Employment-Based Immigration
Approximately 140,000 permanent resident visas (also known as immigrant visas) are available each fiscal year for individuals who seek to immigrate permanently through employment in the United States under one of five employment-based categories.
Common Employment-Based Categories for Physicians and Health Care Workers
Employment First Preference (EB-1)
The employment-based, first-preference visa category is available if you meet the criteria for extraordinary ability, or are employed by an outstanding professor or researcher.
Employment Second Preference (EB-2)
The employment-based second preference category (EB-2) is available if you hold an advanced degree or its equivalent or have exceptional ability in your field. A job offer is required and the U.S. employer must file a petition on your behalf with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. EB-2 petitions must be filed with a certified Application for Employment Certification granted by the U.S. Department of Labor, or Schedule A designation or a Schedule A designation. Currently, only nurses and physical therapists qualify for Schedule A designation.
Certain individuals may qualify for an exemption from the labor certification requirement. This is known as a National Interest Waiver. A National Interest Waiver requests that the Labor Certification be waived because the foreign national’s work is in the national interest of the United States. Physicians who agree to work for five years in a Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Area/Population can qualify for a National Interest Waiver.
Employment Third Preference (EB-3)
The employment- based third preference category is available to skilled workers, professionals who hold a minimum or a bachelor’s degree, or other workers. You must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States. A labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor is also required for this category. The labor certification verifies that there are no available, qualified, and willing U.S. workers to fill the position being offered to the foreign national.
Numerical Limitations
Whenever there are more qualified applicants for a category than there are available numbers, the category will be considered oversubscribed, and immigrant visas will be issued in the chronological order in which the petitions were filed until the numerical limit for the category is reached. The filing date of a petition becomes the applicant’s priority date. Immigrant visas cannot be issued until an applicant’s priority date is reached. In certain heavily oversubscribed categories, there may be a waiting period of many years before a priority date is reached. For the latest priority dates, see theUS Department of State’s visa bulletin website here.
Our firm can assist you in determining the appropriate employment-based category.
