Employment-based
Overview
Each year, the Department of State allots a certain number of immigrant visas for each employment-based preference category. The world wide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual limits for both family-based and employment based immigrant visas. The following is an overview of the employment-based immigrant petitions and the percentages of total visas that are allocated to each category.
This first preference visa is available to those who (a) have an extraordinary ability, (b) are an outstanding professor or researcher, or (c) are a multinational executive or manager. The PERM Labor Certification is not required for this petition. These are priority workers to which the DOS has granted 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
EB2
This second preference visa is available to members of the professions holding an advanced degree or its equivalent as well as foreign nationals with exceptional ability. The PERM process is required for this petition. The DOS also has granted 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level to these employees, plus any numbers not used by the first preference.
EB3
EB3
An employee may be eligible for this immigrant visa preference category if he/she is a skilled worker, professional, or other worker. The PERM process is required for this petition to show that there are no qualified workers in the U.S. to fulfill the position. The DOS also has granted 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level to these employees, plus any numbers not used by the first and second preferences. The DOS has limited the total number of visas granted to "other workers" to 10,000.
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