Employment Based Immigration

This category is one of the most utilized, and certainly one of the most discussed. Basically, the following are applicable for this employment-based preference:

• Professionals without Advanced Degrees;
• Skilled Workers; and
• Unskilled Workers

It is useful to discuss each category separately.

Professionals without Advanced Degrees - These are persons in college or working who have already achieved a degree, such as a bachelor's degree, and are working toward a professional degree in a field that refers to itself as a profession. While there are several categories of professions that can be argued for inclusion in this preference, it is generally understood to apply to professions like dentists, lawyers, doctors, accountants, pilots, architects, teachers and/or veterinarians.

Skilled Workers - This category requires proof that:

• The immigrant works in a specific field that requires special skills; and
• The immigrant has had at least two years of training/experience.

This is one category where it is difficult to make any predictions. Some sources describe this area as not requiring a college degree or college training, but requiring some specialized training or experience. However, because a Labor Certificate is required to accompany this Petition, there is some predictability. A person contemplating such a Visa can consult US Labor Department specifications and cases to determine what types of jobs have been considered to be "skilled" in the past.

It is advisable to have a lawyer help you make this determination, if you do not have the resources or an understanding of the law. There is almost no way for someone who is not a trained immigration expert to know whether a Petition as a skilled worker will be successful.

Unskilled Workers - This category is highly regulated and highly limited. The Labor Department has set forth a schedule that lists the occupations for which they will not allow Petitions to be granted in this category. It is not intended to set forth the list here, but the US Labor Department specifications can also be consulted to determine the likelihood of success. While there are exceptions, a realistic sense should prevail here. In most of these unskilled worker categories, it is often presumed that there is an adequate supply of US workers to fill these jobs, and therefore there is no need for immigrants to fill them.

There is one exception area: Unskilled Workers Who Are Domestic Workers. This is an area of unskilled workers that will be granted Immigrant Visas. The problem is that there are a highly limited number of these that will be granted each year.

Absent special circumstances, it is likely the best advice to find another category on which an immigrant Visa could be based other than the unskilled worker preference.

In each of these categories, you must file Petition Form I-140, "Immigration Petition for Alien Worker." Each requires a Labor Certification [discussed above], and requires that the Labor Certification must be approved prior to filing the Petition.

Revocation of a Petition Based on Any of the Employment-Based Preferences

Employment Based Immigration

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Sections Available in Immigration

Family Based Immigration Employment Based Immigration Non-Immigrant Visas