My I-140 finally came through today! I'd heard that getting a green card was incredibly complicated, and after experiencing it myself, I can confirm it's true. The process itself seems very simple and doesn't take long, but there are just so many pitfalls. What should take less than a year can end up taking 3-4 years. I'm going to write three articles to document this painful experience: an explanation of the application process, my frustrating experience, and a lawyer exposé and recommendation (I didn't get paid).

As the first post, let's start with some basic information. The topic of green cards has been discussed to death. Various websites offer a wide range of information, and it's a hot topic on major forums. However, from my experience, understanding each step is quite time-consuming. Many of these informational articles are actually advertorials by lawyers, and these articles often contain deliberately obscure information. Furthermore, most replies in community discussions are very one-sided, as the person asking the question only wants to know the parts they don't know.

So what are the steps involved in getting a green card? If you came to the US on an F1 visa, then you can start applying for a green card directly. Many people's first misconception is that they need to go from an F1 visa to an H1 visa to work and then get a green card. This isn't the case. The green card system itself doesn't depend on anything else; as long as a company is willing to sponsor your application, that's all that's needed. Of course, in most cases, you'll need to start working first, meaning you apply for the green card concurrently with your work visa application. However, convincing a company to sponsor your green card is quite difficult, or you'll just have to be very lucky to find a helpful person.

If you convince the company, the application can be divided into:

1. Applying for a labor certification (PERM) is a very time-consuming and error-prone step, generally taking at least 9 months (ideally: 7 days to prepare a job posting, 30 days to apply for a PW from the Department of Labor, 15 days to prepare an advertisement, 30 days for the advertisement, 30 days of silence, and 6 months for the Department of Labor's review). However, many people take several years to complete this step for various reasons. This step is divided into:
   1. Find a suitable job title and a suitable salary (this salary isn't something to be paid now, but rather something the company can pay once the green card is issued, as long as they have the ability to do so). Here, you need to decide whether to apply for EB2 with a graduate degree or EB3 with an undergraduate degree; of course, you can apply for both simultaneously.
   2. Apply for Prevailing Wage
   3. Edit a suitable job description and then post advertisements, which need to be placed in newspapers, websites, and other places.
   4. The 30-day quiet period is used after the advertisement is posted to process applicants and ensure that no other Americans meet the requirements for the position, only you are qualified.
   5. After the quiet period, the next step is to submit the application to the Department of Labor. This step is called PERM. You can find information about it here:https://www.am22tech.com/uscis/perm-processing-time/
   6. The approval process typically takes 6-9 months. I went through this process twice, once taking 5 months and once 7 months. If the Department of Labor finds problems with the application materials, they will ask you to submit supplementary materials. Once you enter this cycle, it becomes extremely slow because after submitting the supplementary materials, you have to wait another 5-7 months for the result… and if it is rejected… you have to start all over again, and this step cannot be expedited!
2. After you receive your labor certification, your company can apply for a green card on your behalf. This requires various sensitive documents, such as the company's financial statements. The main time-consuming part is the company's document processing time. If the company provides the documents quickly and without issues, the application can be submitted directly after the labor certification is approved. With expedited processing (I-1250), approval can be obtained in 15 days; otherwise, it takes approximately 4-6 months. The only thing to note is that you must file the I-140 application within 180 days of the labor certification approval, otherwise it will be invalid.
3. Waiting... Once your I-140 is approved, your priority date will be set, which means you've entered a long waiting period. Only when your priority date arrives can you proceed to the next step, I-485.
4. After you get your I-485 visa and your priority date arrives, the next step is to submit a form to change your status. Online sources say it takes about 8-12 months to get approved, and after that you get your green card.

question

1. From which date does the Priority Date calculation begin?
   • The date they receive your labor certification application is roughly the same day you submit it. The Processing Department (PD) will show this on your I-140 approval document.
2. When is it okay to change jobs?
   • You can change jobs at any time, but if you change jobs before your I-140 is approved, that is, before your Priority Date is determined, everything has to start over. If you do change jobs after that, although you have to start over, your Priority Date can still be used. Once you have 180 days after your I-485 is filed (which is 5-6 years later), it is perfectly safe to change jobs.
3. Is it possible to return to China?
   1. If you have an H visa, then it's fine, because you can have immigrant intent. But if you're more capable and have an F visa, then you'll have immigrant intent after applying for your I-140...