Applying for an immigrant visa petition based on work involves several options, broken down into an employment preference system. Each year, the U.S. Department of State allots 140,000 employment-based visas to immigrants according to their qualification in each of the five preference categories:

First Preference (EB-1): Priority workers—up to 40,000 per year. People who have “extraordinary ability” or who are “outstanding professors and researchers” and “certain multinational executives and managers” fall into this category. In addition, any numbers left over from the fourth and fifth preferences (below) can be added to this category.

Second Preference (EB-2): Members of the professions holding advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability—up to 40,000 a year (plus any numbers left over from EB-1). This category includes workers with applicable degrees higher than a Bachelor, “exceptional ability aliens,” and certain workers who obtain a waiver of the labor certification requirement because their work is “in the national interest.”

Third Preference (EB-3): Skilled workers, professionals and other workers—up to 40,000 a year (plus any numbers left over from the first and second preferences). The other workers category (5,000 per year) covers workers who are “capable of performing unskilled labor,” and who are not temporary or seasonal.  Skilled workers must be capable of performing skilled labor requiring at least two years training or experience. Professionals must have an applicable Bachelor’s degree.

Fourth Preference (EB-4): Certain special immigrants, including ministers, religious workers, former U.S. government employees and others—up to 10,000 a year.

Fifth Preference (EB-5):  Investors—up to 10,000 a year. To qualify, persons must have between $500,000 and $3 million to invest in a job-creating enterprise in the U.S. At least 10 U.S. workers must be employed by each investor. The amount of money can vary depending on which area of the country will benefit from the investment. If the investor fails to meet the conditions specified, s/he can lose permanent resident status.

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