Practice Areas
Employment Based Green Card Options
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides a yearly minimum of 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas which are divided into five preference categories. They may require a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the filing of a petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS).
Five Employment-Based (EB) Preference Categories
EB-1: Employment Based First Preference Category allows applicants to apply for a green card without an employer or a labor certification. This category includes the following sub-categories:
Multinational Executives and Managers
To qualify for permanent residence based on being a Multinational Executive and Manager, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must have been employed by an affiliate of the US employer overseas for at least one year out of the three years preceding your entry into the US;
- The US employer must have been in existence for at least one year; and
- You must be working for the US entity in a capacity that is managerial or executive.
Outstanding Scholar & Researcher
To qualify as an Outstanding Professor or Researcher, you must meet the following basic requirements:
- Hold a tenure-track faculty position or have a permanent job offer; and,
- Have at least 3 years of prior teaching or research experience (can include Ph.D. or post doctorate research if that research has been recognized as "outstanding").
- In addition, you must also meet at least 2 of the following 6 alternative criteria:
- Received major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement;
- Belong to associations that require outstanding achievement;
- Published material (written by others) about your research;
- Served as judge of the work of others in your field;
- Contributed original work to your field; and/or,
- Authored scholarly articles or publications.
Alien of Extraordinary Ability
Extraordinary ability means a "level of expertise indicating that the person is one of the small percentages who have risen to the top of the field of endeavor." Extraordinary ability may be evidenced by the beneficiary's receipt of a "major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize." Alternatively, extraordinary ability may be evidenced by at least three of the following ten forms of documentation:
- Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards
- Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement
- Published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other media
- Served as a judge of the work of others (individually or on a panel)
- Original contributions of major significance in the field (scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related)
- Authorship of Scholarly articles or publications in profession or major trade publications or media
- Display of work at Artistic exhibitions or showcases
- Performance of a Leading or critical role for distinguished organizations
- Receipt of High salary or remuneration in relation to others in the field
- Commercial success in performing arts
EB-2: Employment Based Second Preference Category applies to professionals holding advanced degrees and aliens of exceptional ability. These two options do require a labor certification and an employer. The National Interest Waiver also falls under this preference category but this option does not require a labor certification or an employer.
National Interest Waivers
The main requirement for a National Interest Waiver is a three-part test set forth according to In re New York State Department of Transportation, Interim Decision #3363, August 7, 1998. You must meet all three parts to qualify for National Interest Waiver:
- What you do must be of "substantial intrinsic merit;"
- The benefits of your work must be "national in scope" (as opposed to being purely local); and
- You must establish that your past record of achievement demonstrates that you can benefit the national interest to a "substantially greater degree than would an available US worker having the same minimum qualifications."
The threshold requirement for a National Interest Waiver is a master's degree or "exceptional ability" in your field. Exceptional ability may be evidenced by at least three of the following ten forms of documentation:
- Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards
- Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement
- Published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other media
- Served as a judge of the work of others (individually or on a panel)
- Original contributions of major significance in the field (scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related)
- Authorship of Scholarly articles or publications in profession or major trade publications or media
- Display of work at Artistic exhibitions or showcases
- Performance of a Leading or critical role for distinguished organizations
- Receipt of High salary or remuneration in relation to others in the field
- Commercial success in performing arts
EB-3: Third Preference Category applies to skilled laborers, either with a bachelor's degree or a minimum of two years of professional work experience, and all other unskilled laborers. This category includes Schedule A Nurses and Physical Therapists as the minimum degree requirement is a bachelor's degree. This category requires a labor certification.
EB-4: Fourth Preference Category refers to Special Immigrants including religious workers, battered spouses, medical doctors who have practiced since 1978 and long-term US government workers abroad. This category does not require a labor certification.
EB-5: Fifth Preference Category refers to immigrant investors who will invest a minimum of $1 million in the United States and permanently employ at least 10 US workers or those who invest a minimum of $1/2 million in a targeted employment area. This category does not require a labor certification.
Contact an Experienced US Immigration Attorney, Pittsburgh, PA.
If you are seeking to work in the United States, temporarily or permanently, and need experienced cost-effective immigration advice, contact Business Immigration Attorney Rami Lee for a free initial consultation. Call us today at 412.471.4128. Our Pittsburgh based US Immigration Attorney understands how valuable your time is and therefore we offer early morning, late evening, and weekend appointments. We also offer in-home consultations and on-site business consultations.