Immigrant Visas
Employment Based
A minimum of 140,000 immigrant visas yearly are available for the employment based category, which is divided into five preference groups. The percent of yearly limit that is allocated for each preference group is indicated in parentheses.
Priority Workers (28.6%) | Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, arts, business or athletics: outstanding professors and researchers & certain multinational executives & managers. |
|---|---|
Members of the Professions (28.6%) | Defined as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree or equivalent, or baccalaureate degree plus at least 5 years of progressive experience in the specialty, and persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts and business. |
Professionals, Skilled and Unskilled Workers (28.6%) | Professionals holding baccalaureate degrees, skilled workers with at least two years experiences, and other workers whose skills are in short supply in the United States. |
Special immigrants (7.1%) | Certain religious workers and ministers of religion, certain international organization employees and their immediate family member, qualified and recommended current and former employees of the U.S. government and returning residents. |
Investors (7.1%) | Persons who will create employment for at least ten unrelated persons by investing a minimum of $1,000,000 in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. |
Immigration Process
If you qualify for an employment based immigrant visa, the immigrant visa process includes the following steps:
1. File Petition
- A specific offer of employment
- A labor certificate (Form ETA-750) from the U.S. Department of Labor that shows there are no qualified U.S. workers available for the proposed employment
- Form I-140 filed by the prospective employer with the USCIS office having jurisdiction over the area of intended employment
- Persons of extraordinary ability - may petition on their own behalf and do not need a specific offer of employment or the labor certificate
- Outstanding professors and researchers - do not need the labor certificate
- Multinational executives & managers - do not need the labor certificate
In general, applicants for employment based immigrant visas need the following:
Exceptions
Priority Workers
Members of the Professions - may not need a specific offer of employment
Religious workers and certain other special immigrants - prospective employer needs to file Form I-360 with USCIS
Investors - can petition to USCIS on their own behalf using Form I-526
2. Assigned Immigrant Visa Number
Please note that the employment based visas are subject to a numerical limitation. All approved visa petitions are sent to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC), where it will remain until the priority date of the petition becomes current and an immigrant visa number is available. Check the Visa Bulletin for the latest priority dates.
The NVC will notify the beneficiary of the petition when it is received and again when an immigrant visa number is available.
If the beneficiary resides in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, the approved petition will be forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Almaty for immigrant visa processing, including the interview, when an immigrant visa number is available.
3. Application for Immigrant Visa and Interview
Once the U.S. Embassy receives an approved petition, it contacts the applicant with an interview appointment and instructions package, explaining the document requirements for the interview and information about the required medical exam.
If the documents meet the requirements, a visa will be issued on the NEXT working day. It is possible that applicants will have to spend the entire morning in the office before final action can be taken on the application. Should complications arise, you may have to return to our office another time.
If a visa is refused, please see Visa Denials.
More information
For more detailed information on employment based immigrant visas, please refer to the employment based section of the USCIS web site.