If you are looking to immigrate to the United States, your work skills can serve as the key to your entry into this country. Each year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) sets aside approximately 40,000 EB-3 visas for skilled workers and professionals from other countries to immigrate to America. Obtaining this will allow you to live and work in the United States while obtaining permanent residency, also called your Green Card. Best of all, if you have a family, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age will be eligible to join you. A skilled immigration attorney can help you through the EB-3 visa process.

What is the EB-3 visa?

The EB-3 visa is a category of immigrant visas designed for skilled workers and professionals to enter the United States for work and remain here as permanent residents. This creates a pathway to citizenship for such foreign nationals who obtain an EB-3 visa. This is different from a nonimmigrant visa, which is designed for foreign workers to stay in America on a temporary basis.

The name of the visa comes from Employment-Based Immigration Third Preference. The first preference are people of extraordinary ability, including professors, researchers, and multinational executives and managers, while the second preference are professionals with advanced degrees, like doctors and lawyers.

What are the eligibility requirements for professionals?

Professionals are one of the two main groups eligible for the EB-3 visa. In order to qualify, a professional must meet the following criteria:

  • You must possess a baccalaureate degree from a United States college or university, or an equivalent degree from a foreign institution. Such a degree must be a normal requirement for the person’s occupation. Your education and experience are not enough to overcome the degree requirement.
  • You must be performing work for which there are no qualified workers available in the United States.
  • You must have received a permanent, full-time job offer from an American business.
  • The American business petitioning on your behalf must go through the labor certification process with the United States Department of Labor (DOL).

What are the eligibility requirements for skilled workers?

If you are a skilled worker who does not have a baccalaureate degree for your occupation, you may still be eligible for the EB-3 visa. There are a number of criteria that must be fulfilled in order to get eligibility, although the documentation may be more involved than for professionals seeking an EB-3 visa:

  • You must be able to show that you possess at least two (2) years of job experience, training or education that meets the job requirements specified on the petitioning employer’s labor certification. If you have any post-secondary education that is relevant to your job, this can be used to show training for the position.
  • You must receive a permanent, full-time job offer from an American business.
  • You must be performing work for which there are no qualified workers available in the United States.
  • The American business petitioning on your behalf must go through the labor certification process with the DOL.

What if I am not eligible for the professional and skilled worker categories?

The EB-3 visa is available for foreign workers who cannot demonstrate eligibility as a professional or skilled worker. These are referred to as “other workers” or unskilled workers. Here, you will have to demonstrate the following, although this is often the most difficult of the three categories under the EB-3 visa:

  • You must be able to demonstrate that you can do the work based on less than two (2) years of training and experience.
  • The work will not be on a temporary or seasonal basis.
  • You must receive a permanent, full-time job offer from an American business.
  • You must be performing work for which there are no qualified workers available in the United States.
  • The American business petitioning on your behalf must go through the labor certification process with the DOL.

What are the steps in getting an EB-3 visa?

The process to obtain an EB-3 visa involves three steps. You and your prospective employer here in Texas must be able to complete each one in order for you to be able to get an EB-3

  • The first step is labor certification. This is filed by the American employer with the DOL.
  • The second step is the I-140 petition. This is filed by the American employer with the USCIS after it receives labor certification from the DOL.
  • The third step is the visa application. You will take care of this with the U.S. consulate or embassy nearest to your home if you are residing outside of the United States, or by filing to adjust your status to permanent residency if you are already here on a nonimmigrant visa.

What is labor certification?

Labor certification is a process whereby your prospective American employer proves to the DOL that it is unable to find a suitable worker in the United States for the position to be held by the foreign professional or skilled worker. This is done to ensure that American businesses aren’t giving jobs to foreign workers at the expense of U.S. citizens and residents, and to prevent wages or working conditions of American employees from being harmed by the employment of foreign workers. 

The employer goes through a process called PERM, which stands for permanent labor certification program. PERM is run by the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The employer must demonstrate the following in order to receive labor certification from the ETA:

  • The job has been made available to American workers.
  • The wages the employer is offering to the foreign applicant is greater than or equal to the prevailing wage for the position.
  • The wages are not dependent on commissions, bonuses or similar financial incentives. In other words, any draw against commissions will not count towards the wage calculation.
  • The employer has the financial ability to pay the wages to the prospective employee.
  • The employer can put the prospective employee on the payroll upon arrival in the United States.
  • Any American citizen who applied for the job but was rejected was done so for lawful reasons.
  • The job is a full-time permanent position.
  • The employer is not an alter ego for the foreign national. Basically, you cannot sponsor yourself through self employment.
  • The terms of employment are legal under applicable federal, state and local laws.

What documentation will I need?

After the employer has obtained labor certification, it will then have to file a petition for an EB-3 visa on your behalf. Depending on whether you are applying as a professional, skilled worker or other worker, you will need to provide a great deal of documents and evidence to assist the employer in supporting the petition. This can include things like a diploma from a university showing your degree, transcripts of classes taken, an updated resume, and proof of employment in the field of your occupation. If any of these are in a foreign language, they will have to be translated into English and certified by a qualified translator.

There are also other documents that must be included with the petition:

  • Current passport
  • Two passport sized photographs
  • Birth certificate
  • Government issued ID, such as a driver’s license
  • A copy of the job offer
  • Tax documents
  • Medical records
  • Criminal background check
  • Marriage certificates if applying for a spouse to accompany you

Can my family join me?

Foreign nationals who receive an EB-3 visa are permitted to have their spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 join them. Each of these relatives will receive a derivative visa allowing them to live and work in the United States. You can even include them in your EB-3 visa application, so there won’t be a delay in having them join you in America. If you decide to adjust your status to permanent resident, they can apply for Green Cards as well.

If you are a professional or skilled worker considering immigrating to the United States for work, our firm can assist you in the process

Foreign professionals and skilled workers can use the EB-3 visa to live and work in the United States, providing a pathway to permanent resident status and even citizenship. The experienced immigration attorneys at Zepeda Law Firm will provide you with the hands-on assistance you need to make your dreams of living and working in America come true.