Employment Based Permanent Residence

Approximately 140,000 immigrant visas are available each fiscal year for foreign workers (and their spouses and children) who seek to immigrate based on their job skills. If you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience, you may be able to live permanently in the United States. The five employment-based immigrant visa categories are outlined below.

EB-1: FIRST PREFERENCE

EB-1 classification is reserved for those with extraordinary ability, or who are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a multinational executive or manager.

For those seeking to immigrate based on:

You must demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim. Your achievements must be recognized in your field through the submission of evidence to support this classification. No offer of employmentis required.

Examples of evidence of extraordinary ability include:

Extraordinary Ability

• Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence;
  
• Evidence of membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members;
  
• Evidence of published material in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
  
• Evidence that the applicant has been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel;
  
• Evidence of original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field;
  
• Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
  
• Evidence that the applicant’s work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases;
  
• Evidence of the applicant’s performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations;
  
• Evidence that the applicant commands a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field; and,
  
• Evidence of the applicant’s commercial successes in the performing arts.
  

Outstanding Professors and Researchers

You must demonstrate international recognition for outstanding achievements in a particular academic field. Applicants must have at least 3 years' experience in teaching or research in that academic area; must be entering the United States to pursue tenure or tenure track teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education.

• Examples of evidence of outstanding professor or researcher include:
  
• Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement.
  
• Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievement.
  
• Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the alien’s work in the academic field.
  
• Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field.
  
• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field; and,
  
• Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field.
  

Multinational Managers or Executives

You must have been employed outside the United States in the 3 years preceding the petition for at least 1 year by a firm or corporation and must be seeking to enter the United States to continue service to that firm or organization, or one of its branches, subsidiaries or affiliates. The employment must have been outside the United States in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the employer.



Application Process

All applicants under the EB-1 category petition by filing a Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker. The Outstanding Professor/Researcher, or Multinational Manager or Executive categories must be petitioned for by the employer, while the Extraordinary Ability category may self-petition.

EB-2: SECOND PREFERENCE

EB-2 classification is for members of the professions holding an advanced degree or its equivalent (a bachelor’s degree plus 5 years progressive work experience in the field), or a foreign national who has exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business. In either case, an application for labor certification must be filed and approved before filing the EB-2 visa petition. The only exception is for applicants seeking a National Interest Waiver of the labor certification requirement. Those seeking a national interest waiver are requesting that the Labor Certification be waived because it is in the interest of the United States. National interest waivers are usually granted to those who have exceptional ability and whose employment in the United States would greatly benefit the nation. Applicants may self-file by filing the I-140, Petition for Alien Worker, and may file their labor certification directly with USCIS along with their Form I-140.

Examples of evidence to establish exceptional ability include:

• Official academic degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability.
  
• Letters documenting at least 10 years of full-time experience in the occupation.
  
• A license to practice the profession or certification for the profession or occupation.
  
• Evidence that the applicant commands a salary or other remuneration for services that demonstrates exceptional ability.
  
• Membership in a professional association(s);
  
• Recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, government entities, professional or business organizations; and,
  
• Other comparable evidence of eligibility is also accepted.

EB-3: THIRD PREFERENCE

EB-3 classification is for those who are a skilled worker, professional, or other worker. A labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor must first be obtained before filing the I-140, Petition for Immigrant Worker. Permanent, full-time job offers are also required.

• “Skilled workers” are persons whose job requires a minimum of 2 years training or work experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature.
  
• “Professionals” are persons whose job requires at least a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent and are a member of the professions.
  
• The “other workers” are persons performing unskilled labor requiring less than 2 years training or experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature.
  

Application Process

Third preference petitions must generally be accompanied by an approved, individual labor certification from the Department of Labor on Form ETA-9089. In some cases, the petition may be allowed to be submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) with an uncertified ETA-9089 for consideration as Schedule A, Group I.

The employer (petitioner) must first file and obtain an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor, or Form ETA-9089. Thereafter, the employer files a Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker. Your employer must demonstrate an ability to pay the offered wage as of the visa priority date, which is generally the date the labor certification is filed.

Note that spouses and minor children of EB-3 visa beneficiaries may immigrate with the principal beneficiary. Your spouse may be admitted to the United States in E34 (spouse of a “skilled worker” or “professional”) or EW4 (spouse of an “other worker”). In the course of the process where you and your spouse are applying for permanent resident status (status as a green card holder), your spouse is eligible to file for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Your minor children (under the age of 18) may be admitted as E35 (child of a “skilled worker” or “professional”) or EW5 (child of an “other worker”).

Skilled Worker

• Requires at least 2 years of job experience or training; AND
  
• The applicant must be seeking employment in a position for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

Professional

• Requires that applicant possess a U.S. baccalaureate degree or foreign degree equivalent, and that a baccalaureate degree is the normal requirement for entry into the occupation.
  
• The position offered must be one for which qualified workers are not available in the United States; and
  
• Education and experience may not be substituted for a baccalaureate degree.

Unskilled Worker

• Requires proof that the applicant is capable of performing unskilled labor (requiring less than 2 years training or experience), that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified U.S. workers are not available.