Employment Based Immigration

Employers who wish to hire foreign workers to temporarily perform services or labor or to receive training may file a Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker. To learn more about temporary work visas, click Here.

Permanent Work Visa

An immigrant is a foreign national who is authorized to live and work permanently in the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident. You must go through a multi-step process to become an immigrant based on employment. The USCIS must approve an immigrant petition (application) that was filed for you, usually by an employer.

In most employment categories (See EB-2 and EB-3 eligibility and filing information below), The Law Office of Behzad Ghassemi can complete a Labor Certification request (ETA 750) for you from the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.

The State Department must give you an immigrant visa number, even if you are already in the United States.

If you are already in the United States, you must apply to adjust to permanent resident status when a visa number becomes available. If you are outside the United States when an immigrant visa number becomes available, you will be notified to go to the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing for an immigrant visa.

What Does the Law Say?

The legal foundation for getting approval for hiring an alien worker permanently comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). For the part of the law that addresses employment-based immigrants, please see INA § 201, INA § 202, INA § 203 and INA § 204. Rules published in the Federal Register explain the eligibility requirements for individuals petitioning for employment-based immigration based on specific criteria. They are in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8 CFR § 204.5.

Who is Eligible for Employment Based Immigration?

There are five categories of employment based immigration:

First Preference (EB-1 priority workers): aliens with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers.

Second Preference (EB-2 workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability): aliens who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent and aliens who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business will substantially benefit the national economy, cultural, or educational interests or welfare of the United States.

Third Preference (EB-3 professionals, skilled workers, and other workers): aliens with at least two years of experience as skilled workers, professionals with a baccalaureate degree, and others with less than two years experience, such as an unskilled worker who can perform labor for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

Fourth Preference (EB-4 special workers such as those in a religious occupation or vocation): aliens who, for at least two years before applying for admission to the United States, have been a member of a religious denomination that has a non-profit religious organization in the United States, and who will be working in a religious vocation or occupation at the request of the religious organization.

Fifth Preference (EB-5 Employment Creation) See the menu on this web site entitled "Investment."

How Do I File a Petition for Alien Worker? As part of our specialized services, our law firm will be happy to process your Work Visa Card application, on behalf of your employer. Our law office will analyze your case and make recommendations on the most appropriate course of action for your company to pursue. We then assist with preparing documents and letters, continuing the case through the Adjustment of Status or consular processing stage, until the principal applicant and family members receive the Green Card.