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There
are five major categories for Employment Based Immigrant
Visas.
There are numerical limitations established by the Immigration
and Nationality Act and each year a tabulation is made for
each category by country for visas issued.
1. Priority workers (
executives and managers; outstanding researchers and individuals
with extraordinary ability). These provide the first set of
visas available under the priority system.
2. Immigrants with Advanced
Degrees and National Interest Waivers (those with at least
a masters degree and those applying for green cards based
upon their occupation being in the national interest). Those
individuals applying in Category 2 are allocated the next
set of available visas. Applications are filed after
an approved application for alien labor certification, or
in the case of a national interest waiver without the labor
certification.
3. Professional, Skilled and
Unskilled Workers (all other labor certification
applications). These visas are divided among the professionals
and skilled workers and the unskilled workers. All available
visas are utilized first among the professionals and skilled
workers and the remaining are available to the unskilled workers.
For this reason this category often backlogs. The application
filing for classification as a professional, skilled or unskilled
worker includes the filing and obtaining approval of a labor
certification application. Professionals are individuals
who fill jobs requiring a Bachelors degree. Skilled workers
are individuals who fill jobs requiring at least 2 years of
experience but no degree. Unskilled workers fill jobs that
require less than 2 years of experience. This category often
retrogresses as more individuals are interested in qualifying
for permanent resident status in this category than visa numbers
are available. |
4.
Special Immigrants (religious workers, etc.)
5. Employment Creation Immigrants
( investors).
Category 5 is for individuals who invest $1,000,000 (or $500,000
in an economically depressed area) and start or purchase a
business that will employ at least 10 U.S. workers. |
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