Permanent Residents or Green Card holders are authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. United States offers green cards to people in various ways and one of them is the employment based Green Card. In general, this means that an individual will be able to get a green card based on the fact that he or she has a permanent employment opportunity in the United States.

Generally, a sponsor is required to apply for an employment based green card. Wherever a job offer is mandatory for sponsoring the green card, it is for the future job that the employee will do after he or she obtains the green card. Hence it is possible for an employer to sponsor for a green card even if the employee is not working with them currently. There are few categories where a sponsor is not required. There are many people who are already in the United States working for the sponsoring employer with H1 or L1 visas when the green card application is filed.

Who may file?

Getting an employment based green card is a multi-step process. The sponsor must file the form I-140 to sponsor the employee for a green card. The employer or the sponsor may file the petition for the following:

• An outstanding professor or researcher with at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research in the academic area,

• A person who has been employed in the area of a primary managerial or executive capacity for one year by a legal firm, corporation or other legal entity and who is willing to work in the United States for the same employer or subsidiary.

• Individuals with exceptional ability in the sciences and arts, or an individual having an advanced degree, who will benefit the national economy or the welfare of US

• Individuals who has skills to perform the labor in US where there are no qualified workers for that occupation in the US.

• An unskilled worker to perform the labor in US where there are no qualified workers for that occupation in the US.

If the sponsor or the employer is an individual, then the sponsor must personally sign the Form I 140. If the sponsor is below 14 years then the sponsor's legal guardian must sign the petition. If the sponsor is not an individual and if the sponsor is a legal entity or a corporation, then the employee of the concern, who has knowledge on the facts involved in the petition, must sign the petition.

Along with the petition the supporting documents must be sent to USCIS. One of the major documents is the Labour Certification. This certification must be obtained before filing the form I-140 to prove that there are no skilled workers available or willing in US at the time or places of employment of the immigrant. If qualified workers are available then must prove that immigrant's employment in the occupation will not affect the wages and working conditions of the workers in US.