What is the difference between a Labor Certification and an H-1B?
A Labor Certification is a pre-requisite
for an immigration petition for most employment-based categories.
For employment-based petitions, it is, in many cases, the first
step to obtaining the right to live and work permananently
within the U.S.
An H-1B petition is a non-immigrant visa
for alien workers and provides the right to live and work within
the U.S. for a limited amount of time.
Since the Labor Certification process
can take up to three years, many alien workers maintain H-1B non-immigrant
status during the Labor Certification and immigration petition
process. This is possible since an H-1B visa allows for dual intent,
i.e. an H-1B holder may also pursue permanent residency and it
will not affect his/her H-1B status.
