EB-2 Advanced Degreed Professionals
I. SUMMARY
II. WHAT IS THE EB-2 CATEGORY?
III. WHO QUALIFIES UNDER EB2 CATEGORY?
IV. WHAT FORMS DO I USE TO APPLY?
V. WAIVER
VI. FAMILY MEMBERS
VII. FEES TO INS/CONSULATE
VIII. PROCEDURE
Every year, America allows 140,000 persons to come to the United States on employment-based immigrant visas, which are divided into five categories. Approximately 40,000 (28.6%) of the total number of employment-based immigrant visas are awarded in this category. Any unused visa numbers are then used in the next visa category down. If there are more qualified applicants in the category than there are available visa numbers, the category is considered “oversubscribed” in the visas are then issued in chronological order in which the petitions were filed. The filing date of the petition becomes the priority date. Your fees that can not be issued until your priority date is current. This may mean that you'll have to wait several years before your priority date is reached.
II. WHAT IS EB-2 CATEGORY?It is an immigrant employment-based visa category allowing you to live and work permanently in the United States of America. You will need a job offer and the Labor Certification approved by the Department of labor, Schedule A designation or show that you qualify for one of the shortage occupations in the Labor Market Pilot Program.
III. WHO QUALIFIES UNDER EB-2 CATEGORY?
Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees Or Persons Of Exceptional Ability In The Arts, Sciences Or Business. There are two subgroups within this category.
A. Professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond a bachelorette degree), or a bachelorette degree and at least five years progressive experience in the profession.
B. Persons with exceptional ability and the arts, sciences or business. Exceptional ability means having a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered within the field.
All employment second preference applicants must have a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor, Schedule A designation or establish that they qualify for one of this shortage applications in the Labor Market Pilot Program. A job offer is required and the US employer must file a petition on behalf of the applicant. Aliens may apply for an exemption from the job offer and labor certification if the exemption would be in the national interest. In this case, the alien may file the petition, form I-140, along with evidence of the national interest.
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IV. WHAT FORMS DO I USE TO APPLY?
Form I-140, immigrant petition for alien worker must be used. Supporting documents include the following:
A. Professionals holding an advanced degree or a bachelorette degree and at least five years progressive experience in the profession.
1. Permanent Labor Certification (PERM)***, and
2. Official Academic Record showing applicant holds US advanced degree or foreign equivalent and any CIS approved certification or licensed if the profession requires it, or
3. Official Academic Record showing applicant holds US bachelors degree or foreign equivalent of letters evidencing that five years of post-bachelor progressive experience in the speciality.
B. Health Care Workers: If you are healthcare worker (nurse, physical and occupational therapist, speech -- language pathologist, medical technologist and technician) other than a physician, you'll also need evidence that:
1. You are competent in oral and written English and can pass a nationally recognized exam;
2. You have passed a licensing exam, which is recognized by the majority of states licensing the profession in which you plan to work;
3. ETA Form 9089-for nurses and physical therapists.
C. Aliens of exceptional ability: The petition must be accompanied by at least three of the following items:
1. And official academic record showing that the alien has a degree, diploma, certificate or similar award from a college, university, school or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability;
2. evidence in the form of latter(s) from current or former employer(s) showing that the alien has the least 10 years of full-time experience in the occupation for which he or she is being sought;
3. a license to practice their profession or certification for a particular profession or occupation;
4. evidence that the alien has command of the salary, or other remuneration for services, which demonstrates exceptional ability;
5. evidence of membership in professional associations; or
6. evidence of recognition for achievement and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, governmental entities, a professional or business associates.
In order to get a waiver from the labor certification department you will need one of the following:
A. National Interest Waiver: The following are the types of evidence which you will need to submit as evidence that you qualify for a national interest waiver:
1. That you are seeking employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit (this is a threshold requirement);
2. Proposed benefits will be national in scope (is there a national goal that your proposed undertaking will promote)
3. “Significant” benefit derived from your participation in the “national interest” field of endeavor “considerably” at ways the inherent national interest in protecting the United States workers through the labor certification process (a balancing of interests)
4. You're standing in the field (that you are superior to others);
5. Minimum education, experience and training required to perform the services in question;
6. Quality of your evidence (letters from recognized authorities and experts are best);
7. you are self-employed
8. Labor certification will only delay the benefit that you can confirm
9. Your employer is unsuccessful recruitment efforts.
B. Foreign Physicians: if you are foreign physician, you'll receive a national interest waiver if you meet the following requirements:
1. You agree to work full-time in an area that has been designated as the designated health professionals shortage area (HPSA) or in the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital and
2. A federal agency or a state Department of Health has determined that your work is in the public interest;
3. You have worked full-time in this shortage area or a VA hospital for an aggregate of five years’
4. This five-year period must be served under H1-B status or as an adjustment of the status applicant, not in J-1 status;
5. You have had at least two years of experience in the area in which you will benefit America;
6. National interest waiver cannot be based purely on your ability to help out a local labor shortage, you must be involved in an undertaking which will substantially benefit America in the future, and
7. You must play a significant role in the activity that will benefit America in the future.
Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 will be admitted under the same classification as you.
VII. FEES TO INS/CONSULATE
Form I-140 filing fee Click here
Adjusting fee at consulate to be defined by consulate. There may be other fees that will be determined at the time of filing.
There may be other fees, such as application for travel document and work permit, and will be determined at the time of the filing.
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VIII. PROCEDURE
The procedure is a multi step process. You and your prospective employer must determine if you are eligible for lawful permanent residence.
A. Obtaining A Permanent Labor Certification From The Legal Department Of Labor-- your prospective employer will need to obtain an approved PERM labor certification from the Department of labor or pre-certification under schedule A. you may be eligible for a waiver of the labor certification and job offer. The waiver would be granted in cases where the USCIS determines that an exemption would be in the national interest of the United States. If the job offer requirement is waived, but no labor certification needs to be filed
B. Approval Of Form I-140, Immigrant Petition For Alien Worker-- your employer must then file an I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition together with the labor certification approved by the Department of Labor and supporting evidence. Detail information is provided in the instructions to Form I-140. If you are seeking a waiver from the job offer requirement, that you or anyone on your behalf may file the petition.
C. Visa Availability—Once the I-140 immigrant Visa petition is approved by the USCIS, the State Department must give the applicant an immigrant visa number. Visa numbers become available subject to the preference category and priority dates. You can check the status of the visa number in the Department Of State’s Visa Bulletin
D. Adjustment Of Status/Consulate Processing-- if the applicant is already in the United States, he or she must apply to adjust to permanent residence status after a visa number becomes available. If the applicant is outside the United States to when an immigrant visa number becomes available, he or she will be notified by the local consulate and must complete the process at his or her local US consulate office.
Before your status is adjusted to permanent resident or your immigrant visa is issued, you'll have to undergo a medical examination conducted by a doctor designated by the local consular officer. You will have to pay the costs of these examinations as well as the visa fees.
***Permanent Labor Certification (PERM):
A permanent labor certification issued by the Department of Labor allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States. In most instances, before a US employer can submit an immigration petition to the United States citizenship and immigration services, the employer must obtain an approved labor certification request from the Department of Labor's employment and training administration. The Department of Labor must certify to the USCIS that there are no qualified US workers able, willing, qualified, and available to accept the job at the prevailing wage for that occupation in the area of intended employment and bad employment of the alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.
All employers filing the PERM (except for those applications involving college or university teacher selected pursuant to a competitive recruitment and selection process, schedule A. occupations, and sheepherders) must attest, in addition to a number of other conditions of employment, to having conducted recruitment prior to filing the application.
The employer must prepare a recruitment report in which the employer categorizes the lawful job-related reasons for injection of U. S. applicant's and provide the number of US applicants rejected in each category.
Last Updated on Thursday, 05 January 2012 16:15