Updated November 11, 2026

H1 visa to green card: the process, extensions and job changes

Moving from an H-1B visa to an employment-based green card follows three main steps: a PERM labor certification with the Department of Labor, an Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (Form I-140) with USCIS, and an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485) once your priority date is current. Because H-1B is a dual intent visa, you can legally pursue lawful permanent residence without risking your temporary nonimmigrant status or your ability to travel internationally. While waiting for a visa number, USCIS regulations permit extending H-1B status beyond the standard 6-year limit in 1-year or 3-year increments.

Which green card categories fit H-1B workers?

Most H-1B specialty occupation workers apply for lawful permanent residence through one of three employment-based categories: EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3. If you marry a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you can also adjust status through a family-based petition (Form I-130) instead of an employment category. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens do not face numerical visa caps or waiting lists.

Most EB-2 and EB-3 petitions require your employer to obtain a certified permanent labor certification (PERM) from the Department of Labor before filing Form I-140 with USCIS. Two options allow you to self-petition without an employer job offer: the EB-1A extraordinary ability category and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW). USCIS also waives the labor certification requirement for Schedule A occupations, where the Department of Labor has already determined that qualified U.S. workers are insufficient. Schedule A Group I covers professional nurses and physical therapists, while Group II covers individuals of exceptional ability in the sciences or arts (including college and university teachers) and performing arts.

Employment-based green card preference categories from uscis.gov, as of August 2026

How the 3-step H-1B to green card process works

Applying for lawful permanent resident status through an employer-sponsored EB-2 or EB-3 petition involves two federal agencies across three stages.

Step 1: Permanent Labor Certification (PERM). Your employer must comply with the professional recruitment requirements of the PERM program at 656.17(e)(1). Once recruitment closes with no qualified U.S. workers available, your employer submits Form ETA-9089 in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system. Filing is the employer's responsibility. The Department of Labor must certify that there are not sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified, and available for the position at the prevailing wage rate or higher in the area of intended employment, and that hiring you will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

The date the Department of Labor receives Form ETA-9089 is your filing date, which USCIS and the Department of State use as your priority date. Once certified, the labor certification remains valid for 180 days. USCIS must receive Form I-140 before this 180-day window expires, or the certification becomes invalid. If the 180th day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, USCIS accepts the petition on the next business day.

Step 2: Form I-140 Immigrant Petition. Your employer (or you, if self-petitioning) files Form I-140 with USCIS. For labor certification cases filed on or after June 1, 2023, the petition must include the approved and signed Form ETA-9089 Final Determination from the FLAG system. If your preference category does not require a labor certification, your priority date is the date USCIS accepts Form I-140 for processing.

Step 3: Form I-485 Adjustment of Status. When you are physically present in the United States, you file Form I-485 to adjust status to permanent resident without leaving the country for consular processing. You can file Form I-485 only when an immigrant visa is immediately available in your category. If a visa is immediately available, you may file Form I-485 concurrently with Form I-140, while Form I-140 is pending, or after Form I-140 is approved.

Priority dates, the Visa Bulletin and concurrent filing

Because employment-based preference visas are capped at 140,000 annually and subject to per-country allocation limits, demand often exceeds visa supply. When a category and country are oversubscribed, the Department of State establishes cut-off dates in the monthly Visa Bulletin.

Your priority date determines your place in line and is printed on the Form I-797 Notice of Action for your petition. An immigrant visa is available to you when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for your category and country of chargeability, or when the chart shows "C" (current). If the chart shows "U," visas are temporarily unavailable.

Each monthly Visa Bulletin contains two charts: Application Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications. Each month, within one week of the bulletin's publication, USCIS specifies on its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts webpage which chart applicants must use. For example, USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for all employment-based categories in the November 2026 Visa Bulletin. When cut-off dates move backward due to high demand, this is known as visa retrogression. On October 1, the start of each federal fiscal year, a new supply of visa numbers opens, which often returns cut-off dates to earlier positions.

Extending your H-1B past the 6-year limit

H-1B specialty occupation workers are generally admitted for up to 3 years, extendable to a maximum period of admission of 6 years (beneficiary owners holding over 50% ownership or majority voting rights are limited to 18 months for initial petitions and first extensions). Once you begin the green card process, USCIS regulations offer two mechanisms to extend H-1B status beyond 6 years, as well as the ability to recapture time spent abroad.

Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(E), you can extend H-1B status in up to 3-year increments if you are the beneficiary of an approved Form I-140 in EB-1, EB-2, or EB-3 and an immigrant visa is not available under the Visa Bulletin. If a visa number is available, you cannot use the 3-year extension, but you may qualify for 1-year increments under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D) if at least 365 days have passed since filing your PERM or Form I-140. Under the 365-day rule, you lose extension eligibility if you fail to file for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa within 1 year of a visa becoming available, unless USCIS excuses the delay due to circumstances beyond your control.

You do not need to currently hold H-1B status to request an extension beyond the sixth year, as long as you previously held H-1B status. If your employer files a timely extension for the same role before your status expires, you stay in an authorized period of stay. You can keep working for up to 240 days while USCIS decides your petition.

Rules for extending H-1B status past 6 years from uscis.gov, as of September 2026

Changing jobs, layoffs and priority date retention

Changing employers or experiencing a job termination during the green card waiting period affects your status and filings based on how far your case has progressed.

Under USCIS rules, your priority date is locked in once Form I-140 is approved, unless revoked for fraud, willful misrepresentation, or agency error. If an employer withdraws the Form I-140 within 180 days of approval, USCIS automatically revokes the petition approval. You retain the priority date for a future employer's petition, but you cannot use that revoked petition for post-6th-year H-1B extensions. Once Form I-140 has been approved for at least 180 days, USCIS will not revoke the approval solely because the employer withdraws it or closes their business. You keep both your priority date and your eligibility for 3-year H-1B extensions while a new employer files a new labor certification and Form I-140.

Under INA section 204(j), once your Form I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more, you can port your Form I-140 job offer to a new permanent job offer with the same or a new employer (including qualifying self-employment) without filing a new PERM or Form I-140. The new position must be in the same or a similar occupational classification. You request portability by filing Form I-485 Supplement J. USCIS compares Department of Labor occupational codes, duties, titles, required skills, education, and wages to verify similarity.

If your H-1B employment ends, you generally receive a grace period of up to 60 consecutive days (or until your authorized validity period ends, whichever is shorter) to have a new employer file a nonfrivolous H-1B petition, apply to change status, or file Form I-485 if a visa number is available.

Filing Form I-485: checklist, medical exam and travel

To adjust status under an employment-based category, you must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States, be physically present at filing, maintain continuous lawful status (or qualify under INA 245(k)), and have an immediately available visa. When submitting Form I-140 and Form I-485 together by mail, USCIS instructs applicants not to combine supporting documents and to assemble each form package separately.

While Form I-485 is pending, you may file Form I-765 for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Form I-131 for Advance Parole. An adjustment-based EAD allows unrestricted employment and is generally valid for 5 years. If both applications are approved together, USCIS generally issues a combo card endorsed with "SERVES AS I-512 ADVANCE PAROLE."

For most adjustment applicants, traveling outside the United States without approved Advance Parole abandons Form I-485. However, USCIS provides an exception for H-1B workers: if you maintain valid H-1B status, are not in removal proceedings, return to the same authorized employer, and hold a valid H-1B visa stamp, you may travel internationally without Advance Parole and without abandoning your Form I-485. What to include in your Form I-485 package:

• Form I-485 signed by the applicant, accompanied by the required fee payment.
• Copy of Form I-797 Approval or Receipt Notice for Form I-140 (unless filing concurrently).
• Form I-485 Supplement J to confirm a valid job offer (required when filing based on a previously filed Form I-140, but not when filing concurrently, or under EB-2 NIW or EB-1A self-petitions).
• Form I-693 medical exam completed by a designated civil surgeon, submitted in the original sealed envelope for paper filings, or uploaded online if filing Form I-485 online while retaining the original envelope.
• Proof of lawful admission and status maintenance: passport pages with visa and admission stamps, Form I-94 arrival record, birth certificate, and two passport-style photos.
• Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, required only if the Form I-140 was filed by a qualifying relative or a business where a qualifying relative holds at least 5% ownership.

Transferring your I-485 to another category (interfiling)

If priority dates shift between categories while your Form I-485 is pending, you can ask USCIS to transfer the underlying basis of your application to another employment-based category supported by a different Form I-140. You do not need to file a new Form I-485 or pay an additional adjustment filing fee.

To qualify, you must have maintained adjustment eligibility, your Form I-485 must remain pending, you must be eligible for the new category, and a visa must be immediately available under that category. If transferring to an approved Form I-140, you submit a written request with Form I-485 Supplement J to USCIS Attn: Supp J, PO Box 660834, Dallas, TX 75266-0834 for postal mail, or 2501 S. State Hwy. 121 Business Suite 400, Lewisville, TX 75067-8003 for courier delivery.

What happens to your H-4 spouse and children?

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 holding H-4 status can adjust status as derivative applicants on your green card case. When you extend H-1B status past 6 years, your H-4 dependents can extend their status for the same duration. Time spent in H-4 status does not count toward the 6-year H-1B limit if a dependent later switches to H-1B.

An H-4 spouse may file Form I-765 for an EAD once you have an approved Form I-140 or have received an H-1B extension beyond 6 years under the 365-day rule. When an H-4 child reaches age 21 or marries, they lose H-4 status, but under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), they may remain eligible to adjust status as a derivative on your green card.

USCIS filing fees and payment guidelines

All petitions and applications submitted to USCIS must include the proper fees listed in the Fee Schedule (Form G-1055). Incorrect fee payments result in filing rejections.

The Department of Labor states that the filing of permanent labor certification applications is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee. For Form I-140, Part 1 Questions 5 and 6 determine whether the petitioner qualifies for a reduced fee or must pay the full $600 Asylum Program Fee (uscis.gov, as of July 2026). Self-petitioners select No to Question 5 and Yes to Question 6. Employers or applicants can request premium processing for faster Form I-140 adjudication by submitting Form I-907. Filings submitted after April 1, 2024 require separate additional filing fees for Form I-765 employment authorization and Form I-131 travel authorization rather than bundling them with Form I-485.

What to expect if USCIS schedules an adjustment interview

USCIS requires an in-person interview for adjustment applicants unless an officer decides to waive it for your case. Submitting complete evidence with your initial filing, including your medical exam (Form I-693) and Supplement J, helps officers review your eligibility and can avoid interview delays.

USCIS conducts in-person interviews at local field offices to confirm identity, validate status, resolve manner-of-entry issues, review criminal or fraud concerns, or address eligibility questions on Form I-485 that cannot be resolved through a Request for Evidence. Applicants must bring original identity documents, passports, Form I-94 arrival records, and the original sealed Form I-693 envelope if Form I-485 was filed online.

Practice example

You changed employers while your Form I-485 was pending. How is your current job the same or similar to the position on your original Form I-140?

A strong, honest answer walks the USCIS officer through the exact occupational overlap between the two roles and hands over your Form I-485 Supplement J package. Start by stating the date you filed Form I-485 and confirming that more than 180 days passed before you ported to the new employer. Name both job titles and the Department of Labor Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code listed on your Form I-140 and on your Supplement J. Then explain in two or three plain sentences how your core daily duties, required technical skills, educational qualifications, and salary align across both positions (for example, moving from a senior software developer role to an information systems manager role overseeing the same software architecture). Have your original Form I-797 receipt notices, your signed Form I-485 Supplement J, your new employer's job offer letter, and recent pay stubs ready to show the officer.

When an applicant ports jobs under INA section 204(j), USCIS evaluates the totality of the circumstances to verify that the Form I-485 was pending at least 180 days and that the new role is a legitimate, permanent job offer in the same or a similar occupational classification, comparing SOC codes, duties, skills, education, and wages.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.