Permanent Residency
There are a few terms used to describe legal permanent residency in the U.S. The terms immigrant, green card holder, legal permanent resident, and resident alien all mean that the person has permission from immigration to reside in the U.S. permanently. The official name is Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. Persons who hold LPR status may remain in the U.S. permanently and live and work wherever they wish. Obtaining LPR status has no effect on current citizenship, and LPR holders need to maintain a valid home country passport at all times. In general, LPRs have some of the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as U.S. citizens. However, LPRs may not vote in government elections, serve on juries at trials, nor hold some elected offices or government jobs. Typically, persons holding LPR status for 5 years may become eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.
There are several employment-based categories for permanent residency. Common categories for Missouri State employees include EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3. For ranking of the visa preference categories, review https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers.
Permanent Residency Policy
See Missouri State's policy here.
Recommended Attorneys
The University maintains a list of approved attorneys to represent both the University and the employee in all permanent residency applications sponsored by the University. PRAC will provide information regarding approved attorneys as needed. In order to use an attorney not on the recommended and approved list, the employee must get approval from the President first. All requests must go through the General Counsel's Office to be submitted to the President for recommendation. There is no guarantee that the General Counsel's Office will make a recommendation on the employee's behalf, nor is there a guarantee that the President will approve a recommendation.
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