General Permanent Residence Information
(Contact Dean's Office HR with any questions)
The following information is intended to provide an overall understanding, UF's International Center is our resident source of expertise!


What is Permanent Residence?

Individuals who have been granted permanent residence status in the United States have the right to live and work in the US without restriction. This right may last for a lifetime, or it can be ended in some circumstances by an uninterrupted absence from the United States of more than a year or two.

Permanent residents are said to have immigrant status in the US. (Individuals who are here temporarily, are considered to be in nonimmigrant status (i.e., F-1 students, J-1 scholars or H-1 temporary workers). Permanent residents present a "green card," (which is actually no longer green!) as identification.

Permanent residence does not provide the same rights as citizenship. Permanent residents of the US remain nationals of their home country. They do not hold US passports and they do not owe allegiance to the US. They may not vote in elections and they may not hold elective office. After a certain period of physical presence in the US (five years in most cases, three in some), permanent residents can apply for US citizenship if they choose.

How to obtain Permanent Residency?

Individuals can seek permanent residency in several ways, including any one of the following:

1)  through the petition of a relative
2)  through the petition of an employer
3)  by obtaining political asylum
4) by winning the annual "green card" Diversity Lottery

If sought through employment:

If you have a permanent, professional level job in the US, and if your employer can prove that there are no qualified US citizens or permanent residents available for the position, you may be able to obtain permanent residence through the petition of your employer. Often, a foreign professional will begin working on an extension of a US student visa (such as F-1 or J-1) or as a temporary worker on an H-1 visa. At some point, the employer may be able to petition successfully for permanent residence for the worker. An employer can start the permanent residence process when it can be shown that there are no qualified American workers available for the position (determined through UF's recuritment process). The employment based application process can take anywhere from several months to several years from start to finish, depending on the filing location and the length of a variety of processing backlogs that can come into play.

The University of Florida will support petitions for permanent residents under the following conditions:

l)  The position offered is permanent. Tenure-track positions are, of course, permanent. Non-tenure-accruing faculty positions may be the basis for sponsorship if the department establishes permanence by declaring an intent to employ the individual on a year-to-year contract for the foreseeable future (See section entitled Letters of Offer.) In the offer letter for non-tenure it needs to clearly state that the department is offering the individual a permanent position in the individual’s academic field.
2)  The position is full-time.
3)  The faculty member intends to remain in the position indefinitely and meets the criteria established by immigration law.
4)  The hiring department is willing to devote the staff time necessary to undertake the process with UFIC and to complete the required application and petition forms, etc.

Services and Responsibilities

The assistance of the International Center with regard to employment-based immigration issues is made available to the departments, faculty and professionals associated with the University. The International Center is assigned the responsibility for reviewing, signing, and filing all ETA Form 9089 applications and Form I-140 petitions associated with acquiring employment-based permanent residence. The availability of these services, however, does not preclude an individual from seeking private legal counsel and services, although responsibility to act on behalf of the University as the employer remains solely with the International Center.

 

 
Sources:

International Center's Guide "Permanent Residence For International Faculty Through Employment at UF"
USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)

Revision October 2007