The United States offers about 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas every fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30, for foreign workers seeking permanent residency.
These visas are grouped into five preference categories, with eligible spouses and children of applicants also allowed to accompany or later join them.
Below are the five employment-based immigrant visa categories:
1. Employment First Preference (E1) — Priority Workers and Persons of Extraordinary Ability
The E1 category is available to three groups: individuals with extraordinary ability in areas such as science, arts, education, business or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and multinational managers or executives.
Applicants with extraordinary ability do not require a specific job offer and can submit their own Form I-140 petition, provided they intend to continue working in their area of expertise in the United States.
Outstanding professors and researchers typically need at least three years of teaching or research experience, as well as an offer from a US educational institution or research organisation.
Multinational managers and executives must have previously worked for an overseas affiliate, parent company, subsidiary or branch of a US employer in a managerial or executive role.
2. Employment Second Preference (E2) — Advanced Degree Professionals and Persons of Exceptional Ability
The E2 category is meant for professionals with advanced degrees and individuals with exceptional ability in science, arts or business.
Applicants generally need an approved labour certification and a job offer from a US employer.
However, some applicants may qualify for a National Interest Waiver, which can exempt them from the job offer and labour certification requirements if their work is considered beneficial to the national interest of the United States.
Those who receive the waiver can file petitions on their own behalf.
3. Employment Third Preference (E3) — Skilled, Professional and Other Workers
The E3 category covers three groups: skilled workers, professionals and other workers whose roles require less than two years of training or experience.
Skilled workers must have jobs requiring at least two years of training or work experience, while professionals must hold a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent foreign qualification.
Other workers are those who can fill positions requiring fewer than two years of training or experience.
Applicants usually need an approved Form I-140 petition submitted by their prospective employer, along with labour certification approved by the US Department of Labor.
4. Employment Fourth Preference (E4) — Certain Special Immigrants
The E4 category applies to specific groups of special immigrants. These include International Broadcasting Bureau employees, religious ministers, certain former US government workers abroad, some Iraqi and Afghan interpreters and translators, certain foreign medical graduates, special immigrant juveniles, religious workers and individuals who have served or are enlisted in the US Armed Forces.
Unlike some other employment-based categories, labour certification is not required for many E4 special immigrant classifications.
5. Employment Fifth Preference (E5) — Immigrant Investors
The E5 category is designed for foreign investors who invest capital in new commercial enterprises in the United States that create jobs.
The programme provides a pathway to permanent residency for eligible investors who meet the required investment and employment creation conditions.