Employment Based Immigration Handbook
IV. Permanent Residency Processing
IV.1 OVERVIEW OF PERMANENT RESIDENCY 
Individuals may obtain Permanent Residency (PR) several ways: through employment based petitions, family sponsored petitions, marriage to a U.S. Citizen, Asylum, Diversity Visa Lottery and certain self-petitions, which are commonly EB-1A Extraordinary Ability, or self-petitioned National Interest Waiver (NIW).
The University plays a role when sponsoring employment based petitions such as Outstanding Professor or Research Category (EB-1B), National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions (EB-2), or Permanent Labor Certifications (EB-2 and EB-3). Note: NIW can be a self or employer sponsored petition.
The College or Department should contact CISP to discuss employment based petitions. Any employment based sponsorship requires that the University have the Ohio Attorney General’s office appoint legal counsel. Private attorneys may not be used for employer sponsored petitions. Departments and Colleges are urged to discuss how this works with CISP and the differences between employer sponsorship and self petitions.
Note:
The University of Toledo can never promise that the sponsorship of an employment based application for Permanent Residency will be successful. The certification or approval of any application rests with U.S. governmental agencies. The Department and employee should be on notice that even a petition that is timely filed does necessitate approval or a guarantee of a “green card.” Stakeholder Pointer: If the University is interested in sponsoring an employment based application, the process should be initiated with the prospective Beneficiary having at least two years of H-1B time remaining. It is advised to discuss employment based eligibility as soon as possible and to begin no later than year four of a Beneficiary’s H-status.
Go to the next section: IV.2 Appointed Counsel For Employment Based Permanent Residency Options