Re: Eligibility for EB-2 GC.
Greetings,
I've got 29 years employment based immigration experience, particularly with labor certifications, which you'll very likely need. I don't see from your brief description that you might be labor certification exempt.
Having said that, if the position requires a bachelors plus five years progressive experience and you had that AT THE TIME YOU WERE HIRED or a Masters Degree (or you were hired originally into a position at least 50% different from the labor cert position which does require such), then you're 2nd preference. Otherwise, even if you have five years experience after bachelor's studies, the position is 3rd preference and not 2d preference. What matters is what the employer requires for the position, not your background, apart from having what's required at the time of hire (or promoted).
The company should qualify, as long as they prepare in advance for the ability to pay wage issue. I presume you don't own a majority share of the company. I've counseled many lawyers who make the mistake of not working out the figures for the ability to pay wage issue in advance of filing the labor cert and when they get an approved LC but a request for evidence on the subsequent I-140 which they can't meet because they didn't plan, I have to ask them if they've got good malpractice insurance! The ability to pay wage issue I thus determine in the planning stages of the case before filing based on your current wage compared to the prevailing wage on the LC as we'd get from the State Workforce Agency (SWA) and then if the SWA's is higher than your pay, arrangements are made at the employer to raise the company's net income, other acceptable financial report figure, or your wage to make up the difference as of the year the LC is filed.
If only the LCA is the same as the LC. The LC is a much more involved process. It's one of the most complicated aspects of immigration law and I have had close to 1,000 cases approved with only 1 problem with prevailing wage which the employer was unwilling to deal with. So, you see, I know the issues and how to correct them before they become problems.
Write to me at alice@yardum-hunter.com or check me out at http://www.yardum-hunter.com.
It would be a pleasure to further explore your case with you.
Sincerely,
Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization
