Employment Based Green Card - FAQs

Employment-based immigration allows foreign nationals who have skills and talents needed in the United States to obtain lawful permanent residence ("green card"). Back to FAQs

The employment based immigrant classifications are divided into five categories:

1. First Preference - Priority Workers – includes individuals with 'extraordinary ability', 'outstanding professors and researchers' and 'certain multinational executives and managers of multinational companies.'
2. Second Preference - Professionals holding advanced degrees or those persons with exceptional ability in arts, sciences or business are classified as aliens of extraordinary abilities.
3. Third Preference - Professionals, skilled and unskilled workers. Foreign nationals who are professionals holding Bachelor's Degrees, skilled workers performing labor requiring at least two years training or experience and unskilled workers. Only 10,000 visas per year are available for the unskilled workers. A labor certification is required for all third preference immigrants.
4. Fourth Preference - Special Immigrants. Foreign nationals who are ministers, religious workers and certain other special immigrants.
5. Fifth Preference - Employment Creation. Foreign nationals who invest $1,000,000.00 ($500,000.00 in some locations) in a job-creating enterprise in the United States. No labor certification is required.

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