US encourages green card filing under employment-based categories

The immigration body said there is an exceptionally high number of employment-based immigrant visas available in these categories during the fiscal year through September 2022.

US immigration law provides non-citizens with a variety of ways to become lawful permanent residents (i.e, Green Card) through employment in the the country.

These employment-based “preference immigrant” categories include first preference, second preference and third preference. The first preference category (EB-1) is available for those who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; or certain multinational managers and executives.

Second preference (EB-2) allows members with professions holding advanced degrees or who have exceptional ability (including requests for national interest waivers).

Each year, approximately 140,000 US employment-based immigrant visas (green cards) are made available, and according to the USCIS, there is an “exceptionally high number of employment-based” green cards available for the fiscal year ending in September 2022.

The overall employment-based annual limit for fiscal year 2022 is approximately twice as high as usual, because that limit includes all unused family-sponsored visa numbers from fiscal year 2021, which was approximately 140,000.

In addition, under the relevant statute, any visas not required in the fifth employment-based preference category are made available in the first employment-based preference category, and any visas not required in the first employment-based preference category are made available in the second employment-based preference category, the immigration body said in a statement

“These visas cannot be made available to applicants in the third employment-based preference category because, given the significant number of non-citizens awaiting visas in the second employment-based preference category, these visas are required by statute to be used for the second preference category,” it said.