Thank you @chopsmo ! Do you know if it can take so long even for people from Europe? Anyway, yes, I will look at the Visa Bulletin. 
That’s an interesting idea, but I have never heard of it happening in practice. First you’d need to find a job where the employer can document that they are unable to find an American to fill the position. (That is not a requirement for most H-1B visas, but it is a requirement for the EB-3 unskilled category.) The job itself needs to be full-time, permanent and non-seasonal. (This excludes the typical labor shortage industries like agriculture and tourism.) The employer has to be willing to spend several thousand $$ on your visa application and wait for 6 months - 10 years (depending on your nationality) for your visa application to be processed, all with an uncertain outcome.
I honestly can’t think of too many scenarios in which this procedure would make sense from the perspective of an employer.
It comes as no surprise that H-1B visas in the unskilled category are rarely issued. In 2014, only about 1,000. In contrast, about 159,000 H-2A and H-2B visas were issued for unskilled workers in temporary positions in 2014. Throwing this out there to put the numbers into perspective, not to suggest an H-2A or H-2B visa. As a college graduate you probably wouldn’t be interested in the kind of jobs that sponsor those visas: http://www.epi.org/publication/the-h-2b-temporary-foreign-worker-program-examining-the-effects-on-americans-job-opportunities-and-wages/
Sorry, my brain was blanking for a minute when I wrote the above. I am not sure why I was equating an EB-3 green card petition with a temporary H-1B visa… Here’s what the post above would sound like without the brain fart.
That’s an interesting idea, but I have never heard of it happening in practice. First you’d need to find a job where the employer can document that they are unable to find an American to fill the position. The job itself needs to be full-time, permanent and non-seasonal. (This excludes the typical labor shortage industries like agriculture and tourism.) The employer has to be willing to spend several thousand $$ on your green card application and wait for 6 months - 10 years (depending on your nationality) for your visa application to be processed, all with an uncertain outcome. And if your green card is granted, you can just pack your bags and leave - you are in no way tied to the employer or the occupation, and you probably didn’t go to college to become a landscaper…
I honestly can’t think of too many scenarios in which this process would make sense from the perspective of an employer.
It comes as no surprise that permanent resident visas for unskilled workers are a rare occurrence. In 2014, only about 1,000 were issued. In contrast, about 159,000 H-2A and H-2B visas were issued for unskilled workers in temporary positions in 2014. Throwing this out there to put the numbers into perspective, not to suggest an H-2A or H-2B visa. As a college graduate you probably wouldn’t be interested in the kind of jobs that sponsor those visas: http://www.epi.org/publication/the-h-2b-temporary-foreign-worker-program-examining-the-effects-on-americans-job-opportunities-and-wages/
Thank you for your detailed answer!
I want to settle down (for good!) in the USA and I’m seriously thinking about the EB-3 Visa for Unskilled/Other Workers. I’m from a country with a low immigration rate and I have relatives that are American citizens…they might help me.
In all honesty, marrying a US citizen is by far the easiest way to get a green card.
As far as occupations go, there’s a few that have an easier time getting an employment-based green card than the rest. They include:
- Primary care physicians, who can self-petition for a green card via national interest waiver. (You don’t even need an American medical education. You could go to medical school in your own country.)
- College professors. Universities routinely sponsor their faculty for H-1Bs and (later) green cards, although that path would involve many years of education and sweat.
- Religious ministers can get an employment-based green card without having to prove that there’s no American to do the job, as long as they have a job offer from a religious organization in the US
- A small number of other people get special immigration privileges, though the categories are so restrictive that you’re unlikely qualify: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-job/green-card-through-special-categories-jobs
Are they closely enough related to you to be able to sponsor you for a family-based green card? Maybe distant enough that they can marry you? Or do they happen to run a company with a particular need for workers fitting your description that they are unable to fill with American workers?
“In all honesty, marrying a US citizen is by far the easiest way to get a green card.”
Yeah I know about the green card through marriage, but I don’t think it’s for me 
But who knows!
“Or do they happen to run a company with a particular need for workers fitting your description that they are unable to fill with American workers?”
They have a number of friends who run different businesses. I think this might be the best way, even though It will take a while.
(I mean, I can try the lottery every year, but I don’t know…)
I have some personal friends went through the process and were issued a green card and I know several companies will sponsor a employee to go through the process. As matter of fact those companies regularly have 30+% of their employees are in the process of gaining legal status. The companies are multinational companies with foreign origin.
Here are the problems of being employees of those company.
- You will be paid minimum wage for a highly skilled job, for example, you will be hired as a $100,000/yr computer engineer but be paid for minimum wage.
- The working environment is like a sweat shop and you won't have a choice because you rely on the company sponsorship.
- The companies are mostly located in a high standard living area such as Manhattan or Silicon Valley where with a minimum wage you will most likely can only afford live on the street. Those people I know of all got support from their foreign friends and families.
Try the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery. We helped our nanny from Eastern Europe apply-- she actually got selected and got a Green Card.
There are a lot of scams about this lottery. The real one is FREE.
@artloversplus
Isn’t illegal not having a choice though? I mean, I know that after a person has the green card, they are pretty much free of the employer who sponsored them and they can look for another job if they want to.
@PrimeMeridian
Yes, I’m really thinking about the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery. I know there are certain things in the profile of a person that can help and if you do the application in a perfect way…
I was referring to the applicant before he got the green card. All of them will quit the day get the card and it is expected.
I think the next round of the Diversity Visa Lottery opens in Oct.
That would be illegal and the labor certification process is supposed to prevent it. If you know of any actual instances, PLEASE report them to authorities.
http://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/employer-h1b-violations-complaint-procedure.html
https://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams/report-immigration-scams
I know the labor certification process has room for fudging; e.g. my own company gets statistical programmers with graduate degrees certified as “social science research assistants”; but in the end they are still paid as much as their American colleagues (and certainly enough to live comfortably in the area), so I haven’t felt the need to escalate that particular situation.