Hello

I have a Masters degree in CIS and I have been working in an IT Firm since last 2.5 years. My company wants to sponsor my Green Card through EB2 and they are willing to do whatever it takes. I am currently in H1B Visa status through the same company. They have never sponsored any one for Green Card before so they were asking me what the company needs to do to sponsor me. I googled and found lot of information but it is confusing me. I would like to hear from someone who has gone through the process. I would really appreciate if someone could tell me the steps and the process.

Few specific questions I have is:

The company I work for is a small company so does the company need to meet any requirements?
What job specification does the company need to put in the ad they will publish?
How long does it take for the whole process? (from day one to green card)
Any tips to make the case stronger or expedite the process?

I would really appreciate any inputs from the experienced individuals.

Thank you and Happy Dashain to you all!

Your company needs an imigration attorney, and sufficient financial status to support sponsorship. Expect one year period if everything goes smooth.
If you have valid job, required education, no need to worry about any tips.
For more HOWTO - google 'employer sponsored green card'.
Best of luck.

ans, thank you so much for your input. When you say "sufficient financial status to support sponsorship", does that mean the company needs to make certain amount or needs to be of a certain size? Also, how can a company prove that they couldn't find any American worker to fill the  position. Could language play any role in doing so?

 Best thing is to consult a lawyer who specializes in immigration.Sponsoring Company's revenues might be required to be around certain amount or higher..Best solution is consult with a lawyer .By the way, which area in IT you work?Developer etc,Good luck

cyrus, our company has a lawyer but he doesn't specialize in immigration. Yes, I think I should consult with an immigration Attorney but I wanted to get some help from some one who has been through the process. I work as a System Admin.

email me as typing would be long and time consuming.
Thanks

Laure Boi,

First of all to qualify for EB2 category, your position has to require Masters degree or Bachelor +5 years experience. Otherwise you can't qualify for EB2 category.

It's little hard in IT because most jobs require Bachelors degree with 2-3 years experience and you'll not be qualified for EB2 unless you have Bachelor +5 years exp (or Masters degree).

Also, how can a company prove that they couldn't find any American worker to fill the  position. Could language play any role in doing so?

To prove your company can't find any american worker, they'll have to go through a very complex process knows as "Labor Certification" from Department of Labor (This process is MANDATORY to file under any EB category green card).

This process involves posting a vacancy announcement in the company website, online job websites and local newspaper for 30-60 days.
Then they'll have to conduct interviews and stuff and prepare a Recruitment Report (how many they denied and for what reason etc)
After that your company will apply for your PERM (Labor Certification) to department of labor which then takes about 4-6 months if it does not get audited. If audited add another 6 months.

Then you apply other immigration steps, I140 and then finally I-485.

Yes your company will have to show their financial statement (tax return etc) to show that they have enough money to pay your salary ....

You'll need an immigration attorney.

Good luck.

@ Guy Tensed, yes you are right but even before going for the Labor Certification ETA 9089, you should get prevailing wage. This will take at least 4-6 weeks.

Let me summarized to avoid confusion:
1. Is your company willing to file Green Card for you? if Answer is  yes and by all means then.
2. Get a prevailing wage from DOL.
3. With that prevailing wage, file ETA 9089 which is to get the labor Certification.
4. After getting the labor Certification, Check the Visa Bulletin and do accordingly.
If visa bulletin is current then File I-140, I-485,I-765, I-131,I-693 together.
If visa bulletin is not current then just file I-140 and wait until visa bulletin becomes current to file rest,
5. Wait for letter for the finger prints and done.

But within these steps there are lots of things to take care which is not easy explaining in writing. 2 way communication would be easy.
Hope this helped a bit.

 There are too many steps to get to green card. You are really lucky that you found such a good company that its ready to try  its best to help you out to get your GC, which is the most important thing, everything else is just formal process, which becomes really easy when you have such a supportive employer. So my suggestion is find a good lawyer and he/she will follow you through each process with detail.