Employment Based Immigration - The Usual Story:
Issuance of Employment-Based immigrant visas typically involves three main steps. First, the employer must establish, through the labor certification process, that there is a shortage of sufficient workers willing and able to provide the services the alien nurse is to provide and that the immigration of the alien nurse will not adversely affect wage and working conditions in the United States. Second, the Form I-140 is filed at the USCIS Service Center with geographic jurisdiction over the place of employment. Third, once the Form I-140 is approved and it has been determined that the alien has the minimum requirements, the alien beneficiary becomes eligible to apply for an immigrant visa, once the priority date is current. If the alien is present in the United States in a lawful status, approval of the Form I-140 may permit the alien to apply for adjustment of status, instead of going abroad to obtain an immigrant visa.

Schedule A Occupations Are Different:
Nursing, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, for instance, are pre-certified by the Department Of Labor. We can file an Immigrant Petition for them directly.

Congress has allocated 10,000 immigrant visas for this Schedule A category and candidates may now enter the U.S., in most cases, without having to wait for visa numbers to become current.

Proof of Ability to Pay:
It is important for the Employer to document the ability to pay. Organizations, especially non-profit organizations like Hospitals, should have no difficulty documenting their ability to pay, as they normally employ over 100 employees and a letter from the Chief Financial Officer, or Controller of the Company stating the ability of the employer to pay the wage would suffice.