CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A
EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center
BENEFICIARY: Filipino
LOCATION: Des Plaines, IL
Our client is a registered nurse, who is currently working at a large nursing and rehabilitation facility in Des Plaines, Illinois. His employer was willing to petition him for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since he is a registered nurse, he 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 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 on Schedule A.
Our client has a nursing degree and has several years of related experience. During consultation, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on July 31, 2019 and then we started to work on the Prevailing Wage Determination filing and other related procedures.
We filed the I-140 application on March 18, 2020 via regular processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, his H-1B status approval notices, and other necessary supporting documents. On July 24, 2020, upon our client’s request, we upgraded his processing to premium processing by filing a I-907 application with required fees. On August 11, 2020, the I-140 was approved. Now, our client can file an I-485 adjustment of status application based on the approved I-140 petition when his priority date becomes current.