EB3 Visa USA from Canada

To qualify for a US EB3 Visa, you must meet the following requirements:

• Have received an employment offer from a United States company or organization
• Have a full-time permanent job that is not seasonal or temporary in nature
• Your employer has applied for and successfully obtained a permanent labor certification (unless exempt), meaning they have been able to demonstrate that there are no domestic US workers in the workforce that are available or willing to perform your specific job role

Some examples of jobs that fall under each of the EB3 subcategories are as follows:

• Professionals: professionals could include anyone within a professional capacity that required an educational degree, such as lawyers, architects, engineers, and teachers, etc
• Skilled workers: skilled workers could include anyone that requires a specific set of skills to do jobs that they may have gained based on experiences alone, such as computer scientists, graphic designers, supervisors, and journalists, etc
• Unskilled/other workers: unskilled and other workers are jobs that do not necessarily require a lot of experience and could include jobs such as caretakers, housekeepers, nannies, and janitors, etc.

Requirements for skilled workers

To be eligible for an EB3 green card as a skilled worker, you must have at least two years of work experience or training within your chosen field of expertise.

You must also be working in an employment sector in which qualified workers are either unwilling or unavailable in the US workforce at the time of submitting your application. This ensures that your immigration to the US will be beneficial to the field.

Requirements for professionals

To be eligible for an EB3 green card as a professional, you must either hold a United States baccalaureate degree or a Canadian bachelor’s degree. You must have sufficient experience in the working field, which cannot be substituted by your educational background.

You must also be working in an employment sector in which skilled workers are either unwilling or unavailable in the US workforce at the time of submitting your application. This ensures that your immigration to the US will be beneficial to the field.

Requirements for unskilled workers

To be eligible for an EB3 green card as an unskilled worker, you must have the ability to perform a form of unskilled labour, that is not of a seasonal or temporary nature. You may have less than two years of experience to qualify for the EB3 Visa as an unskilled worker.

You must also be working in an employment sector in which domestic workers are either unwilling or unavailable in the US workforce at the time of submitting your application. This ensures that your immigration to the US will be beneficial to the field.

After DOL approves the labor certification application, the employer should submit it to the appropriate USCIS Service Center with a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The certification is valid for 180 days. It will expire if not submitted to USCIS within this timeline.

If you are filing a Form I-140 with a DOL-approved labor certification, you must include a signed two-page Final Determination with your Form I-140. The Final Determination must be signed by the beneficiary (i.e., the Canadian employee), the attorney/agent (if applicable), and the employer. The data on the labor certification must match the data on the Form I-140.

While filing Form I-140 with a required labor certification, the employer will be required to organize their package in the following order:

• Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative, if any
• Form I-140
• Original labor certification (i.e., Form ETA-9089 Final Determination)
• Other supporting documents, including (but not limited to):
  • Official academic records of the foreign worker
  • Their professional experience letters from previous employers
  • Training letters where applicable
  • Evidence to prove that you have the ability to pay the proffered wage to the foreign worker

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the EB3 visa application process in Canada:

1. After USCIS approves the employer’s petition (Form I-140), the application will be transferred to the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing
2. The NVC will assign a case number for the petition. Given the annual cap on the EB3 visa approvals per fiscal year, you may have to wait at this stage for a while
3. Once your priority date meets the most recent qualifying date, the NVC will instruct you to complete Form DS-261, Choice of Address and Agent (unless you already have an attorney)
4. They will also provide you with instructions to submit the appropriate fees
5. After you pay your fees and the status in CEAC is updated to ‘PAID’, complete the Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (Form DS-260) and print the confirmation page
6. Upload and submit scanned copies of required supporting documents
7. NVC will schedule your visa interview appointment
8. After receiving an interview appointment letter from NVC, schedule and complete a medical examination. The doctor may give you a sealed envelope. Do not open it. Bring the sealed envelope with you to your visa interview and give it to the consular officer
9. Register for courier service and such other pre-interview instructions, as applicable
10. Arrange for documents required for the interview
11. In Canada, immigrant visas are processed at the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal. On the interview appointment date, go there with your printed visa application (DS-260) confirmation page and the required documents
12. A consular officer will interview you to determine whether or not you are eligible to receive an immigrant visa
13. As part of the interview process, your digital fingerprint scans will be taken
14. If your visa is approved, you will be informed how and when your passport and visa will be returned to you

The US employer will have to bear the costs for obtaining a labor certification (unless exempt from a certification).

While DOL does not charge any filing fee for the Prevailing Wage Request or Form ETA-9089, you will have to cover the expenses for recruitment advertising (as required for the labor market test) and budget for immigration lawyer fees (varies depending on the law firm and the complexity of your case).

The employer will also have to pay a fee of $715 while filing Form I-140.

To apply for a EB3 visa, the Canadian worker will have to pay a visa processing fee of $345.00. You will also have to pay a USCIS immigrant fee of $235 post visa approval.

There may also be additional costs involved (e.g., translator’s fees if your original documents require to be translated or lawyer fees if you need to consult a professional immigration advisor).

If you are successful in obtaining an EB3 Visa, your immediate relatives from Canada may join you in the United States. Dependents include your spouse or civil partner, and any unmarried children under the age of 21. Unfortunately, this does not extend to parents, grandparents, or siblings of the primary EB3 Visa holder.

If your EB3 Visa subcategory is as a skilled worker or a professional worker, your spouse can apply for an E-34 Visa, and eligible children can apply for an E-35 permit.

If your EB3 Visa subcategory is for unskilled workers in the US, your spouse may be eligible for an EW-4 Visa, and eligible children may apply for an EW-5 Visa.

The spouse of an EB3 Visa holder under all subcategories can apply for an Employment Authorisation Document bracket (EAD), which could potentially grant them the right to work within the United States while they are there with you.