US Green Card: 8 Conditions Foreign Professionals With Bachelor's Degrees Must Meet

• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services published eligibility conditions for foreign professionals seeking a Green Card through the EB-3 category
• Applicants must already be physically present in the United States and file Form I-485 to adjust their immigration status
• USCIS clarified that workers who change employers after their Form I-140 is approved may still qualify under specific conditions

The United States government has outlined eight specific conditions that foreign professionals holding at least a bachelor's degree must fulfil to qualify for a Green Card through the employment-based third preference, known as the EB-3 immigrant category.

The guidance, published by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), targets applicants who are physically present in the country and seeking to adjust their status from within the United States rather than applying from abroad.

8 conditions for US' EB-3 Green Card

According to USCIS, an applicant must satisfy all of the following requirements to be considered eligible:

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1. File Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, correctly.
2. Have been formally inspected and either admitted or paroled into the United States by an immigration officer.
3. Be physically present in the United States at the time of submitting Form I-485.
4. Be eligible to receive an immigrant visa.
5. Have an immigrant visa immediately available both when filing Form I-485 and when USCIS reaches its final decision.
6. Maintain a valid job offer from the employer who filed Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, and intend to take up that role once the application is approved.
7. Be admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence, or qualify for a waiver of inadmissibility or another form of relief.
8. Merit a favourable exercise of USCIS discretion.

What happens if you switch jobs

USCIS also addressed a common concern among applicants: whether changing employers disqualifies a candidate.

Under section 204(j) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an approved Form I-140 can remain valid for status adjustment purposes if the new position falls within the same or a similar occupational classification as the original petition. However, this only applies if Form I-485 has gone unadjudicated for at least 180 days.

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The same rule covers self-petitioners, who must intend to work in the same or a similar occupational field as specified in their original Form I-140.

USCIS further noted that applicants must generally have entered the United States after being formally inspected and either admitted or paroled, with limited exceptions outlined in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Part B, Chapter 2.

Source: YEN.com.gh