I‑485 is pending unless they have approved advance parole or another valid exception, because departing without it can result in the Adjustment of Status application being treated as abandoned. Buhler Thomas Law guides both employers and employees through the adjustment process to ensure filings are complete and timely.

USCIS may deny an employment based green card application for reasons such as mistakes or omissions on forms, missing or weak supporting documents, failure to prove the employee is qualified, the employer’s inability to show it can pay the offered wage, or other eligibility or admissibility problems. A denial can cause serious delay and extra cost, but options like a motion, appeal, or refiling may be available. Working with an experienced immigration attorney in Utah from the outset significantly reduces the risk of avoidable errors. Buhler Thomas Law reviews every filing thoroughly before submission to ensure it is complete and properly documented.

Yes, in most cases. An employee holding a valid work visa — such as an H-1B or L-1 — can generally continue working while their green card application is pending, as long as their underlying visa status remains valid. Employees without an active work visa must obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which can be requested concurrently with the I-485 filing once a visa is available. Buhler Thomas Law helps both employers and employees coordinate work authorization throughout the employment-based green card process to ensure there are no gaps in employment eligibility.

In many situations, yes, but the rules are technical and depend on where you are in the process. Once your I-485 Adjustment of Status application has been pending for at least 180 days and your I-140 is approved, a law known as AC21 may allow you to “port” your case to a new employer in a same or similar occupational role without starting the entire green card process over. Before the I-485 has been pending 180 days, or if you change to a very different job, changing employers can jeopardize the case and may require a new PERM and I-140. The attorneys at Buhler Thomas Law can review your timeline, job duties, and documentation to determine whether a proposed job change is safe under AC21 portability rules.

If your I-140 is approved but you cannot file you I-485 yet because your priority date is not current, you generally can still change employers, but the new employer will usually need to start a fresh PERM and I-140 process. The good news is that, in many cases, you can keep (or “retain”) your original priority date from the first approved I-140 and use it for the new case, which preserves your place in line even though you changed jobs. Because the impact of an employer’s withdrawal of an I-140 and the timing of your departure can be complicated, it is wise to talk with Buhler Thomas Law before moving to a new position so you do not accidentally lose valuable time you have already accrued.

Employment-based green cards are based on the understanding that you and the sponsoring employer intended a genuine, ongoing, permanent job relationship at the time of approval. There is no fixed rule that you must stay for a specific number of months or years, but leaving very quickly after approval, especially for a very different job, can lead USCIS to question whether you ever intended to work in the sponsored position. While many practitioners recommend staying with the sponsoring employer for at least one year as a conservative approach, the key consideration is whether you had a good-faith intention to work in the sponsored position. Buhler Thomas Law can assess your individual situation and advise you on potential job changes after receiving your green card.

Yes. Employers can run multiple PERM labor certification cases simultaneously. However, each case requires it’s own recruitment process and documentation. Buhler Thomas Law can manage multiple employment-based green card cases for the same employer and help create efficient internal processes for ongoing immigration program needs.

An employee can only work in the United States while waiting for an employment based green card if they have their own valid work authorization; simply filing a green card or I-485 application does not, by itself, give permission to work. Someone who is already in a work authorized status, such as H-1B or L-1, can usually keep working for that sponsoring employer as long as that underlying status remains valid and its conditions are followed, even while the green card case is pending. An employee who does not have an independent work visa must first apply for and receive an Employment Authorization Document through Form I-765, filed with or after the I-485; they cannot legally start or continue working based only on having filed for the green card or for the EAD. Buhler Thomas Law advises employers on employer immigration sponsorship obligations to help companies stay compliant and avoid penalties. If your organization employs or plans to employ foreign national workers in Utah, contact our immigration law firm to discuss how we can support your workforce immigration needs.