Visa Categories

Employment-Based

The employment based immigrant visa process starts with the prospective U.S. employer sponsoring the prospective worker by filing a Form I-140 immigrant petition with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS), Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) only in the U.S. Please click here for further information on petitions.

Before approving the I-140 the CIS requires a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that there are no workers available in America to fill the job, and the prospective immigrant has the necessary training and experience for the job. CIS accepts the date of application for the labor certification as the I-140 filing date and, hence, the priority date in such cases.

Because of the limited number of employment-based immigrant visas available each year, there may be a lengthy waiting period depending on the type of job and the applicant's country of birth. The waiting period is very long. For more information, please refer to the cut-off dates.

The U.S. Department of State, National Visa Center (NVC) receives the approved I-140 from the CIS.  As each petition approaches its qualifying date, NVC contacts the applicant and petitioner with instructions for submitting the appropriate processing fees.  After the appropriate processing fees are paid, NVC contacts the applicant and petitioner to request that the necessary immigrant visa documentation be submitted to the NVC. 
 
Applicants whose priority dates are prior to the cut-off dates listed on http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html, and who have completed the necessary forms and submitted documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) for their visa appointments, will be scheduled for interviews. 

Approximately one month before the applicant’s scheduled interview appointment with a consular officer, the applicant will receive an appointment letter containing the date and time of the applicant’s visa interview along with instructions for obtaining a medical examination.

NVC cannot guarantee how long it may be before the applicant is scheduled for an appointment for a visa interview.  Please call or write to the NVC (NVC Contact Information) if the circumstances of the applicant change.  For example:

• Change of address
• Change of marital status
• Death of petitioner
• Birth or adoption of additional children, or
• NVC has requested additional information 

Learn More about the porcessing in NVC

The U.S. Embassy is closed on both U.S. and Korean holidays.





Updated April 18, 2008