E-3 Visa: Australian Specialty Occupation
The E-3 Visa is very similar to the H-1B visa. The E-3 is available to Australian nationals to perform services in a specialty occupation in the United States. A specialty occupation is one that requires at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. “Equivalent” means that a person must have three years of progressive work experience in the field for every year of education. Thus, to…
EB-1: Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Executives and Managers of Multi-national Companies
The first employment-based preference category is for persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and executives and managers of multinational companies. If you are eligible under this category, you are not required to obtain a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. Persons of extraordinary ability must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. A person…
EB-2: Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability
The EB-2 visa category is for members of the professions holding advanced degrees. “Advanced degree,” however, does not necessarily mean you must have more education than a bachelor’s degree, as you may be eligible under the EB-2 category if you have a bachelor’s degree combined with at least five years of progressive experience in your field. The EB-2 is also for foreign nationals with exceptional ability…
EB-3: Skilled Workers, Professionals and Other Workers
The EB-3 category is for professionals, skilled workers, and unskilled workers. You may qualify as a skilled worker if you hold a position requiring a minimum of two years training or work experience. As a professional, your position must require a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent. The other workers category is for foreign nationals holding positions requiring less than two years training. The EB-3 category,…
EB-4: Special Immigrants and Religious Workers
As the name suggests, the EB-4 category is for “special immigrants” as enumerated in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The main type of special immigrant is the religious worker. Special immigrants also include Panama Canal Treaty employees, Amerasian children, certain employees of U.S. foreign service posts abroad, certain retired employees of international organizations and dependents of juvenile courts.
Health Care Workers
Foreign health care professionals must navigate a complex regulatory regime in the U.S., which includes complex immigration issues. This is due, in large part, to the difficulties of balance training, licensing, and certification requirements with the immigration authorization required at each stage. Specific immigration requirements, procedures, or options may only apply to certain occupations or groups of occupations. Examples of these include physicians, nurses, physical…
Labor Certification/PERM
If you are interested in obtaining your Lawful Permanent Residence through Employment, you will most likely be required to go through the Labor Certification process. Labor Certification, also known as the “PERM” process, is an application your employer must file with the Department of Labor certifying that it has attempted to recruit U.S. workers for the open position, but has been unsuccessful. Some categories of…
National Interest Waivers
The purpose of the labor certification required in employment-based immigration is to protect U.S. workers by requiring employers to seek a U.S. worker before hiring a foreign one. However, sometimes it is in the national interest to hire a foreign national with special qualifications, rather than a minimally qualified U.S. worker. National interest waivers waive the labor certification requirement for such foreign In order to…
R-1 Visa: Religious Workers
The R-1 visa is available to foreign nationals working in a professional capacity for a religious organization. The R-1 can be a minister or other type of religious leader, but other religious workers are eligible for R-1 visas as well. In order to qualify, the position must serve a religious function. Additionally, an R-1 must be a member of a religious denomination for at least…
“Schedule A” Shortage Occupations: Groups I and II
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) has determined that there is a shortage of able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers in certain occupations. These occupations are listed in what is called “Schedule A”. Schedule A has two groups. Group I is for nurses and physical therapists. Group II is for persons of exceptional ability in the sciences or arts. The benefit to falling into one of the Schedule A…