I-140 Immigrant Petition Explained: What It Means When Your Employer Files One for You

What Form I-140 is

Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, is the form your employer files with USCIS to start the employment-based green card process on your behalf. Approval means USCIS agrees you qualify for the employment-based category the petition claims, such as EB-2 or EB-3. It does not grant a green card or any nonimmigrant status by itself, according to USCIS .

In most categories, your employer is the petitioner and you are the beneficiary. In a small number of categories, EB-1A extraordinary ability and EB-2 National Interest Waiver among them, you file the I-140 yourself without an employer sponsor.

How I-140 differs from your H-1B petition

Your H-1B petition, Form I-129, gives you temporary work authorization tied to one job and one employer. The I-140 is a separate filing aimed at permanent residence, and it usually comes after months or years on H-1B, once your employer completes labor certification (PERM) for most categories.

Holding H-1B status and pursuing an I-140 at the same time is allowed under the dual intent rule built into the H-1B category. You do not need to prove an intent to leave the United States to keep your H-1B valid while a green card case moves forward.

What an approved I-140 gives you

• Priority date protection: your place in the green card queue, based on your category and country of birth, generally stays locked in even if you later change employer or category, unless USCIS revokes the approval for fraud or a similar reason.

• H-1B extensions past 6 years: an approved I-140 lets your employer request H-1B extensions beyond the normal 6-year limit under AC21, when no visa number is currently available to you.

• H-4 EAD eligibility: your spouse becomes eligible to apply for their own work permit once your I-140 is approved.

• Job portability: once your I-485 adjustment of status application has been pending 180 days or more, you are allowed to change to a same or similar job without restarting the green card process, under AC21 section 204(j).

Processing time and premium processing

Standard I-140 processing time depends on your service center and category, and it shifts through the year as USCIS caseloads change. Check current estimates on the USCIS processing times tool rather than relying on a fixed number.

Premium processing guarantees action within 15 business days for most I-140 categories, including EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-2 or EB-3 petitions based on PERM labor certification. EB-1C multinational manager or executive and EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions get 45 business days instead. The fee for this service rose to $2,965 for Form I-907 requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, according to Ogletree Deakins . The base I-140 filing fee is $715, separate from any premium processing add-on, per USCIS fee guidance .

Priority dates and the visa bulletin

Your priority date is the date USCIS or the Department of Labor received your underlying case, and it sets your position in line for a green card within your category and country of birth. The State Department publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin showing which priority dates are currently eligible to move forward.

For applicants born in countries with high demand, India and China most often, the wait between an approved I-140 and a current priority date often runs for years. Applicants born elsewhere typically see shorter waits in the same category.

When your priority date is already current at the time your I-140 is filed, your employer files the I-140 and you file Form I-485 to adjust status at the same time, instead of waiting for the I-140 approval first. Concurrent filing shortens the path to a green card whenever a visa number is available in your category right away.

If you change employers after your I-140 is approved

You are allowed to hold more than one approved I-140 over your career, for example if you change jobs and your new employer files its own petition. Federal regulation lets you retain the earliest priority date from any of your approved I-140s for future filings, as long as USCIS did not revoke that earlier approval for fraud, willful misrepresentation, or a similar reason. This protects the time you already spent waiting in line, even after a job change.

Where problems come up

If your employer withdraws the petition or your job ends before your I-485 has been pending 180 days, your I-140 approval loses most of its protections, apart from priority date retention rules. Talk to an immigration attorney immediately after any job change or layoff while a green card case is active, since timing affects which options remain open.