tariqbutt

I currently work for a tech startup and am on a H1B living in the US. I moved here in Feb 2022.

The company has a very small HR team, many of whom have left the company in the last few months. I spoke to my boss about starting the green card process and he said there are a number of people ahead of me in the queue also requesting this and since they dont have the HR resources for that at the moment it would likely be some time before that is prioritised. (The tech downturn is also a factor here in them not hiring more HR staff).

He did however say: "You can certainly obtain your own attorney and do it sooner if you want though"

There are two aspects to this statement:

1. Me playing the HR role during the process and making sure the attorney has all documents they need etc.
2. Potentially me paying for the attorney costs themselves.

These would of course be done on behalf of my employer, rather than me doing it completely independently. My employer does not have experience with this process so I suspect they may not know if this is even possible.
My question is either or both 1 and 2 above possible for me to do?

If not, would some sort of hybrid approach work? (For example if certain documents need to be signed by HR that is of course possible, as long as it was me managing the process)

christmasoompa

Which EB category? Most you can’t self sponsor so will need to wait until your employer is prepared to do it if you come under those.

Does your employment contract say anything about them sponsoring a green card within x amount of time?

tariqbutt

Just make sure there is no confusion: I dont mean for it to be self sponsored: I mean my employer would sponsor me, I would play the role of HR, manage the process and I would hire the lawyer.
Sponsorship would very much be my employer.

(My H1B was similar in that I managed the process, although in that case the employer paid all the legal fees)

No my contract does not specify anything about that.

Noorah101

If you want to do the research on finding a lawyer and gathering the documents, that's probably OK, a long as the employer pays all the fees. I don't think you can.

Is your employer saying he doesn't want to pay? Or just doesn't have time to do the legwork?

Rene

Expatrian

With the caveat that I went through an employment based (EB) sponsorship over 30 years ago, based on your post, I would hire the attorney yourself. Being in a startup is more risky (and could even be an issue with USCIS, as they will want financials for the company), and if you need to switch sponsoring employers down the road, having your own retained attorney would be best. You also want to get the GC process going ASAP if you have a willing employer. The attorney will prepare the docs for your and your employer (including labor certification if needed) and send them to you/your employer for signing, with notarization in some cases. I would not get involved in the process by “representing HR” to avoid the appearance of fraud. There’s no harm in inquiring with HR at various stages, but someone else should be doing the processing IMO. With an attorney there will be no need for you to “manage” the process, just keep tabs on where things are, ideally through your attorney.

RICH

I agree. Who fills in the forms is not important. Who signs (and pays ie sponsors) for the application is what matters. Although anybodys money is good money in reality!.

LT1

As others have said, it is is your employer who must petition, and critically pay for the I-140 application. It is illegal for you to pay for this on behalf of your employer. It's also illegal for your employer to pay for it and then charge it on to you, or take it from your salary.

Expatrian

From what I found online the labor certification (PERM) is required by law to be paid by the employer, but the I-140 (and I-485, if applicable) fees can legaly be paid by the employee.

LT1

Agree. I also found the same online, but our lawyers were very clear on this, so I'd rather go with their knowledge.

tariqbutt

Getting my employer to pay for things like the I-140 fees etc is all fine. No problems there. Similarly getting them to sign documents etc will all be fine.
The two areas they want me to cover are again
1. Managing the process (acting at the HR contact essentially)
2. Paying for the attorney

Sounds like 1. will not be an issue?
Question is number 2., if I hire and pay for the attorney myself would that be an issue? I may be able to convince them to do this since I think their main issue is 1. (managing the process) however Id like to know what is allowed before I negotiate with them.

LT1

Good. I think 1 and 2 would be fine.

neill

I ended up walking my small employer through the process (particularly the LC), and not only did we cut out the middle man but it all got done without any errors, and I learned a ton about the process, especially the LC.
You can't pay yourself for any part of the costs of obtaining the LC, that's about it though.

tariqbutt

What about the lawyer cost? That is the only cost I might have hurdles in getting my employer to pay.

Expatrian

Yep, and that includes the employer’s attorney fees for processing the LC portion of the green card process.

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/fil...s_07-13-07.pdf

S Folinsky

I’m quite retired from the immigration lawyer business and my bar license is “inactive” so no specific advice here with one exception. You should CONSULT with an immigration lawyer experienced in the employment based end of the shop. It may not be a bad idea to pay for that consultation.

By way of general comment, you don’t give enough information to answer the questions you pose.