Business & Employment-Based Immigration

Obtaining Permanent Residency for Foreign Nationals

If you are an employee from another country, there are several ways you may be granted permanent residency in the U.S. with the support of a sponsoring employer.

Depending on the reason an employment-based visa is granted, the options are as follows:

EB-1: This visa grants permanent residency to foreign nationals who have extraordinary abilities in areas such as arts, science, education, athletics, or business. It is also available to outstanding professors or researchers, or executives or managers whose foreign companies have transferred them to a U.S. office.

EB-2: This visa grants permanent residency to foreign nationals who have advanced degrees or exceptional abilities in the arts, sciences, athletics, or business.

EB-3: This visa grants permanent residency to foreign nationals who may not qualify for EB-1 or EB-2 visas but are nonetheless skilled workers or professionals. However, the waiting time to obtain these visas may be longer than for EB-1 or EB-2 visas.

EB-4: This visa grants permanent residency to particular categories of immigrants, including religious workers, Iraqi/Afghan translators, Iraqis who have assisted the U.S., employees of international organizations, physicians, and members of the armed forces.

Obtaining Temporary Employment Visas for Foreign Workers

Foreign workers with legitimate temporary job offerings in the U.S. may also be granted temporary employment visas. The following visas may be granted to workers who already have jobs lined up in the U.S. :

H-1B: This visa grants non-immigrant visas to professional workers who have at least a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent work experience). However, their employers must prove that they will be paid at (at a minimum) the prevailing wage for the position.

L-1: This visa is available to executives, managers, and other employees with specialized knowledge who are being transferred to their employer’s U.S. affiliate. Those holding L-1 visas may, in some cases, be eligible for permanent residency without the need for a labor certification.

O-1: This visa, also known as an Extraordinary Ability visa, is available to foreign nationals who have exhibited extraordinary ability in their fields of endeavor, whether entertainment, athletics, science or business. Unlike the EB-1, the O-1 visa only permits the immigrant to stay in the U.S. temporarily.

TN: This visa has been established to give an advantage to immigrants from Canada and Mexico, the countries that are our co-members in NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement).