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 Employment
visas.
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides a yearly minimum of
140,000 work-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 the Bureau of Citizenship
and Immigration Services.
There are five preference categories of work visa applicants.
E1 Employment First Preference.
Priority workers receive 28.6 percent of the yearly worldwide limit
of available work visas. All priority
workers must be the beneficiaries of an approved Form I -140, Immigrant
Petition for Foreign Worker, filed with BCIS. Within this
preference there are three sub-groups:
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Persons of 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 the field of expertise.
Such applicants do not have to have a specific job offer so long
as they are entering the U.S. to continue work in the field in which
they have extraordinary ability. Such applicants can file their
own visa petition with the BCIS, rather than through an employer.
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Outstanding professors and researchers with at
least three years experience in teaching or research, who are recognized
internationally. No labor certification is required for this type
of work visa, but the prospective employer must provide a job offer
and file a work visa petition with the BCIS.
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Certain executives and managers who have been
employed at least one of the three preceding years by the overseas
affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch of the U.S. employer. The
applicant must be coming to work in a managerial or executive capacity.
No labor certification is required for this type of work visa, but
the prospective employer must provide a job offer and file a petition
with the BCIS.
E2 Employment Second Preference.
Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees, or Persons of Exceptional
Ability in the Arts, Sciences, or Business receive 28.6 percent of
the yearly worldwide limit of available work visas, plus any unused
Employment First Preference visas. All Second Preference applicants
must have a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor,
or Schedule A designation, or establish that they qualify for one
of the shortage occupations in the Labor Market Information Pilot
Program. A job offer is required and the U.S. employer must file a
petition on behalf of the applicant. Aliens may apply for exemption
from the job offer and labor certification if the exemption would
be in the national interest, in which case the alien may file the
petition, Form I-140, along with evidence of the national interest.
There are two subgroups within this category:
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Professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond
a baccalaureate degree), or a baccalaureate degree and at least
five years progressive experience in the profession.
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Persons with exceptional ability in the arts,
sciences, or business. Exceptional ability means having a degree
of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered within
the field.
E3 Employment Third Preference.
Skilled Workers, Professionals Holding Baccalaureate Degrees and
Other Workers receive 28.6 percent of the yearly limit of available
work visas, plus any unused Employment First and Second Preference
visas. All Third Preference applicants require an approved I-140 petition
filed by the prospective employer. All such workers require a labor
certification from the Department of Labor , or Schedule A designation,
or evidence that they qualify for one of the shortage occupations
in the Labor Market Information Pilot Program. There are three
subgroups within this category:
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Skilled workers are persons capable of performing
a job requiring at least two years of training or experience.
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Professionals with a baccalaureate degree are
members of a profession with at least a university bachelor's degree.
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Other workers are those persons capable of filling
positions requiring less than two years of training or experience.
E4 Employment Fourth Preference.
Special Immigrants receive 7.1 percent of the yearly worldwide limit
of available work visas. All such applicants must be the beneficiary
of an approved I-360, Petition for Special Immigrant, except overseas
employees of the U.S. Government who must use Form DS 1884. There
are six subgroups:
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Religious workers coming to carry on the vocation
of a minister of religion, or to work in a professional capacity
in a religious vocation, or to work for a tax-exempt organization
affiliated with a religious denomination.
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Certain overseas employees of the U.S. Government.
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Former employees of the Panama Canal Company.
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Retired employees of international organizations.
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Certain dependents of international organization
employees.
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Certain members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
E5 Employment Fifth Preference.
Employment Creation Investors receive 7.1 percent of the yearly worldwide
limit of available work visas. All applicants must file a Form I-526,
Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, with the BCIS. To qualify,
an alien must invest between U.S. $500,000 and $1,000,000, depending
on the employment rate in the geographical area, in a commercial enterprise
in the United States which creates at least 10 new full-time jobs
for U.S. citizens, permanent resident
aliens, or other lawful immigrants, not including the investor and
his or her family.
Labor Certification from the Department of Labor.
A person whose occupation requires a labor certification must have
prearranged employment in the United States.
Individual Labor Certification.
The applicant must complete the Department of Labor Form ETA-750B,
Statement of Qualifications of Alien, and send this completed form
to the prospective employer who completes Form ETA-750A, Application
for Alien Employment Certification, Offer of Employment. The prospective
employer submits both forms to the local office of the State Employment
Service in the area in the United States where the work will be performed.
The employer will then be notified by the appropriate regional office
of the Department of Labor of its approval or disapproval.
Schedule A Designation.
The Department of Labor has made a schedule of occupations for which
it delegates authority to the BCIS to approve labor certifications.
Schedule A, Group I, includes physical therapists and nurses.
Schedule A, Group II includes aliens of exceptional ability in the
sciences and arts (except performing arts). To apply for Schedule
A designation, the employer must submit a completed, uncertified Form
ETA-750 in duplicate to the BCIS along with the I-140 petition.
Labor Market Information Pilot Program.
The Immigration Act of 1990 provides for the Department of Labor
to establish a Labor Market Information Pilot Program which will define
up to ten occupational classifications in which there are labor shortages.
For aliens within a listed shortage occupation, a labor certification
will be deemed to have been issued for purposes of an employment-based
immigrant petition.
All intending immigrants who plan to base their immigrant
visa application on employment in the United States must obtain an
approved immigrant visa petition from the BCIS. If a necessary labor
certification is granted, the employer may then file a Form I-140,
Petition for Prospective Immigrant Employee, with the BCIS for the
appropriate employment-based preference category.
Visa ineligibility waiver.
The immigration laws of the United States, in order to protect the
health, welfare, and security of the U.S., prohibit the issuance of
a visa to certain applicants.
Some former exchange visitors must live abroad for two years.
Physicians who intend to practice medicine must pass a qualifying
exam before receiving immigrant visas. If found to be ineligible,
the consular officer will advise the applicant of any waivers.
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