Employment Based Visas – Permanent

• Persons with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Applicants in this category must have extensive documentation showing sustained national or international acclaim and recognition in their fields of expertise. The most attractive feature about this immigrant visa classification is that it does not require a job offer. Applicants can self-petition as long as they intend to continue to work in the field in which they have an extraordinary ability.
• Outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years experience in teaching or research who are recognized internationally. Applicants in this category must be coming to the U.S. with a job offer from a university or another institution of higher education.
• Multinational managers or executives who have been employed for at least one of the three preceding years by the overseas affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch of the U.S. employer. Generally, applicants for this immigrant visa classification first obtain an L-1A visa. However, having an L-1A visa first, is not required.

The second preference category (EB-2) is designed for professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond a baccalaureate degree) and persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Exceptional ability means having a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business. This category typically requires a job offer from a U.S. employer and a labor certification, except in cases where the applicant qualifies for a National Interest Waiver (NIW), which allows them to bypass the job offer and labor certification requirements if their work is deemed to be in the national interest of the United States.

EB-2 National Interest Waiver: The EB-2 NIW is an immigration visa that lets professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities bypass the typical job offer and labor certification requirements by demonstrating their work’s significant national benefit. It’s for individuals whose expertise or contributions directly impact and serve the national interest of the United States.

The third preference category (EB-3) is for skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers. Skilled workers are individuals whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years training or work experience that are not temporary or seasonal. A professional includes members of a profession whose jobs require at least a baccalaureate degree. Unskilled workers are persons capable of filling positions that require less than two years training or experience that are not temporary or seasonal.

The first steps toward an employment-based permanent visa is a process that is referred to as the Labor Certification. Applicants for an EB-2 or EB-3 must have their employer obtain a labor certification approval from the Department of Labor. We assist our clients in the critical selection of the most feasible type of employment petitions according to their professional background.

The fourth preference category (EB-4) is for certain special immigrants including religious workers. Ministers and non-ministers in religious vocations and occupations may obtain permanent residency in the United States for the purpose of performing religious work in a full-time compensated position for a legitimate religious organization.

The fifth and final preference category (EB-5) is for immigrant investors. These immigrant investors will have to make a capital investment in new commercial enterprises in the United States which provide job creation.