Petitioner

In plain terms: the petitioner is the U.S. employer that sponsors the foreign worker. In an EB-3 case, that’s your company.

The petitioner files the main applications with the government, including the PERM application with the Department of Labor and Form I-140 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Government forms, receipts and notices are issued to the petitioner, and the petitioner signs and stands behind the information in them.

What it means for you: “petitioner” on a government notice means your company. The petitioner is responsible for offering a real, permanent, full-time job, paying at least the prevailing wage once the worker starts, and showing the government it’s financially able to pay that wage.