IMMIGRANT VISAS

EB-1 visa

Extraordinary Ability

It is a first-preference visa for "priority workers" with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, or certain multinational managers and executives. You should be able to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, athletics, or other fields through sustained national or international acclaim. Some evidence that can be presented to support an EB-1 visa application includes:
 

• Receipt of major awards

• Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement

• Published material about the applicant's work

• Evidence of participation as a judge of others' work

• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions

• Authorship of scholarly books or articles

EB-2 NIW visa

National Interest Waiver

Employment-based second preference for professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities who qualify for a National Interest Waiver.

 

To qualify for the EB-2 NIW, applicants must meet the following general criteria:

1. Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability: The applicant should have an advanced degree (master’s, Ph.D., or a bachelor’s degree with 5 years of progressive work experience) or demonstrate exceptional ability in fields like science, arts, or business.

2. National Interest: Applicants must prove that their work is in the U.S. national interest. This generally means showing that their work will have a substantial positive impact on the U.S., either economically, socially, educationally, or culturally.

EB-3 visa

Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers

The EB-3 visa is a third-preference employment-based immigrant visa for individuals seeking permanent residency in the United States through employment. the EB-3 requires a U.S. employer to sponsor the applicant and complete a labor certification process.

The EB-3 visa has three main subcategories:

1. Skilled Workers: Applicants must be able to demonstrate at least two years of job experience, education, or training relevant to the job offered by the U.S. employer. The job cannot be temporary or seasonal, and the position must require a worker with specific skills.

2. Professionals: Applicants must possess at least a U.S. bachelor’s degree (or its foreign equivalent) required for entry into the profession. The job must require a degree, and the applicant must demonstrate that they have the educational background for the role.

3. Other Workers: This category is for unskilled workers filling non-seasonal, full-time positions that require less than two years of experience, education, or training.

EB-4 visa

Special Immigrant Visa for Specific Groups

The EB-4 visa is an employment-based visa category that allows certain special immigrants to live and work permanently in the United States. It is designed for individuals who qualify under specific categories, including religious workers, broadcasters, certain physicians, employees of international organizations, and armed forces members.

 

The following individuals are eligible for a fourth preference visa:

• Religious workers

• Special Immigrant Juveniles

• Certain broadcasters

• Retired officers or employees of G-4 international organizations, NATO-6 civilian employees, and their families

• Certain U.S. government employees stationed abroad and their families

• U.S. armed forces members

• Panama Canal Company or Canal Zone Government employees

• Physicians licensed and practicing in the U.S. as of January 9, 1978

• Noncitizens who have provided critical information about criminal or terrorist organizations (S nonimmigrants).

EB-5 visa

Investor Visa

USCIS manages the EB-5 Program, allowing investors, their spouses, and unmarried children under 21 to apply for permanent residency (Green Card) by:

• Investing in a U.S. commercial enterprise, and

• Creating or preserving 10 full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

The EB-5 visa, managed by USCIS’s Immigrant Investor Program Office (IPO), was established in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and foreign capital investment.