How can someone obtain an immigrant visa through employment?
U.S. immigration law allows 140,000 individuals to immigrate to the U.S. each year based on employment. Employment-based immigrant visas are divided into five preference groups: 1) priority workers, 2) professionals with advanced degrees or their equivalent, 3) professionals with baccalaureate degrees, skilled and unskilled workers, 4) special immigrants (including, among other things, certain religious workers, certain overseas employees of the U.S. government, or certain members of the U.S. Armed Forces) and 5) investors. Some of the preference categories do not require an offer of employment. However, other categories do require that the person wishing to immigrate have an offer of employment and may require the employer to file a labor certification form with the U.S. Department of Labor. If the person who wishes to immigrate is required to have an offer of employment, the employer must file the visa petition, not the immigrant.
