>It is not legal for the employee to bear the costs of the green card. Can you help clarify this? The three stages I'm aware of to obtain permanent residence i

>It is not legal for the employee to bear the costs of the green card. Can you help clarify this? The three stages I'm aware of to obtain permanent residence in the United States are: 1) PERM (Department of Labour certification) 2) I-140 3) I-485 The PERM is (always?) undertaken and paid for by the employer. The I-140 is also sponsored by the employer, so should be paid by the employer. But the I-485 (the actual green card application) does not have to be paid by the employer. If you submit I-485 forms for your family members, those also do not need to be paid by the employer. This is separate from attorney fees (if any) to obtain the I-485 for you or your family. Disclaimer: IANAL, but I basically went through this process (minus the PERM).