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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. Whether to sponsor an individual for LPR is a UNCW decision. The Office of International Students and Scholars 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 Sponsored LPR Petition

UNCW limits their LPR sponsorship to Special Handling for College and University Teachers (EB-2):

To be eligible for this category at UNCW, 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 - Prevailing Wage Determination (UNCW does this)
  • Step 2 - Labor Certification (UNCW does this)
  • Step 3 - Filing the I-140 Immigrant Petition (UNCW does this)
  • Step 4 - Filing the I-485 for Adjustment of Status (the foreign national does this)
  • Step 5 - Adjudication of I-485 and Maintenance of Status (foreign national does this)

 

Foreign Nationals may consult with an immigration attorney, at their own expense, for other avenues on obtaining Legal Permanent Residence.