Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR)

IMPORTANT: The South Alabama Office of Enrollment Services provides this information for members of the South Alabama Community. Some of the contents are specific to South Alabama. If you choose to share this information outside South Alabama, please advise readers that they need to contact the appropriate offices or officials at their institutions or a good immigration lawyer for detailed or specific information.

What does it mean to have a "green card"?

The full name is Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. It is often referred to as a green card because for many years the card which was evidence of that status was green. Over the years the color has been changed to blue, pink, or white depending on the year of issue. Persons who hold this status are permitted to remain in the U.S. permanently and to live and work wherever they wish. In general LPRs have the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as U.S. citizens. LPRs may buy and sell property, own and operate businesses, and may be drafted into the military if a draft is in effect. A few rights, privileges, and duties do not apply. LPRs may not vote in government elections, nor serve on juries at trials, nor hold some elected offices or government jobs.

How does one get lawful permanent resident status?

There are four standard avenues to LPR status. They are:

1)	close family relationship to a U.S. citizen or LPR which qualifies in one of the family-based preferences;
2)	having education, skills, or talents which are in demand in the U.S. and which qualify in one of the employment-based or profession-related preferences;
3)	refugee or asylum status based on a well-founded fear of persecution if one returns to the home country; and
4)	special Acts of Congress that change or make exceptions to the standard procedures for certain persons or groups of people.

The most common routes at educational institutions are the employment based preferences, which usually require a permanent job offer. No specific job offer is required for certain persons of international renown or whose work is in the national interest of the U.S., however, a job offer is usually required to show that one can support oneself and is not likely to "become a public charge," such as going on Welfare or taking other public assistance funds.

What is the procedure for employment based LPR status and how long does it take?

It is a four step process which takes 1 to 2 years or longer depending on one's qualifications and the backlog of work at U.S. consular & immigration offices.

1.	Labor Certification. The employer must file an "Application for Alien   Employment Certification with the Department of Labor (DOL) and obtain from DOL a labor certification confirming that the employer has made a bona fide search for a U.S. citizen or resident to do the job and that no qualified U.S. worker is available. In the case of teaching faculty we must prove that the alien is the most qualified of all available applicants. Processing time is 9 months to 2 years (or longer in some areas) depending on the kind of job offered and the kind of advertising that must be done. Registered nurses and physical therapists have automatic labor certification and the application is filed with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directly along with other forms. EXCEPTION: Persons of international renown, outstanding tenured or tenure track faculty, outstanding researchers, and persons involved in work which is in the national interest are exempt from the labor certification process.
2.	Preference Petition. The employer must file a preference petition with DHS. Using the approved Labor Certification as a supporting document, the employer must show that the alien employee is qualified for the job, holds the appropriate degrees, and has the required experience as described in the Labor Certification. Processing time is from 10 months to more than 1 year, depending upon the DHS workload.
3.	Application for LPR status. The alien and the alien's spouse and children must each file an application for LPR status at a U.S. consular post abroad or must file an application with DHS in the U.S. for adjustment to LPR status. Processing time at a post abroad is 6 months or longer. Processing time in the U.S. is at least 12-18 months and may be much longer. Persons who are out of status or who have worked without DHS permission may be charged an additional, very high penalty to adjust status in the U.S. or may be required to process only at a post abroad, not in the U.S.
4.	Adjudication by DHS. The DHS must review the applications, conduct background checks on all applicants, and finally grant the LPR status.

 Why do some applications take several years?

The U.S. Congress has set a limit of about 750,000 people who can immigrate to the U.S. each year. This total is divided into groups such as family-based, employment-based, etc., as indicated above. It is further divided into preferences within each of those groups. For example there are three employment-based preferences. Preference one is for professors, researchers, and others who are outstanding or of international renown and for certain executives of international corporations. Preference two is for professionals holding advanced degrees. Preference three includes professionals holding lesser degrees, such as registered nurses or research technicians and skilled and unskilled workers.

Each preference is assigned a percentage of the total number of immigration spaces available. This helps ensure that one large preference group, such as siblings of citizens or skilled workers, does not use up all of the spaces leaving none for the other preferences. As a further limitation, about 25,000 people are permitted to emigrate from any one country each year. This helps ensure that there is diversity in the immigrant population, that people from every country have a chance to immigrate, and that no one country or group of countries may use up all of the spaces available. LPR status is given out on a strict "first-come, first-served" basis determined by the date on which a labor certification is filed or the date a preference petition is filed if no labor certification is required. Because of the preference limitations, the spaces for certain preferences and for certain countries will be used up every year. There may be twice as many or even 10 times as many people qualified for LPR status as there are spaces available. When this happens the preference is said to be oversubscribed and people may have to wait for years before a space opens up. Some preferences may be oversubscribed for all countries, for example brothers and sisters of citizens. Other preferences may be oversubscribed for a few countries because those countries have already sent their annual limit of about 25,000 people to the U.S. For more information on preference categories and backlog times see the "Visa Bulletin" on the Department of State home page at http://travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html.

If I want South Alabama to help me get LPR status based on employment what do I do?

Contact the Office of Enrollment Services 460-6494.

If I am granted LPR status, how long must I work at South Alabama after I get the status?

There are two important things to remember.

1.

The labor certification we file for an employee is not for the current job. It is for a job that will be available in the future after the employee gets LPR status. It may be exactly like the current job, but it is technically a different job. After the employee gets LPR status, she/he must work for the employer for some period of time. If the employer does not offer the job or the employee does not take the job, then the question is raised as to whether the entire application was fraudulent.

2.

The law does not specify how long the employee must stay in the job. We recommend that if you plan to work for less than 6 months after receipt of LPR status that you consult an immigration attorney to discuss the consequences of leaving South Alabama employment and measures you might take to ensure that your resignation will not cause future immigration or citizenship difficulties.

Do I have to go through South Alabama to get LPR status? Can I just do it myself?

You can NOT do the labor certification or employment-based immigrant petition for yourself. It must be done by South Alabama and your faculty adviser or supervisor.
EXCEPTION: "international renown," "national interest," and "investor" petitions may be filed without the support of an employer. We strongly recommend legal assistance if you choose to self-petition.
You CANNOT do a family-based petition for yourself. The United States citizen relative or lawful permanent resident relative must file the petition for you.

Do I need a lawyer?

In general The University of South Alabama does not authorize outside attorneys to represent its interests in immigration matters. The Office of Enrollment Services must approve and sign any labor certification or preference petition for which South Alabama is the employer. You may wish to consult an attorney for the sections of those forms and procedures which have to do only with you and are not part of the South Alabama application or petition.  We are pleased to work with your attorney and encourage you to have him or her contact us so that we can coordinate our efforts.