EB-1 and 2 Employment Based Visas August 22, 2010
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides a yearly minimum of 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas that can be split into 5 preference types. They may require a labor certification through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), as well as submitting of a petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services within the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS).
Employment First Preference (Eb-1 visas)
Priority Laborers acquire 28.6 percent of the yearly worldwide limit. All Priority Employees must be the beneficiaries of an approved Form I- 140, Immigrant Petition for Foreign Worker, filed with USCIS. Within this preference you will find three sub-groups:
1. Persons of extraordinary ability within the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Candidates in this category need to have extensive documentation displaying continual national or worldwide acclaim as well as recognition in the field of expertise. These candidates need not possess a actual position offer as long as they are coming into the U.S. to carry on work within the discipline in which they’ve extraordinary ability. Such candidates can file their own petition with the USCIS, instead of through the employer;
2. Superb educators as well as researchers having not less than three years prior experience in teaching or research, who are acknowledged internationally. No labor certification is necessary for this classification, but the prospective employer has to present a job offer plus file a petition with the USCIS; and
3. Specified executives and managers that have been employed by at least one of the three preceding years by the overseas affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch of the U.S. employer. The candidate must be coming to work within a managerial or executive capacity. No labor certification is needed for this category, however the would-be employer will have to provide a job offer and also file a petition to the USCIS.
Preferences 2-5 will be detailed in forthcoming articles. Stay tuned.