H1B visa holders: WHEN TO APPLY FOR GREEN CARD

R

rubincen

Registered Users (C)
HI,

My family moved into Ohio, in Nov 2008. My father has an H1B visa and my mother and I have H4 visas. My father's employers have agreed to sponsor for my dad's green card. Please inform me when should my father apply for a green card. Is there a time period obligation?

Thank You
 
It is a long multi-stage process, with the employer responsible for the initial stages and the worker responsible for the last stages (medical exam, fingerprints, etc.). He can apply as soon as he and the employer want to. But if he wants to continue to work in the US after his 6 years of H1B status are completed, the company must apply for the first stage before your father completes 5 years of H1B (that's 5 years overall including prior employers), which would give the right to renew the H1B beyond the 6-year maximum while the green card process is going on.

Over the years the process has been getting slower and slower with increasing backlogs, so the sooner he applies the better. He should push his employer to get moving on it ASAP.

And by the way, this section "The Physical Green Card" is for people who have completed the process and their green card has been approved, but they only have a problem with the physical card itself, like it has a wrong date of birth or they haven't received the card after getting the approval letter.
 
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