Obtaining a green card is an important step in helping immigrants achieve legal, permanent resident status in the United States. An employment-based green card allows immigrants to legally live and work in the United States for an extended period of time. Here’s how the process works.
Obtaining A Green Card Through Work
Individuals may obtain an employment-based green card — also referred to as a permanent resident card, if their employer sponsors their application. There are also self-petitioning employment-based categories, known as the EB-1: Extraordinary Ability and the EB-2: National Interest Waiver. Yet, this article only touches upon the categories where your employer submits the petition on your behalf. Each year, only 140,000 applicants can be awarded an employment-based green card based on the following categories:
Types Of Employment-Based Green Cards
There are several different categories of employment-based green cards. Typically, the specific green card depends upon the type of work the applicant is going to perform. Work-based green cards fall into the following classifications.
- EB-1 visas are for priority workers who wish to work in the United States. (Business executives and managers; professors and researchers; and those who have demonstrated expertise in art, business, science, and athletics.)
- EB-2 visas are for professionals with advanced degrees. (Physicians and those with training in science, education, and other fields.)
- EB-3 visas are designed for skilled workers and professionals with a minimum degree of education equal to a bachelor's degree or two years of training.
- EB-4 visas are for certain immigrants; mostly foreign nationals who work for the U.S. government in another country and religious workers.
- EB-5 visas are the investor visas, designed for foreign nationals who want to invest significant resources into a new business in the U.S.
Yekrangi & Associates has helped thousands of immigrants obtain employment-based green cards. For all your immigration needs, contact us at (949) 478-4963 for more information on how we can assist you with your case.