Your Path to the Green Card
The United States offers various categories of immigrant work visas that allow foreign nationals to obtain permanent residency, commonly known as a Green Card visa. These visas are categorized by preference, with each catering to specific professional profiles and situations. Understanding these categories is the first step in navigating the complex immigration process.
These are immigrant visas, as opposed to temporary non-immigrant work visas. However, it is possible, after a few years, to transition from a non-immigrant visa to an immigrant visa. This process requires assistance.
EB-1 : First Preference – Priority Workers
The EB-1 visa, or First Preference Green Card Visa, is for individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers. This category is designed to attract the world’s top talent.
- Extraordinary Ability: This subcategory is for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional skill in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Proof of national or international recognition is required, such as major awards or extensive documentation of their achievements. For this sub-category, a job offer is not necessary, making it a direct path to a Green Card.
- Outstanding Professors and Researchers: This visa is for individuals with international recognition for their exceptional academic achievements. They must have at least three years of experience in teaching or research and seek to enter the U.S. for a tenured or tenure-track teaching or research position at a university or research institution.
- Multinational Executives and Managers: This visa category is for executives or managers who have been employed abroad by an international company for at least one year in the three years preceding their application, and who are coming to the U.S. to work for the same company or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in an executive or managerial capacity.
EB-2: Second Preference – Advanced Degree Professionals and Persons of Exceptional Ability
The EB-2 visa, or Second Preference Green Card Visa, is for professionals holding advanced degrees and individuals with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business.
- Advanced Degree Professionals: This visa category applies to individuals holding a master’s or doctoral degree, or a bachelor’s degree plus five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in their field of specialty. A job offer and, in most cases, a labor certification (PERM) from the Department of Labor are required.
- Persons of Exceptional Ability: This visa is available to individuals who can demonstrate exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. This means a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in their field. Evidence such as academic records, professional licenses, peer recognition, high salaries, or membership in professional associations is necessary. A labor certification (PERM) is generally required, unless a National Interest Waiver (NIW) is granted.
EB-3: Third Preference – Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers
The EB-3 visa, or Third Preference Green Card Visa, is the most general category for immigrant workers and is divided into three main subcategories:
- Skilled Workers: This visa is for individuals whose job requires at least two years of training or work experience. This excludes temporary or seasonal employment. A job offer and a labor certification (PERM) are required.
- Professionals: This visa category is for individuals whose job requires at least a U.S. baccalaureate degree or its foreign equivalent, and who are members of a specific profession. A job offer and a labor certification (PERM) are also necessary.
- Other Workers (Unskilled Workers): This visa is for individuals whose job does not require two years of training or experience. This category is generally subject to longer visa backlogs due to higher demand. A job offer and a labor certification (PERM) are required.
EB-4: Fourth Preference – Special Immigrants
The EB-4 visa, or Fourth Preference Green Card Visa, is a diverse category for special immigrants. It includes several specific and distinct groups of individuals who may be eligible for a Green Card.
- Religious Workers: This visa is for ministers of religion and other religious workers who seek to come to the U.S. to pursue a religious vocation or occupation in a non-profit religious organization.
- Employees of International Organizations and NATO: Certain employees of these organizations and their families may be eligible for this visa.
- Certain Physicians Practicing in Underserved Areas: Doctors who have served in underserved geographical areas may be eligible for this visa.
- Certain U.S. Armed Forces Members: Members of the U.S. military may be eligible for this visa.
- Orphans Adopted Abroad: Under specific circumstances, orphans adopted abroad may obtain a visa.
EB-5: Fifth Preference – Immigrant Investors (Job Creation)
The EB-5 visa, or Fifth Preference Green Card Visa, offers a path to permanent residency for foreign investors who make a significant investment in a U.S. commercial enterprise and create or preserve a certain number of jobs for U.S. workers.
- Minimum Investment: The minimum required investment is generally $1.05 million, or $800,000 if the investment is made in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA)—a rural area or an area with high unemployment.
- Job Creation: The investment must directly or indirectly create or preserve at least 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers within two years of the investor’s admission to the U.S. as a conditional permanent resident.
- Regional Centers: The majority of EB-5 investments are made through USCIS-approved regional centers, which manage projects and facilitate job creation. Obtaining a visa through this route is initially conditional for two years, after which the investor must prove that the investment and job creation conditions have been met to obtain an unconditional Green Card.
General Process for Obtaining an Employment-Based Green Card
The process for obtaining an employment-based Green Card involves several steps, which may vary slightly depending on the visa category. However, the general steps are as follows:
- Labor Certification (PERM) – if required: For most EB-2 and EB-3 categories, the prospective employer must first obtain a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This involves proving that there are no qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers for the proposed position. This step is crucial for the visa. Some categories, such as EB-1 (extraordinary ability) and certain EB-2 cases (NIW), do not require PERM.
- Filing the Immigrant Petition (Form I-140): Once the labor certification is approved (if necessary), the employer (or the investor for EB-5, or the individual for EB-1 Extraordinary Ability and EB-2 NIW) files the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This form establishes the beneficiary’s eligibility for the requested visa category.
- Visa Availability (Priority Date): USCIS reviews the petition. Even after approval, a Green Card visa may not be immediately available due to annual caps imposed by Congress. The “priority date” (generally the date the PERM or I-140 was filed) determines when a visa becomes available, according to the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin.
- Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) or Consular Processing:
- Adjustment of Status: If the beneficiary is already in the U.S. with legal status, they can file an application for adjustment of status (Form I-485) with USCIS to change from their current nonimmigrant status to that of a permanent resident. This Green Card visa application can only be filed if a visa is immediately available.
- Consular Processing: If the beneficiary is outside the U.S., or if they choose this path, their case will be transferred to the National Visa Center (NVC), and then to a U.S. embassy or consulate in their home country or country of residence. An interview will be scheduled there for the immigrant visa.
- Interview and Decision: During the interview (either at USCIS for adjustment of status or at the consulate for consular processing), the officer will review the case, ask questions, and make a decision. If the application is approved, the visa is granted.
Obtaining an employment-based Green Card is a complex process that often requires the assistance of an experienced immigration attorney. Careful planning and a thorough understanding of the requirements for each Green Card visa category are essential to maximize the chances of success.