EB-3—Third Employment-Based Preference for Other Workers (Unskilled Workers)
Basic Requirements:
Unskilled workers may apply for the third employment-based preference for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services “other workers” category. To be eligible, applicants must be capable of performing unskilled labor, which is generally defined as any labor requiring less than two years of experience or training to perform. Visa availability for unskilled workers is significantly lower than for other categories.
Application Process:
Employers must first secure labor certification from the Department of Labor before anything else may be done. As such, there must already be a specific job offer that has been extended to any potential EB-3 applicant. Once employers (the petitioner) that have obtained labor certification make a foreign hire, they must then file for an Immigrant Petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Before the applicant can proceed with consular processing or file for an adjustment of status, his or her visa must have already become numerically available. Unfortunately, there is a significant backlog of applications, and applicants often wait years for their visa to become numerically available. In fact, unskilled workers are subject to the longest wait times, as there is often a minimum wait time of nine years. People from China, Mexico, India, and the Philippines often wait much longer. Applicants should expect this category to continue to be immediately unavailable.
Family Members:
The children and spouse of the primary beneficiary may enter and remain in the United States with a derivative status of this preference category. However, children must be unmarried and under the age of 21 to be considered eligible for the derivative EB-3 status.
Fees:
The Austin immigration attorneys at the Law Office of William Jang, PLLC, will charge the following in attorney’s fees for a typical application filed from within the United States at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (please take a moment to read through this disclaimer), in addition to the filing fees that are currently charged by the USCIS:
Step 1—Labor Certification:
- $3,000 attorney’s fees
- The cost to advertise this position (varies)
Step 2—Permanent Residency Petition:
- $3,000 attorney’s fees
- $715 USCIS filing fee for Employment Petition
- $300 USCIS Asylum Fee ($600 for large companies*) ($0 for nonprofit)
- $2,805 USCIS premium processing fee (optional)
* Large Companies are companies with more than 25 employees in the U.S.
Step 3—Adjustment of Status (if already in the U.S.):
- $2,500 attorney’s fees
- $1,500 attorney’s fees for each family member
- $1,440 USCIS filing fee for Adjustment of Status for each person
- $260 USCIS Employment Authorization Document for each person (optional)
- $630 USCIS Advance Parole for each person(optional)
Consular Processing (if outside of the U.S.):
- $4,000 attorney’s fees for the principal beneficiary
- $1,500 attorney’s fees for each family member
- $325 Consular Processing fee per person
- $220 Permanent Resident Card
Experience:
At the Law Office of William Jang, PLLC, our Austin immigration attorneys have the experience and the resources you will need as you work through the application process for this preference category. To speak with an immigration attorney in Austin about the particulars of your current situation, please call our Austin offices at (512) 323-2333 today.
