Employment-Based Green Card: Categories, PERM, and Priority Dates

An employment-based green card lets a foreign national live and work permanently in the United States based on professional skills, an investment, or another qualifying role. The process runs through three main stages for most people: a labor certification from the Department of Labor, an immigrant petition (Form I-140) filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and a final application for permanent residence either inside the country (Form I-485) or at a U.S. consulate abroad (Form DS-260). Depending on the preference category and country of birth, the whole thing can take under two years or well over a decade.

The Five Preference Categories

Federal immigration law sorts employment-based green cards into five preference categories. Your category decides what evidence you need, whether labor certification applies, and how long you wait for a visa number.

EB-1 (priority workers) covers people with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years of experience and international recognition; and multinational managers or executives who worked for an overseas branch of the U.S. employer for at least one of the preceding three years.¹ Extraordinary-ability applicants can self-petition. None of the EB-1 sub-groups need labor certification.

EB-2 is for professionals with an advanced degree or people with exceptional ability. An advanced degree means a U.S. master’s or higher, or a bachelor’s degree plus at least five years of progressive post-degree work experience in the specialty.² Most EB-2 cases need a job offer and an approved labor certification, but a national interest waiver (NIW) can eliminate both.

EB-3 covers skilled workers (jobs needing at least two years of training or experience), professionals (jobs needing a U.S. bachelor’s degree), and other workers (jobs needing less than two years of training).³ All three sub-groups require employer sponsorship and labor certification. Because eligibility is broadest here, EB-3 backlogs tend to be longer than EB-1 or EB-2.

EB-4 is a statutory catch-all for specific groups: religious workers, special immigrant juveniles, certain broadcasters, retired employees of international organizations, certain longtime U.S. government employees abroad, and several other narrow categories.⁴ Each sub-group has its own rules.

EB-5 is for investors putting capital into a new U.S. commercial enterprise that creates at least ten full-time jobs. For petitions filed on or after March 15, 2022, the standard minimum investment is $1,050,000, or $800,000 if the enterprise sits in a targeted employment area or qualifies as an infrastructure project.⁵

When You Can Skip Labor Certification

Labor certification is the slowest step, so knowing whether you can skip it matters. EB-1 extraordinary ability, EB-1 outstanding professors and researchers, EB-1 multinational executives, EB-4, and EB-5 do not require it at all. EB-2 applicants can also skip it through a national interest waiver.

An NIW asks USCIS to waive both the job offer and the labor certification. USCIS applies a three-part test: your proposed work must have substantial merit and national importance; you must be well positioned to advance the endeavor; and it must be beneficial to the United States to waive the standard labor market test.⁶ Because NIW petitioners self-sponsor, they don’t need an employer. Premium processing takes up to 45 business days for NIW petitions, compared to 15 business days for most other I-140 classifications.⁷

PERM Labor Certification

For most EB-2 and all EB-3 applicants, everything starts with PERM. The employer proves to the Department of Labor that no qualified, willing, and available U.S. worker exists for the position.

The employer first requests a prevailing wage determination from DOL, which sets the minimum salary for the position based on occupation and geographic area. As of early 2026, DOL is processing prevailing wage requests filed roughly three months earlier.⁸ Once the wage comes back, the employer runs a formal recruitment campaign under DOL rules on where and how long ads run, then files the PERM application electronically. Recruitment records and supporting documentation must be kept for five years from the filing date.⁹

DOL then certifies, audits, or denies the application. As of early 2026, routine PERM cases (analyst review) average about 503 calendar days from filing to decision, and audited cases take longer.⁸ This is where most people underestimate the timeline.

The I-140 Immigrant Petition

Once PERM is approved, or immediately if your category doesn’t require it, the employer (or self-petitioner) files Form I-140. This petition asks USCIS to classify you in the appropriate preference category. Filings must include the approved labor certification when applicable, evidence of the beneficiary’s qualifications, and proof the employer can pay the offered wage.¹⁰

Ability to pay is shown through annual reports, federal tax returns, or audited financial statements demonstrating that the employer’s net income or net current assets meet or exceed the offered salary. That obligation runs from the priority date until the beneficiary gets permanent residence. For employers with 100 or more workers, USCIS may accept a statement from a financial officer instead.¹¹ The word “may” matters: officers keep discretion to request more documentation even from large employers.

Without premium processing, I-140 petitions currently take a median of about 3.7 months. Paying the $2,965 premium processing fee guarantees USCIS will take action within 15 business days for most categories, or 45 business days for EB-1 multinational managers and EB-2 NIW petitions.⁷ “Take action” means an approval, denial, request for evidence, or notice of intent to deny. It does not guarantee approval.

Priority Dates and Visa Availability

Every employment-based applicant gets a priority date, which is your place in line. For PERM cases, that’s the day the labor certification was filed. For cases without PERM (EB-1 extraordinary ability, NIW), it’s the date USCIS receives the I-140.

Federal law caps employment-based green cards at roughly 140,000 per fiscal year, plus any unused family-based numbers from the prior year. On top of that, no single country can receive more than 7% of the total employment-based visas in a given year. That per-country ceiling creates enormous backlogs for nationals of high-demand countries. Indian and Chinese nationals face waits measured in years or decades for EB-2 and EB-3, while applicants from most other countries often find visa numbers immediately available.

The Department of State publishes a Visa Bulletin each month with two charts. Final Action Dates: if your priority date is earlier than the date shown for your category and country, a visa number is available and you can finish your green card. Dates for Filing: USCIS sometimes lets applicants file the I-485 earlier based on a more generous cutoff. USCIS announces monthly which chart applicants can use.¹² Filing early on the Dates for Filing chart doesn’t get you approved sooner, but it does let you start work authorization and other benefits.

The Final Stage: Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing

When your priority date is current (or the Dates for Filing chart applies), you reach the final stage. If you’re in the United States on a valid nonimmigrant visa, you file Form I-485 to adjust status.¹³ If you’re abroad, you complete Form DS-260 and attend an interview at a U.S. consulate.¹⁴

If a visa number is immediately available when you file, USCIS lets you file the I-485 at the same time as the I-140 rather than waiting for petition approval first. USCIS treats both forms as concurrently filed when they are mailed together or when the I-485 is filed while the I-140 is still pending.¹⁵ Concurrent filing matters because it starts the I-485 clock sooner, which affects job portability and work and travel authorization.

As of the April 2026 fee schedule, the I-485 filing fee for applicants age 14 and older is $1,440 on paper or $1,390 online. Applicants under 14 filing concurrently with a parent pay $950.¹⁶ Biometrics are included; work authorization and travel documents are separate applications.

After biometrics and background checks, USCIS schedules an in-person interview at a local field office. The officer reviews the petition and supporting documents and asks about your employment. Employment-based interviews tend to be shorter than family-based ones, since the underlying petition has already been scrutinized. If the officer approves, USCIS mails the physical green card. The median processing time for employment-based I-485 applications is currently about 6.2 months from filing to decision, not counting the wait for a visa number.¹⁷

Work Authorization, Travel, and the Medical Exam

Once the I-485 is filed, you can apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) and an advance parole travel document. USCIS currently issues these as separate documents. The EAD lets you work for any employer while the green card is pending; advance parole lets you leave and reenter without abandoning the application. If you’re on H-1B or L-1 status, you can keep working on that visa without the EAD, though many people get one anyway as a backup.

One caution: if you travel outside the United States without advance parole and you’re not in H, L, or K status, USCIS treats your I-485 as abandoned. Getting the travel document before any international trip is not optional.

Every adjustment applicant must also submit Form I-693, the medical examination report, completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. The exam screens for communicable diseases (tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhea), physical or mental disorders with associated harmful behavior, drug abuse or addiction, and required vaccinations.¹⁸ Costs typically run $100 to $500 or more depending on location and vaccinations. Having a physical or mental condition alone is not grounds for denial; inadmissibility on health grounds requires current threatening behavior likely to recur.

For any Form I-693 signed by the civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023, the report is valid only while the I-485 it was submitted with remains pending. If that application is denied or withdrawn, the medical report expires and you’d need a new exam for any future application.¹⁹ Don’t schedule the exam too early if your priority date isn’t close to current.

Job Loss, Job Changes, and Portability

Being tied to one employer for years is one of the harder parts of this process. The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21) creates an escape valve. Once your I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more and your I-140 is approved (or later gets approved), you can switch to a new employer without restarting. The new job must be in the same or a similar occupational classification.²⁰

To port, you file Form I-485 Supplement J confirming the new job offer. USCIS looks at DOL occupational codes, job duties, required skills, education requirements, and offered salary. Career progression counts in your favor. Moving from software engineer to senior software engineer, or from an individual contributor role to a managerial one overseeing the same work, generally qualifies. A salary difference alone doesn’t disqualify a move.²⁰ NIW petitioners and EB-1 extraordinary ability applicants aren’t tied to a specific employer to begin with, so portability rules don’t concern them.

If your I-140 is approved and your I-485 has been pending at least 180 days, an employer withdrawal or business closure doesn’t automatically kill your case. The approved I-140 stays valid for holding your priority date, and you can port to a new qualifying job. The challenge is finding one quickly enough to maintain nonimmigrant status or rely on your pending I-485.

If the I-140 is approved but you haven’t filed the I-485 (or it’s been pending under 180 days), losing your job is harder. You’ll need a new H-1B sponsor or another status, and the new employer typically has to start a new PERM and I-140. Your original priority date from the approved I-140 can usually be retained for the new petition.

In limited situations where the I-140 is approved but no visa number is available and you face “compelling circumstances,” USCIS may grant a one-year EAD to let you work while you look for a path forward. This is discretionary. It also has a significant limitation: if your priority date later becomes current, you would generally need to process through a consulate abroad rather than adjust status in the United States.²¹

Separately, employment-based adjustment applicants in EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and EB-5 get a 180-day forgiveness window under INA Section 245(k). If total days of status violations, unauthorized work, or other admission violations since your most recent lawful entry add up to 180 days or fewer, those violations won’t bar you from adjusting.²²

Realistic Timeline and Costs

Total time from start to finish varies enormously by category, country of birth, and whether PERM applies. For an EB-2 or EB-3 case requiring PERM, a rough breakdown looks like this:

Prevailing wage determination: roughly 2 to 4 months.
Recruitment and PERM filing: 2 to 6 months of recruitment, then about 503 days (roughly 16 to 17 months) of average DOL processing for standard cases as of early 2026.⁸
I-140 petition: median 3.7 months without premium processing, or about one month with the $2,965 premium processing fee.¹⁷²³
Visa number wait: immediate for many countries and categories, or years to decades for Indian and Chinese nationals in EB-2 and EB-3.
I-485 adjudication: median 6.2 months after filing.¹⁷

For applicants from countries without significant backlogs, total processing from the start of PERM to green card in hand runs roughly two to three years. For Indian nationals in EB-3, the visa number wait alone can stretch beyond a decade. Costs add up: employer-paid PERM advertising and legal fees, the I-140 filing fee, optional premium processing, the I-485 filing fee of $1,390 to $1,440, the medical exam, and work authorization and travel document applications together often push total expenses well into the thousands for the applicant, before counting what the employer spends.¹⁶

1
U.S. Department of State. Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part F Chapter 5 – Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Fourth Preference EB-4
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About the EB-5 Visa Classification
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Processing Times
9
eCFR. Labor Certification Process for Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Petition Filing and Processing Procedures for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
11
eCFR. 8 CFR 204.5 – Petitions for Employment-Based Immigrants
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
14
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. DS-260 Frequently Asked Questions
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Historic Processing Times
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-693, Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Changes Validity Period for Any Form I-693 Signed on or after Nov. 1, 2023
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Job Portability after Adjustment Filing and Other AC21 Provisions
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part B Chapter 8 – Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment
23
Federal Register. Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees