CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A
EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center
BENEFICIARY: Filipina
LOCATION: Houston, TX
Our client’s beneficiary is a registered nurse from the Philippines licensed in the state of Texas. She is still in the Philippines and her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140).
Since she is a registered nurse, she is eligible for “Schedule A” classification. The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Professional Nurses is included in Schedule A.
Our client has a nursing degree and has a registered nursing license in the state of Texas. Our firm told her that her prospective employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on April 6, 2015 and started on her Prevailing Wage Request.
We filed the I-140 application on August 25, 2015 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents. However, on September 9, 2015, the USCIS Texas Service Center issued the Request for Evidence (RFE). According to the RFE, the USCIS requested our client to submit her degree evaluation report. Our office filed the Response to RFE with our client’s degree evaluation report on September 15, 2015. Eventually, on September 24, 2015, the I-140 was approved.