Employment-Based Green Card

An Employment-based immigrant visa or permanent residence or green cards is not only available to foreign nationals who have advanced knowledge related to their field of endeavor, higher education, special job skills, and extraordinary ability, but is also available to unskilled workers. To qualify for a green card based on employment, foreign nationals must have a permanent job offer from a U.S. employer and that employer must be willing to sponsor their green card process. The Immigration and Nationality Act has divided employment-based green cards into the following preference categories, which have an annual limit of 140,000 immigrant visas plus any unused family-based immigrant visas.

With certain exceptions, the Immigrant Visa Petition (green card) is often a three-step process that requires the employer to file a labor certification application (PERM) with the Department of Labor and upon approval to prepare and file the immigrant petition for the foreign worker and lastly process the foreign national’s Lawful Permanent Resident application either through consular processing or adjustment of status in the U.S.

Employment-Based First Preference Category (EB-1)

The first preference or “priority worker” visa category is available to foreign nationals who have accomplished high acclaim in their respective field within the arts, science, education, business or sports. There are three types of EB-1 petitions: foreign national of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers and certain transferring executives or managers of multinational companies. Approximately 40,000 visas are issued annually to priority workers. The main advantage of the EB-1 classification is that it does not require a job offer or labor certification except for certain transferring executives or managers of multinational executives, which means a foreign national can self-petition without a job offer or petitioning employer.

Employment-Based Second Preference Category (EB-2)

The second preference visa category is available to foreign nationals who hold a professional advanced college degree and to persons of exceptional ability in science, arts, or business. There are approximately 40,000 EB-2 visas issued annually plus any visas not used by EB-1 priority workers.

Employment-Based Third Preference Category (EB-3)

The third preference visa category is available to professionals who hold a bachelor’s degree or progressive experience that is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. and unskilled workers. The unskilled workers must demonstrate that their job requires experience and capability to perform and that they are not merely seasonal workers. There are approximately 40,000 EB-3 visas issued annually plus visas not used by EB-1 priority workers and EB-2 professionals. 10,000 unskilled worker visas are issued annually.

Employment-Based Fourth Preference Category (EB-4)

The fourth preference visa category is available to special immigrants such as ministers, religious workers, foreign nationals who were U.S. government employees, and others. Approximately 5,000 visas are issued annually to special immigrants.

Employment-Based Fifth Preference Category (EB-5)

The fifth preference visa category is available to foreign nationals who have invested or are in the process of investing one million dollars in a new commercial enterprises or $500,000 in a targeted employment area.

It should be noted that some foreign nationals may qualify under more than one preference category since first three preference categories provide a wide range of immigration alternatives.

At The Ahluwalia Firm, Our Emphasis is on:

• Providing zealous representation before the USCIS
• Providing careful review of your personal circumstances
• Providing careful coordination of all correspondence with government agencies
• Ensuring a service-delivery model that meets and exceeds your satisfaction

For additional information about our ability to help, prepare, and file all the necessary documents required to apply for employment-based Immigrant Visa Petition/ green card, contact us for reliable advice.