Employment-based green cards.

Five categories, five different paths

Employment-based immigration has 140,000 annual visas split across five preference categories. Each category has different eligibility criteria, timelines, and country limits.

EB-1 — Priority Workers

EB-1A Extraordinary Ability

For individuals at the top of their field in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Self-petition without employer sponsorship. Must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim through either a one-time achievement (Nobel Prize, Olympic Medal) or by satisfying at least 3 of 10 regulatory criteria.

Full EB-1A guide →

EB-1B Outstanding Professor/Researcher

For individuals internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic field with at least 3 years of teaching or research experience. Requires a job offer from a U.S. university or qualifying private employer.

EB-1C Multinational Executive/Manager

For executives or managers transferred to the U.S. by a multinational employer. Must have worked for the foreign affiliate for at least 1 year in the prior 3 years.

EB-2 — Advanced Degree Professionals

Standard EB-2 requires employer sponsorship and PERM labor certification. EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) allows self-petition without an employer or PERM if your work serves the U.S. national interest.

Full EB-2 NIW guide →

EB-2 NIW three-prong test (Matter of Dhanasar)

1. Substantial merit and national importance — proposed endeavor has significance.
2. Well positioned to advance — applicant has the means to pursue the endeavor.
3. On balance beneficial — to waive the labor certification requirement.

EB-3 — Skilled Workers, Professionals, Other Workers

Three sub-categories: skilled workers (2+ years training), professionals (bachelor's degree minimum), and other workers (less than 2 years training). All require U.S. employer sponsorship and PERM labor certification.

Full EB-3 guide →

EB-5 — Investor Visas

$800K (rural or high-unemployment area) or $1.05M (standard) investment creating 10 U.S. jobs. The Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 created reserved visa pools — Rural (20%), HUA (10%), Infrastructure (2%) — that have no backlogs even for India and China.

Full EB-5 guide →

May 2026 Visa Bulletin priority dates

Strategic considerations

For Indian nationals

EB-2 backlog of 11+ years makes EB-1A or EB-5 Rural the rational choice for those who qualify. EB-1A self-petition is the fastest non-investor path. EB-5 Rural at $800K with current priority dates is the fastest investor path.

For Chinese nationals

EB-2 backlog of 5+ years and EB-5 Unreserved backlog of 10+ years drive interest in EB-1A and EB-5 Rural/HUA. Reserved visa pools for EB-5 are critical.

For all other countries

Most categories are current or near-current. EB-1A and EB-2 NIW timelines are limited only by USCIS processing (12-18 months). EB-5 Rural is the fastest investor option.