Form I-140 Immigrant Petition: Eligibility, Filing, and Priority Date

To file Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, a U.S. employer (or, in two categories, the worker themselves) submits the petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under a specific employment-based preference category, with supporting evidence that the worker qualifies and, where required, an approved PERM labor certification and proof the employer can pay the offered wage. You can file by mail or, for standalone petitions, through a USCIS online account. Getting the category right and assembling the correct evidence for that category is the whole game.

Pick the Right Preference Category First

Every I-140 has to fit one employment-based preference category, and that choice determines what evidence you need, whether a labor certification is required, and how long the wait for a visa number is likely to run.¹

EB-1 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 multinational executives or managers who worked for an overseas branch of the U.S. employer for at least one of the prior three years.
EB-2 covers professionals with an advanced degree (beyond a bachelor’s) or a bachelor’s plus five years of progressive experience, and people with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. It also includes the National Interest Waiver.
EB-3 covers skilled workers whose jobs require at least two years of training or experience, professionals whose jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree, and other workers filling positions needing less than two years of training or experience.

Choose deliberately. The category dictates whether PERM applies, who can sign the petition, and which evidence checklist you follow.

Who Can File the Petition

Most I-140s are employer-filed. The U.S. employer must have a real job offer and, for EB-2 (without a National Interest Waiver) and all EB-3 subcategories, must complete PERM labor certification before filing.²

Two categories allow you to self-petition, meaning no employer signature or job offer is required:

EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability). You must show sustained national or international acclaim and either a major internationally recognized award (such as a Nobel Prize) or evidence meeting at least three of ten regulatory criteria — for example, published material about you in major media, a high salary relative to others in the field, original contributions of major significance, or a leading role in distinguished organizations. You also must intend to keep working in your field and show your work will substantially benefit the United States.³
EB-2 National Interest Waiver. You must show your work has substantial merit and national importance, that you are well positioned to advance the endeavor, and that waiving the job offer requirement would, on balance, benefit the United States. No labor certification and no employer sponsor.⁴

Self-petitioning frees you from any single employer. If you change jobs or your employer disappears, the petition is unaffected.

What Must Be in Place Before You File

PERM Labor Certification

For EB-2 (without an NIW) and all EB-3 categories, the employer has to get a permanent labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor before the I-140. PERM requires a formal recruitment process showing no qualified U.S. workers are available at the prevailing wage, and DOL must certify that hiring the foreign worker will not harm the wages or working conditions of U.S. workers in similar jobs.⁵

PERM is filed on ETA Form 9089. Once DOL approves it, the employer has 180 days to file the I-140. Miss that window and the certification expires — you start PERM again from scratch.⁶

EB-1 petitions and EB-2 NIW petitions skip PERM entirely.

Ability to Pay

If the petition involves a job offer, USCIS requires proof the employer can pay the offered wage. That obligation runs from the priority date through the date the worker becomes a permanent resident. USCIS looks at two financial measures — net income and net current assets — and the employer passes if either one meets or exceeds the offered wage.⁷

If the employer already pays the worker below the offered wage, only the difference has to be covered. On an $80,000 offered wage with the worker currently earning $65,000, the employer needs to show $15,000 in net income or net current assets. Employers with 100 or more workers may submit a financial officer’s statement in place of tax returns or audited financial statements.⁷

Documents to Assemble

The form itself asks for basic identifying information: the employer’s legal name, address, and IRS Employer Identification Number, and the worker’s name, date of birth, country of birth, citizenship, and Alien Registration Number if one exists. It also asks for the job title, wage offer, and information on the worker’s spouse and children.²

The supporting evidence carries the case. On the employer side, that generally means annual reports, federal tax returns, or audited financial statements for each year from the priority date forward. On the worker side, expect academic transcripts, diplomas, and letters from past employers describing specific job duties and duration. EB-1 petitions need documentation of extraordinary ability or outstanding achievement: awards, published research, citation records, evidence of high salary relative to peers, and similar proof.⁸

If the petition rests on a labor certification, include the original certified ETA Form 9089. USCIS publishes an initial-evidence checklist for each preference category; running your package against it before mailing prevents avoidable rejections.

How to File

Mail or Online

You can file Form I-140 by mail or online through a USCIS account. Online filing is only available for standalone I-140 petitions. If you’re filing it together with any other form (including a concurrent I-485 or Form I-907 for premium processing), you have to file by mail. If you file the I-140 online, you can still submit Form I-907 separately by mail afterward.⁹

If you’re mailing, use a trackable delivery service so you can confirm USCIS received the package.

Fees and How to Pay

There are two mandatory fees. The base filing fee is listed on the USCIS Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) and changes periodically, so check it before filing. On top of the base fee, most employers pay an Asylum Program Fee of $600; employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees qualify for a reduced Asylum Program Fee of $300.⁹

For paper filings, USCIS no longer accepts personal or business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks unless you qualify for an exemption. Pay with a credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or pay directly from a U.S. bank account using Form G-1650.¹⁰

Premium Processing

If you need a faster decision, file Form I-907 and pay an additional $2,965 (effective March 1, 2026). Premium processing guarantees USCIS will take some action within a set number of business days, depending on category:

15 business days for EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 without a National Interest Waiver, and all EB-3 subcategories.
45 business days for EB-1C (multinational executives and managers) and EB-2 with a National Interest Waiver.

“Action” is not the same as approval. It means USCIS will issue an approval notice, a denial, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence, or open a fraud investigation within the timeframe. If USCIS misses the deadline, it refunds the premium processing fee.¹¹

Priority Date: Why the Filing Date Matters

Your priority date marks your place in line for a visa number. For categories that require PERM, the priority date is the date DOL accepted the labor certification application. For categories that skip PERM (EB-1A, EB-1C, EB-2 NIW), the priority date is the date USCIS receives a properly filed I-140.⁶

Congress caps employment-based Green Cards each year and limits how many any single country can receive. The State Department publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin with two charts, “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing,” and USCIS announces monthly which chart applies for filing adjustment of status. Even after your I-140 is approved, the final Green Card step waits until your priority date is current on the applicable chart.¹²

For applicants from countries with high demand, particularly India and China, the per-country caps create backlogs that can run years or decades. More than 1 million people including dependents are currently waiting in employment-based Green Card backlogs. Checking where the Visa Bulletin sits for your category and country of birth before you file sets realistic expectations for what comes next.

After You File

Receipt Notice

After USCIS receives the petition, it mails Form I-797C, Notice of Action, with a unique receipt number you can use to check case status online. Processing times vary by service center and preference category, and current estimates are on the USCIS website.¹³

Requests for Evidence

USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence if something is missing or the adjudicator needs more to decide. You get 84 calendar days to respond, plus a few extra days for mailing (3 for domestic mail, 14 for international). USCIS cannot extend the 84-day window. A late or incomplete response can result in denial.¹⁴

Approval or Denial

An approved I-140 confirms the worker qualifies under the requested preference category. It stays on file as the foundation for the Green Card step that follows. A denial stops the process; the petitioner can appeal to the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office on Form I-290B, file a motion to reopen or reconsider, or refile a new I-140 with stronger evidence.¹⁵

What Approval Gets You

An approved I-140 is not a Green Card. It confirms eligibility and locks in a priority date. To become a permanent resident, the worker still has to complete one of two steps once a visa number is available:

Adjustment of status on Form I-485 if the worker is already in the United States.¹⁶
Consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate if the worker is outside the United States.

In many cases you can file the I-140 and I-485 together instead of waiting for the I-140 to be approved first. Concurrent filing is available for most employment-based applicants when a visa number is immediately available at the time of filing. Both forms, all supporting documents, and all fees must be mailed together to the same USCIS filing location. Concurrent filing is available only to applicants physically present in the United States.¹⁷

1
U.S. Department of State. Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-140, Instructions for Petition for Alien Workers
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part F Chapter 2 – Extraordinary Ability
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2
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U.S. Department of Labor. Permanent Labor Certification
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part E Chapter 4 – Ability to Pay
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checklist of Required Initial Evidence for Form I-140
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Calculate Your Fees
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing?
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6 – Evidence
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AAO Practice Manual Chapter 3 – Appeals
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485