Employment-Based Green Card Attorney in Chicago
Employment-based green cards provide a path to permanent residence in the United States for qualified workers, professionals, and individuals with extraordinary abilities. At Liberum Law, our green card attorneys in Chicago represent clients across all employment-based preference categories.
Employment-based green card categories include EB-1 for priority workers with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, or multinational managers and executives, EB-2 for professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, including the National Interest Waiver, EB-3 for skilled workers, professionals with bachelor’s degrees, and other workers, and EB-4 for special immigrants including religious workers, certain international organization employees, and others.
Most employment-based green cards (except EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 NIW, and some EB-4 categories) require employer sponsorship through the PERM labor certification process, which demonstrates that no qualified U.S. workers are available for the position.
Our employment-based green card services include eligibility assessment and preference category selection, PERM labor certification preparation and filing, I-140 immigrant petition preparation, adjustment of status (I-485) or consular processing, National Interest Waiver petitions, priority date management and visa bulletin monitoring, and concurrent filing strategies where available.
Contact our green card attorneys at Liberum Law for a free consultation to explore your path to permanent residence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are employment-based green card categories?
EB-1 (priority workers — extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, multinational executives), EB-2 (advanced degree professionals and exceptional ability, including National Interest Waiver), EB-3 (skilled workers, professionals, other workers), EB-4 (special immigrants — religious workers, certain government employees), and EB-5 (investors). Each has different eligibility, processing, and backlogs.
Which EB category is fastest?
EB-1A and EB-1B (no labor certification required) are typically the fastest. EB-2 NIW skips PERM but waits in line. EB-2/EB-3 through PERM require labor certification (6–12 months) plus I-140 (months) plus visa availability (variable by country). Country of birth matters — China and India face long waits in EB-2/EB-3.
What is PERM labor certification?
PERM is the Department of Labor process where the U.S. employer must show no qualified U.S. workers are available for the position. Required for EB-2 (non-NIW) and EB-3. Involves recruitment, prevailing wage determination, and PERM application. Typically takes 6–12 months total.
Do I need a job offer for an employment-based green card?
Most categories require a job offer: EB-1B, EB-1C, EB-2 (non-NIW), EB-3. Exceptions: EB-1A (extraordinary ability), EB-2 NIW (national interest waiver), and EB-5 (investor) allow self-petition without employer sponsorship.
Can I change jobs while my EB green card is pending?
Yes, under AC21 portability: after I-140 approval and 180 days with a pending I-485, you can change to a same-or-similar job without losing your green card progress. Job changes before this point usually require restarting the process. We routinely advise on portability strategy.
