Pathways to Permanent Residency

Audience: International Advisers and administrators who require in-depth understanding of the permanent residence process and whose jobs encompass permanent residency issues for their institutions. The workshop is not designed for individuals filing their own applications. Workshop participants should have a working knowledge of nonimmigrant visa processing (H-1, TN), as this workshop will not cover these basics.

This workshop will focus on the processing of employment-based permanent residency applications filed by colleges and universities for international faculty and research personnel. Participants will work in large- and small-group settings on overall permanent residency issues, forms and processes, university policies, and case studies. Participants will be assigned to groups by experience level. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be familiar with the following steps:

• Permanent residence processing
• DOL and CIS procedures
• Advising challenges
• Will be better able to articulate policy decisions about permanent residence processing on their campuses, colleges, and universities

Note: The workshop is not designed for individuals filing on their own.

Workshop Objectives

• Gain an understanding of the procedures, forms, and regulations involved in "labor certification"
• Gain an understanding of the procedures, forms, and regulations involved in permanent residence petitions based on employment
• Develop awareness of factors that go into formulating a permanent residence sponsorship policy for your campus
• Develop awareness of how family relationships, health or legal problems, and other issues can affect adjustment of status