Immigration Forms Guide
Form I-140 is the critical first step in the employment-based green card process. Getting it right — and filed early — determines your entire immigration timeline.
Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers) is filed with USCIS to establish that a foreign worker is eligible for an employment-based (EB) immigrant visa. Approval of I-140 is not a green card — it is a petition that places the worker in a specific immigration category and establishes their priority date. The priority date determines when the worker can apply for adjustment of status or receive an immigrant visa through the Visa Bulletin.
The I-140 petition is the foundation of the employment-based green card process for EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability), EB-1B (Outstanding Researcher or Professor), EB-1C (Multinational Manager or Executive), EB-2 (Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability, with or without National Interest Waiver), and EB-3 (Skilled Worker, Professional, or Other Worker). Each category has different requirements and petition structures.
The priority date established by the I-140 filing date is among the most valuable assets in employment-based immigration. Workers from countries with long EB backlogs — particularly India and China in EB-2 and EB-3 — face waits of many years before a visa number becomes available. The earlier the I-140 is filed, the earlier the priority date, and the sooner the worker advances to the green card application stage. Many immigration attorneys advise clients to file PERM and I-140 as early as possible in their H1B tenure.
Under AC21 job portability rules, an approved I-140 retains its value even if the sponsoring employer is no longer involved. This provides substantial career flexibility for workers in the green card queue — particularly important given the many years it can take from I-140 filing to green card issuance for some nationalities.
EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability) allows self-petition without an employer sponsor. The petitioner must demonstrate extraordinary ability in their field through sustained national or international acclaim, meeting at least 3 of 10 evidentiary criteria. These criteria include receipt of major awards, membership in selective associations, media coverage, judging the work of others, original contributions, scholarly articles, display of work, leading roles in distinguished organizations, commanding a high salary, and commercial success in the performing arts.
EB-1B (Outstanding Researcher or Professor) requires employer sponsorship and evidence of international recognition for outstanding achievements in a particular academic field. The employer must offer a tenure-track or comparable research position. Three years of teaching or research experience is required. The petitioner must meet at least 2 of 6 criteria, including prizes, membership in selective associations, published material, peer review participation, original contributions, and authorship of scholarly books.
EB-2 with PERM requires a permanent full-time job offer, completion of the PERM labor certification process, and a degree of at least master's level (or bachelor's plus 5 years of progressive experience). EB-2 NIW allows self-petition by demonstrating that the work has substantial merit and national importance, that the petitioner is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, and that it would be beneficial to the US to waive the job offer requirement. NIW has become increasingly popular among researchers, entrepreneurs, and certain professionals.
EB-3 Skilled Worker requires a permanent job offer, PERM labor certification, and at least 2 years of training or experience. EB-3 Professional requires a permanent job offer, PERM, and at least a bachelor's degree. EB-3 Other Worker covers unskilled jobs requiring less than 2 years of training. EB-3 has lower evidentiary requirements than EB-1 and EB-2 but the same (or worse) priority date backlogs for oversubscribed nationalities.
Form I-140 is filed with USCIS electronically or by mail, depending on the category and petitioner preference. The filing fee is $700 for most categories. Premium processing (Form I-907) is available for I-140 petitions at a fee of $2,805, guaranteeing an initial decision within 15 business days. Given the importance of the I-140 and the availability of premium processing, many employers choose this option to obtain certainty quickly and address any RFEs promptly.
For employer-sponsored categories requiring PERM (EB-2 and EB-3), the I-140 cannot be filed until the PERM application has been certified by the Department of Labor. PERM certification typically takes 12-24 months at current DOL processing times. The approved PERM is submitted with the I-140 as supporting documentation. PERM approval is valid for 180 days from the date of certification — the I-140 must be filed within this window.
After I-140 approval, the next step depends on the Visa Bulletin. If a visa number is immediately available (e.g., for most nationalities in EB-1, or currently available preference categories for some nationalities), the beneficiary can file I-485 (Adjustment of Status) concurrently with I-140 or shortly after. If the priority date is not yet current, the beneficiary waits — maintaining valid nonimmigrant status (H-1B, L-1, etc.) — until their date becomes current.
RFEs for I-140 petitions most commonly challenge the evidentiary basis for EB-1 categories (insufficient evidence of extraordinary ability or outstanding research) or the PERM supporting documentation for EB-2 and EB-3. A well-prepared initial submission with comprehensive evidence reduces RFE likelihood. Immigration attorneys experienced in the specific EB category should review all evidence before filing.
The priority date is the date USCIS receives the I-140 petition. For PERM-based I-140s, the priority date is the date the PERM application was accepted for filing by DOL (not the I-140 filing date). This earlier PERM date as the priority date is a significant advantage for workers who filed PERM early — it can mean years of difference in the wait time.
The Department of State publishes the monthly Visa Bulletin showing cutoff dates for each EB category and country of birth. Workers whose priority date is earlier than the published cutoff can move forward with I-485 or immigrant visa processing. For workers from India and China in EB-2 and EB-3, the current cutoff dates can be 5, 10, or even more years behind the current date — meaning the wait from I-140 approval to green card is measured in years to decades.
During the wait, workers on H-1B status can extend their H-1B visa beyond the normal 6-year cap in 1-year or 3-year increments under INA 104(c) if their I-140 is approved and their priority date is not yet current. The 3-year extension requires a current priority date under the Final Action Dates chart. This H-1B extension provision is critical for Indian and Chinese workers facing long backlogs — without it, they would be forced to leave the US or find another visa category.
The Visa Bulletin is not static — priority date cutoffs advance (and occasionally retrogress) based on visa usage. Tracking the Visa Bulletin monthly and understanding the interaction between your priority date, the cutoff dates, and H-1B extension eligibility is important for planning your immigration timeline. Many immigration attorneys offer priority date tracking services and can alert clients when their date becomes current.
The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act (AC21) provides critical job flexibility for workers with pending green card applications. Under AC21, if an I-485 Adjustment of Status application has been pending for 180 days or more and the underlying I-140 is approved, the worker can change employers or positions without losing their priority date — as long as the new position is in the same or similar occupational classification as the petitioned position.
The "same or similar" standard is evaluated based on the SOC codes for the old and new positions. Moving from a software engineer role to a data scientist role is generally considered same or similar. Moving from software engineer to HR manager is generally not. USCIS adjudicates portability at the I-485 interview or approval stage. Keeping documentation of the new position and a legal opinion letter supporting portability is advisable.
An I-140 that was approved retains its priority date even if the sponsoring employer later revokes it — provided the I-140 was approved for more than 180 days before revocation, the revocation was not due to fraud or misrepresentation, and the beneficiary has another valid I-140 approved (or files a new one). This priority date retention rule is essential for workers who leave employers voluntarily or involuntarily while in the green card queue.
New employers who hire AC21 porters must typically file a new I-140 in the appropriate EB category for the new role. The new I-140 cannot inherit the old priority date automatically — instead, USCIS approves the new I-140 and then the worker files Form I-485 with a request to retain the earlier priority date. This process, called priority date retention through a subsequent I-140, requires careful documentation and ideally should be managed by an experienced immigration attorney.
H1B Job Board Editorial Team
Immigration Research & Policy Analysis
Our team monitors USCIS policy updates and processing time data. All guides are reviewed for accuracy against current USCIS guidance.