CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A
EMPLOYER: Health Service Ambulatory Facility
BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse
LOCATION: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Our client is Filipina Registered Nurse and her current employer-sponsor is willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she has a registered nurse license and the proffered position for her is a registered nurse at the nursing care facility, the petitioner wanted to try going for a “Schedule A” classification. They also wanted to do EB3 (requiring at least a Bachelor’s degree).
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 having to file a Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. 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.
Our client has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and has worked for the Petitioner as a registered nurse for several years. She also has a registered nursing license in Northern Mariana Islands. Our office was retained and we started on the Prevailing Wage Determination filing and other related matters.
Once the prevailing wage was determined, we filed the I-140 application on April 13, 2020 via regular processing. We included a job offer letter, notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why the nurse manager position falls under a Schedule A and EB3 designation.
Eventually, on December 17, 2020, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-3 I-140 petition.