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Lawful Permanent Residency

Faculty & Staff

Lawful permanent residence (LPR) gives a foreign national authorization to live and work permanently in the United States.

What is the procedure to sponsor an individual for LPR?

Whether to sponsor an individual for LPR is a UNCW decision. The Office of International Programs processes LPR applications only at the request of a department, not at the request of the foreign national employee. No outside attorneys may file or sign petitions for foreign nationals on behalf of UNCW.

UNCW only sponsors employment-based petitions in two categories:

I. Special Handling for College and University Teachers:

To be eligible for this category, the foreign national must hold a tenured or tenure-track teaching position, the hiring department must have conducted a competitive recruitment process for the position, and the labor certification must be filed with the Department of Labor within 18 months of the foreign national being selected for the position.

  • Step 1 - Labor Certification (UNCW does this)
  • Step 2 - Filing the I-140 Immigrant Petition (UNCW does this)
  • Step 3 - Filing the I-485 for Adjustment of Status (the foreign national does this)
  • Step 4 - The Adjustment Interview (the foreign national does this)

II. Outstanding Professor or Researcher Category

To be eligible for this category, the foreign national must: (1) have at least three years experience in teaching or research in the academic field, (2) be recognized as Outstanding* in the academic field, and (3) hold a tenured or tenure-track teaching position or a permanent research position in the area of expertise

  • Step 1 - Filing the I-140 Immigrant Petition (UNCW does this)
  • Step 2 - Filing the I-485 for Adjustment of Status (the foreign national does this)
  • Step 3 - The Adjustment Interview (the foreign national does this)

*Being Outstanding in the academic field must be evidenced by at least two of the following:

  • Receipt of major prizes or awards
  • Membership in associations which require outstanding achievements of their members
  • Published material in professional publications written by others about the alien's work
  • Serving as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field
  • Authorship of scholarly books/articles with international circulation
  • Evidence of the alien's original scientific or scholarly contributions to the field.