Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers)

USCIS says you use Form I-140 to petition for an alien worker to become a lawful permanent resident. It is the middle step of the employment-based green card:

1. Labor market step: a Department of Labor PERM labor certification, or, for nurses and physical therapists, a Schedule A application filed with the I-140 instead.
2. The I-140, decided by USCIS.
3. The green card itself, through a visa at a consulate or adjustment of status in the US, once a visa number is available.

USCIS says the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of an approved EB-3 worker may be eligible to apply for permanent residence too.

• Nurses: the US employer, as petitioner, in the EB-3 category. USCIS says Schedule A petitions are not required to have a DOL-approved labor certification. The employer files an uncertified ETA-9089 with appendices, a signed Final Determination and a valid prevailing wage determination tracking number.
• Doctors and other professionals: usually an employer after PERM, or the doctor as a self-petitioner with a National Interest Waiver.

Where PERM is used, USCIS says the labor certification expires 180 days after certification, and petitions filed with an expired certification are rejected.

The G-1055 fee schedule lists:

• Filing fee: $715 on paper or $665 online.
• Asylum Program Fee: $600 for a regular petitioner, $300 for a small employer or self-petitioner, $0 for a nonprofit.
• Premium processing on Form I-907: $2,965.

USCIS says that to request premium processing at the same time as the petition, Form I-907 must be filed with the I-140 by mail; a standalone I-907 can be uploaded online only for a pending I-140 whose receipt number begins with IOE. Check the form edition before mailing: the current I-140 edition is dated 06/07/24.

USCIS says premium processing means action within 15 business days for EB-3 skilled worker and professional petitions, where designated as available, and within 45 business days for National Interest Waiver petitions. Premium processing speeds up the decision on the petition only, not the wait for a visa number.

USCIS sends an approval on Form I-797. For petitions without labor certification, such as Schedule A, the date USCIS accepted the I-140 becomes your priority date. You then wait until that date is current in the Visa Bulletin for your category and country of birth. USCIS asks for the I-140 and the I-485 to be filed as separate packages, even when filed together.

• Missing nurse or therapist evidence. A Schedule A petition for a nurse must show a CGFNS (now TruMerit) certificate, an NCLEX-RN pass or a full state license held at the time of filing. For a physical therapist it needs a letter from a state licensing official confirming eligibility to take the licensing exam.
• Signature problems. USCIS rejects forms with missing fields or typed or stamped signatures.
• Expecting a green card on approval. The queue follows the Visa Bulletin.

See our NCLEX-RN guide.