Employment-Based Visas: An Overview

February 17, 2011

American companies sometimes have trouble filling highly specialized positions. Though they may look far and wide for a suitable candidate, it might seem impossible to find a qualified worker. Thankfully, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) -- through its employment-based visa program -- allows companies to expand their search beyond America's shores and literally find the most qualified person in the world to fill their open positions.

Employment-based visas are divided into six categories: EB1, EB2, EB3, EB4, EB5 and Schedule A.

EB1 Visas

EB1 visas are available to so-called "aliens of extraordinary ability" as well as to "outstanding professor[s] or researcher[s]."

Persons of extraordinary ability must:
- Show national or international acclaim in their field, including the receipt of a major award like an Academy Award, Golden Globe or Nobel Prize
- Want to come to America to continue work in their field
- Receipt of lesser awards
- Membership in performance-based professional associations
- Other criteria (including, if applicable, commercial success as a performing artist; authoring scholarly articles; past work judging others in the field; international art displays; or the ability to command a premium salary for services)

Outstanding professors/researchers must be able to demonstrate their own set of criteria, including:
- Receipt of international acclaim for their academic field
- A minimum of three years experience teaching/researching
- Offer of employment as a teacher or researcher for an indefinite term
- Other criteria (at least two of the following: receipt of major internationally recognized prizes/awards; membership in performance-based professional associations; authoring scholarly research, articles or books; or making significant contributions to the researcher's chosen field)

EB2 Visas

The EB2 visa is another employment-based visa program giving foreign citizens with exceptional abilities the chance to come to America and possibly attain permanent resident status. This visa is unique in that does require -- barring a USCIS waiver -- that a job offer be extended to the visa applicant prior to the applicant entering the country.

Generally, EB2 visas require:
- An American advanced degree (or a foreign degree equivalent to the American one) in a given academic field (or a lesser degree and at least five years of professional experience in the field)
- Proof (in the form of a diploma, degree or certificate from a college, university or other secondary education institution) of advanced education in the relevant field
- Professional licensure or certification
- Evidence of a salary commensurate with a high level of proficiency and skill in the given field
- Recognition of the applicant's skill by peers, government agencies or professional organizations

EB3 Visas

These visas do not have as rigorous qualifications as the EB1 and EB2 visas do. An EB3 visa may be an option for skilled workers who, while possessing considerable skill and knowledge, do not rise to the level of industry leaders who would qualify for an EB1 or EB2. The EB3 visa is available to:
- Professionals working in positions that require a baccalaureate degree or its foreign equivalent
- Skilled workers with a minimum of two years of experience/training in a given field
- Relatively unskilled workers filling positions that require fewer than two years of training

EB4 Visas

The EB4 visa category is open to so-called "special immigrants" who fall into one of several different categories:
- Ministers, imams, pastors, priests and other religious leaders
- Citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan who worked as interpreters to assist U.S. forces stationed there
- Retired NATO-6 civilians
- Broadcasters working for the International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
- Former employees of the Panama Canal Company

EB5 Visas

These visas are sometimes known as "investor visas" or "commercial center visas." To be eligible for an EB5 visa, the applicant must:
- Establish a new commercial enterprise by creating a new business, purchasing an existing one and changing it in such a way that a new business emerges or expanding a previous business to create at least 140 percent of the existing workforce or net worth
- Invest at least $1 million in the new commercial enterprise (or at least $500,000 in an enterprise located in a designated "targeted employment area")

Schedule A Visas

Schedule A visas are primarily offered to foreign workers in the health care field. These visas are unique not only in that they target one industry but also in that there is not a running backlog of applications. Without a lengthy pile of applications ahead of theirs, applicants are more likely to get a rapid response, provided they are:
- A physical therapist who is otherwise qualified to take a state licensing examination to become a certified physical therapist
- A professional nurse with a certificate from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools; must also have full, unrestricted nursing license from the state where they wish to emigrate

Thousands of people each year want to come to the U.S. for their shot at the American dream, but applying for a visa can be hard. Rather than wade through confusing forms and regulations alone, seek the counsel of an experienced immigration law attorney in your area. Doing so can greatly increase your chances of having your application granted.

Article provided by Schunk Law Firm P.C.
Visit us at www.schunklaw.com