Permanent Business Visas: Permanent Visas Through Employment
The United States has created five categories (called “preferences”) whereby an individual may obtain lawful permanent residence (green card) in the United States based upon employment. The current law allows a total of 140,000 persons to immigrate to United States each year through employment.
Below are the five primary categories, their respective subcategories and specific requirements for each.
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First Preference Category
The first preference category is called Priority Workers. The law allows for approximately 40,000 employment-based immigrant visas for Priority Workers. The commonly used acronym for the First Preference Category is EB-1. There are three subcategories of Priority Workers:
- Persons of Extraordinary Ability
- Outstanding Professors and Researchers
- Multinational Executives and Managers
The qualifying criteria for each subcategory are different.
Second Preference Category
The Second Preference Category provides for approximately 40,000 employment-based immigrant visas. The commonly used acronym for the Second Preference Category is EB-2. There are two subcategories:
The qualifying criteria for each subcategory are different.
Third Preference Category
The Third Preference Category provides for approximately 40,000 employment-based immigrant visas. The commonly used acronym for the Third Preference Category is EB-3. There are three subcategories:
There is a numerical limitation of 10,000 Other Worker immigrant visas each year.
Fourth Preference Category
The Fourth Preference Category provides for approximately 10,000 employment-based immigrant visas. The commonly used acronym for the Fourth Preference Category, also known as the “Special Immigrant” Category, is EB-4. While there are several very specialized categories of Fourth Preference Workers, the primary category is Religious Workers.
The following are the other Fourth Preference Special Immigrant Categories:
- Certain employees working for the American Institute in Taiwan for fifteen years
- Certain Panama Canal Treaty employees
- Certain Foreign Medical Graduates
- Certain Returning Residents
- Certain Court Dependents
- Persons who served honorably in the American Armed Services for twelve years on active duty after October 15, 1978
- Certain NATO civilian employees
- Broadcasters entering the United States to work for the International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
- Certain translators with the U.S. Armed Forces
Fifth Preference Category
The Fifth Preference Category provides for approximately 10,000 employment-based immigrant visas. The commonly used acronym for the Fifth Preference Category is EB-5. A person qualifies for the Fifth Preference Category if he/she invests in a new commercial enterprise that employs ten full-time U.S. workers and he/she will engage in the day-to-day management or policy formulation of the enterprise. A new commercial enterprise is generally defined as one which was formed after November 29, 1990.
The person must either invest U.S.$1 million in the new commercial enterprise or U.S.$500,000.00 into a new commercial enterprise in a targeted employment area (an area that has experienced of high unemployment of at least 150% of the national average or is rural in nature).
The individual must either create a new commercial enterprise or purchase and restructure a new commercial enterprise that he/she is expanding substantially so as to increase the net worth of the business or its number of employees by at least 40 percent.
