US encourages green card filing under employment-based categories
Premium- USCIS said there is an exceptionally high number of employment-based immigrant visas available in these categories during the fiscal year through September 2022
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has urged eligible applicants to consider Green Card filings under employment-based preference 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.
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