I am a SA citizen who would like to immigrate to the USA.

With employment-based immigration to the US, a major question is whether you will or should attempt to be in the country during the time that the immigration process is going on or whether you will remain in the home country during that time. To stay in the US, you should of course maintain a legal status. The time period for employment-based immigration can be as little as 1 1/2 to 2 years if you fall within the EB-2 category (except for natives of China and India who face backlogs) which generally requires a master's or higher degree or bachelors +5 years of progressive experience to do the job. If not, you would likely fall within the EB-3 category for those with a bachelor's degree or those possessing two years of experience which would be required to do the job. That type of immigration would generally take 2 to 4 years at the current clip. I note that much of US immigration is done through employment-based sponsorship.Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.