The third employment preference category is the EB-3 visa for professional, skilled and unskilled workers. For more information on EB-3 visas, contact Tucker, Nong and Associates immediately. Our EB-3 visa lawyers can provide you with useful information and help you with the entire filing process.
EB-3 Visa for professional, skilled and unskilled workers
The EB-3 visa is useful for the following workers.
- Professionals with a bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent with no experience
- Skilled workers with at least two years of experience
- Unskilled workers with less than two years of training or experience
Qualifying for an EB-3 Visa
To qualify for an EB-3 visa, the foreign national is required to have an offer of permanent and full-time employment from a United States employer. The process is started by the employer when it obtains an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor. The certification operates to confirm that the employer attempted to recruit U.S. workers for the job, but failed to find anybody willing or qualified.
Approval from the Department of Labor (DOL)
Approval by the Department of Labor certifies that no suitably qualified U.S. workers exist on a full-time basis to fill the position at the time the employer was attempting to fill it. After certification is received, the employer can file the immigrant petition for the foreign worker and engage them in employment.
EB-3 Visa Cap
The number of EB-3 visas is limited each year, and only 10,000 of those are available for unskilled workers. There are also limits on the number of EB-3 visas that are permitted per country. This results in the unskilled worker waiting in line for significantly longer periods of time by years.
Who qualifies for an EB-3 Visa
The EB-3 visa is designed for specific types of professionals. These categories are:
- Professional workers with no advanced degree
- Certain types of skilled workers
- Certain types of unskilled workers
Keep reading for more information on each of these categories.
Professional workers with no advanced degree
Professional workers are required to have a U.S. bachelor’s degree or the foreign equivalent thereof. These would appear to include but not be limited to physicians, engineers and teachers. The person will want to be a current member of the profession who is working in their area of expertise. A combination of education and work experience with no degree does not qualify. A worker probably fits for this category of a visa if they have the bachelor’s degree and less than five years of experience. Potential employers of nurses and physical therapists are not required to comply with the Department of Labor certification requirement. It has already been determined that there are not sufficient numbers of able, willing and qualified United States nurses and physical therapists to meet the job market’s demand for these positions.
Skilled workers
If a job requires two years of training but does not require a college degree, the worker is categorized as a skilled worker. These jobs might include chefs, certain types of computer workers, graphic designers, or any other job that fits the requirements on the labor certification form. Any relevant post secondary training in the field can also qualify as training. Skilled worker jobs don’t contemplate part-time or seasonal employment. The employer must be offering a permanent job and the worker must have a minimum of two years of training.
Unskilled workers
Positions for unskilled workers also cannot be seasonal or temporary. If the job does not require two years of training or experience, the worker is defined as unskilled, even if the worker has more than two years of training or experience in the job. These jobs would include housekeepers, nannies, laborers and farm workers.
Application process
The person seeking permanent residence with an EB-3 visa is required to have an employer willing to sponsor them through the labor certification phase. The worker cannot bring the petition on their own. The employer is the petitioner in this case. The worker is not required to be employed by the employer at the time of the labor certification filing. A job offer or promise of future employment is sufficient. The application process for obtaining an EB-3 visa is very complicated and it is highly recommended that you seek assistance from a legal professional.
How we can help you
If you are interested in learning more, or are ready to pursue an EB-3 visa, contact Tucker, Nong and Associates PLLC immediately. Our experiences EB-3 visa lawyers can make sure that your application process is error free so that you receive the best result possible in the shortest amount of time.
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