Many people from countries all over the world have the option of coming to the United States to work. Foreign nationals can legally work and live in the U.S. if they take the necessary steps to get an Employment-Based Immigrant Visa (EB Visa).
Generally, 1400,00 visas are given out each Fiscal year, and are divided into five employment-based ‘preference immigrant’ categories based on type of profession, job skills, and education. These categories include:
- EB-1 – Priority workers including those with extraordinary abilities in sciences, education, business, art, and sports (EB-1A), outstanding professors and researchers (EB-1B), and multinational managers and executives (EB-1C).
- EB-2 – Professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, who have a U.S. job or U.S. job offer
- EB-3 – Skilled workers with two years of job training or experience, unskilled workers who will fill jobs requiring less than two years training/experience, and professionals whose jobs require at least a four-year college degree
- EB-4 – Special immigrants (e.g. religious workers, translators)
- EB-5 – Immigrant investors who meet the mandatory capital investment requirements
Additionally, numerical and per-country limits say that each country can only receive seven percent of the 140,000 visas.
How do I acquire an immigrant visa?
If you are in the EB-1 category, you can file your own petition, but if you fall under another category, your prospective employer or agent must obtain labor certification approval from the Department of Labor and then file the Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If the petition is approved, it will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC), where it will be assigned a case number. Once all documents are received and all fees are paid, an interview will be scheduled. You will also have to undergo a medical exam before the interview. Once the interview is completed, your visa will be approved or denied.
For immigrants to the U.S., securing employment in the United States is essential if they would like to obtain an EB Visa. However, work visas can be denied just for filling out the wrong form or failing to provide necessary documentation. An employment immigration lawyer in your area can help get the work visa status you require to legally stay in the United States. Your attorney can assist you with every step of the process, from filling out paperwork to preparing you for the interview.