Employment Based Petitions for Workers

First Employment Preference Category

The first employment based preference category consists of persons with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researches, and multinational executives and managers. Significantly, a person with an extraordinary ability may file his or her own employment based petition. In other words, a person with extraordinary ability does not need an employer to sponsor him or her.

Second Employment Preference Category

The second employment based preference category consists of persons that have obtained advanced degrees, or those with exceptional ability in science, art, or business. An “advanced degree” refers to a degree beyond a bachelor’s degree. Work experience may be substituted for an advanced degree in certain cases. “Exceptional ability” here refers to an expertise beyond that which is ordinarily encountered in the field.

Third Employment Preference Category

The third employment based preference category consists of skilled workers in short supply, professionals with bachelor degrees, and other workers that are in short supply. “Professionals” include lawyers, architects, doctors, teachers, engineers, etc. Other workers may constitute “professionals” if their respective fields require a bachelor’s degree. Finally, a “skilled worker” refers to a person that has at the minimum two (2) years of training or experience and is capable of performing the job in question.

Fourth Employment Preference Category

The fourth employment based preference category consists of certain special immigrants, which include religious workers, former employees of international organization or of the United States government, among others. The fifth employment based preference category consists of immigrants that will invest and create jobs in the United States. An immigrant investor must create at least ten jobs in the United States, and invest at least $1 million. The required investment amount may be reduced. If the intending immigrant invests in rural areas or places in which there is high unemployment, the minimum investment amount may be reduced to $500,000.