EB-3 Skilled or Professional Workers

EB-3 (Employment Based 3rd Preference)

This category is for individual workers who are:

1. “Professionals” in that they have at least a Bachelors degree and will be working in a professional position for their employer. (EB 3 A)
2. “Skilled”; A Skilled worker is one who has at least two years of experience or training in the job offered by the sponsoring employer.(EB 3 B)
3. Other workers, including those with un-skilled jobs are also included in this category.(EB 3 c)

The Individual worker will be required to have an employer offer permanent sponsorship. The individual worker will be required to show the lack of U.S worker availability via the Labor Certification process. The Labor Certification process is the prerequisite to filing with the USDHS for an Immigrant benefit. The Labor Certification process is an expedited PERM process.

Once perm is approved, the individual worker can proceed with the Immigration Dept. for Immigrant visa or adjustment (Green Card).

Applying for the EB-3 Visa

After the Department of Labor has approved the labor certification, or in cases in which the Department does not need to approve a labor certification, an application for an immigrant worker may be filed.

Other items that must be included with the petition are documents showing that the employer has the financial resources to pay the offered wage, which must be shown to be at least the prevailing wage. There must also be documentation that proves the position is within the preference category sought. In the EB-3 category this evidence would depend on which classification is sought. Finally, evidence must be submitted that the alien meets the job requirements.

When the INS approves the petition and the applicant’s visa priority date is available, the applicant can pursue permanent residency by either adjustment of status in the US or by consular processing at a US Consulate in their native country.

Schedule A: Nurse & Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist (Shortage Occupation.

The Schedule “A” category is for nurses and physical therapists. Nurses and physical therapists are listed as shortage occupations and therefore do not need to undergo Labor certification. They file I-140 Petition and Labor Certification with USCIS at the same time. As a result, nurses and physical therapists can obtain their green cards very quickly as long as there is special category of quota available to Schedule A occupation even when the General EB-3 category is retrogressed. However at this time, 50,000 quota assigned to Schedule A, category have been exhausted ,and they are in the same EB-3 category.

What are the requirements for obtaining a Schedule A Visa?

For a nurse to obtain permanent residency through the Schedule A category, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. He or she must have a diploma from a nursing school in his or her country;
2. Have a RN license in his or her country; and
3. Have a full and unrestricted license to practice professional nursing in the state of intended employment, or a certification that she has passed the examination given by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), or evidence that she has passed the NCLEX-RN licensing examination but cannot obtain a license because she lacks a social security number.

For a physical therapist to obtain permanent residency through the Schedule A category, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. He or she must have a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy or the equivalent; and
2. Have a license to practice in his or her state of intended employment; or
3.  Have a letter from a state licensing agency stating that the applicant is qualified to take the state licensing examination.

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