Q: My OPT was approved in March, I got a job offer and began working in may.
What steps should i take to change status? I'm considering an HB1 and then later permanent residency
A:
Your employer should submit an H-1B petition for you in April. If you are selected in the H-1B lottery, you can get an H-1B visa. Otherwise, if you are eligible for STEM-OPT, make sure that your employer is on E-Verify and that way you can get another 2 years on OPT.
US immigration law allows 140,000 persons annually to obtain green cards through employment. This number includes both the principal worker and immediate family members (spouse and unmarried children). Persons born in a particular country cannot use more than 7% of the quota in each of the 5 employment-based (EB) categories. This has led to long backlogs in the EB categories for persons born in India, mainland China and the Philippines.
In general, before an EB-2 or EB-3 preference petition on behalf of a prospective immigrant can be submitted to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), an employer must obtain the approval of a PERM application issued by the US Department of Labor. This represents a determination that no minimally-qualified US workers are ready, willing and able to fill the job, and that the employment of an immigrant will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of US workers
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