Employment-Based Immigrant Visas with Charles International Law

What are the Options?

Three basic types of employment-based immigrant visas are based on your experience, education, and talents.

*There are a few other types of employment-based immigrant visas. However, they are rare and based on specific conditions. Please ask your attorney if you think you might qualify.

EB1:

There are three sub-groups within this category:

  • 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. Such applicants do not have to have specific job offers, so long as they are entering the U.S. to continue work in the fields in which they have extraordinary ability. Such applicants can file their own Immigrant Petitions for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the USCIS.

  • 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. to pursue tenure, tenure track teaching, or a comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. The prospective employer must provide a job offer and file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the USCIS.

  • 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. The applicant’s employment outside of the U.S. must have been in a managerial or executive capacity, and the applicant must be coming to work in a managerial or executive capacity. The prospective employer must provide a job offer and file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the USCIS.

EB-2:

There are two subgroups within this category:

  • Professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond a baccalaureate degree) or a baccalaureate degree and at least five years of progressive experience in the profession.

  • Persons with 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.

Flowchart illustrating eligibility criteria for different employment preferences based on sponsorship and qualification levels. Green section shows employment first preference for persons with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors, and multinationals. Yellow section details employment second preference for persons of exceptional ability and professionals with advanced degrees, only for those sponsored by an employer. Red section explains employment third preference for professionals and unskilled workers not eligible for self-sponsorship.

National Interest Waivers

Usually, an applicant for an EB-2 visa has to have a job offer from an employer in the United States. The prospective employer must also have permission from the U.S. Department of Labor to give the job to a foreign applicant. The prospective employer can only obtain that permission through a long and expensive “Permanent Labor Certification.” However, an applicant can avoid the requirement of a job off and “self-petition” if the applicant obtains a “national interest waiver” (“NIW”). To obtain an NIW, the applicant must complete a Department of Labor Form ETA 9089. a

The legal test for what an applicant must prove to earn a national interest waiver was established by the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office in a case called In the Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under Dhanasar, an applicant must also submit evidence to USCIS proving the following:

  1. That the foreign national's proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;

  2. That he or she is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and

  3. That on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements

EB-3:

There are three subgroups within this category:

  • Skilled workers are persons whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years of training or work experience that are not temporary or seasonal.

  • Professionals are members of the professions whose jobs require at least a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. university or college or its foreign equivalent degree.

  • Unskilled workers (Other workers) are persons capable of filling positions that require less than two years of training or experience that are not temporary or seasonal.

    All EB-3 applications require sponsorship by a prospective employer and a permanent labor certification by the U.S. Department of Labor

What Can Charles International Law Do for You?

If you are an individual who might qualify as an alien of extraordinary ability, an outstanding professor or researcher, or an international executive, Charles International Law will help you apply for an EB-1 visa by doing the following:

  1. Completing the form I-140 form;

  2. Advising you on the specific kinds of evidence that will best support an application under your unique circumstances;

  3. Organizing your evidence in a fashion most likely to result in an approval;

  4. Conducting background research to obtain general evidence on your field of expertise ad the market conditions affecting your success; and

  5. Drafting a compelling legal briefing explaining why the evidence you and Charles International Law satisfies the applicable legal standards and why you would make a good lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Other Helpful Resources:

See Also:

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