Permanent Resident Visas (Green Cards) for Executives and Other Professionals
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 and the filing of a petition with USCIS.
To be eligible for a green card through employment-based immigration, there must be a visa number available to you when you apply. Whether a visa number is available or not depends on the use of visas in your category and country and the rate at which green card applications are being processed by the government. Your place in line is determined by your priority date which is usually the date your labor certification was filed with the U.S.
Department of Labor, or for those applications not requiring labor certification, the date a petition was filed with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
One of the most widely used methods, amongst our clients, to obtain permanent immigration is through employment. There are five classifications for employment-based immigration. The following are the five employment-based immigrant visa categories:
This visa provides permanent residency to “priority workers” defined as foreigners with extraordinary abilities, outstanding professors or researchers, and executives and managers of foreign companies who are transferred to the U.S.
This visa allows potential immigrants that hold an advanced degree to obtain permanent residency. There are three sub-classifications of the EB-2 visa:
- EB-2(A): for foreign national professionals with an advanced degree (masters degree or higher)
- EB-2(B): for foreign nationals with “extraordinary ability” in the sciences, business or arts
- EB-2(C): for foreign nationals with “extraordinary ability” or an advanced degree who can show that their activities will substantially benefit U.S. national interests
This is an employment category which allows foreign nationals who are skilled workers, professionals or other type of workers to enter into the U.S. to obtain permanent residency. The various categories under the EB-3 employment based immigrant visa are:
- EB-3(A): for professional workers with a U.S. bachelor's or foreign equivalent degree
- EB-3(B): for skilled workers for positions that require at least two years of training or experience
- EB-3(C): for unskilled workers for positions that require less than two years training or experience
This visa is for religious workers. To qualify for this visa the applicant must have been, for at least two years, a member of a religious denomination that has a legitimate non-profit, religious organization in the U.S. The applicant must also have been performing ministry, vocation, professional, or other work continuously during that two year period.
An EB-5 investor visa grants a foreign investor permanent U.S. citizenship based on the condition that they create jobs for U.S. workers. If a foreign national invests US $1 million (or $500,000 in an area designated and an economically challenged area) in a business that creates at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers, they will become eligible to obtain a green card for themselves and their immediate family. There are two steps towards U.S. residency. In the first phase the immigrant investor is granted a conditional visa. If the investor has created the requisite jobs within two years and maintained the investment during the conditional period, the visa is made unconditional and permanent.
Please contact us to start your immigration application now.