The EB-3 visa allows professionals, skilled workers, and unskilled workers who meet certain requirements to obtain green cards and permanent residence in the United States. EB-3 petitioners must be coming to the United States to perform work for which qualified U.S. workers are not available and must have a permanent, full-time job offer to qualify for EB-3 visas.
Prior to filing an EB-3 visa application, the employer desiring to hire the petitioner must file a PERM labor certification application with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to obtain a labor certification authorizing the hiring of a foreign worker for that position, where DOL certifies that there are not enough U.S. workers able, willing, qualified, and available to accept the job opportunity and that employment of a foreign worker will not harm the wages or working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. This certification must accompany the EB-3 petition.
Moro Legal, LLC, advises and assists workers, professionals, businesses, and institutions through the EB-3 visa process for U.S. permanent residence and green cards. Schedule an attorney consultation online today to begin your journey, or contact our office for more information.
What qualifications are necessary to apply for the EB-3 visa?
- Petitioners filing under the “skilled worker” category must be able to show at least two (2) years of work experience or training. Examples of individuals fitting this category include chefs, nurses, or computer programmers.
- Petitioners filing under the “professional” category must show that they have a U.S. bachelors or equivalent degree, and that a bachelors degree is normally required to enter their profession. There is no experience or education substitution for this degree requirement. Examples of professionals that might file under this category include accountants, teachers, engineers, or physical therapists.
- Petitioners filing as “unskilled workers” (all petitioners not filing as “skilled workers” or “professionals”) must be capable of performing unskilled labor requiring less than two (2) years training or experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature. This category would include those working as domestic workers, nannies, landscapers, farmworkers, or waiters.
Spouses of EB-3 visa holders may be admitted to the U.S. and are eligible to request a work permit for employment in the United States while their green cards are pending. Children of EB-3 visa holders under age 21 are also able to apply for the visas to accompany the primary EB-3 recipient.
Nurses and physical therapists have a special status for EB-3 visa applications. The U.S. Department of Labor has designated nurses and physical therapists as “shortage” occupations, or in other words, that there are not “sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified and available” in these fields and that immigrant nurses and physical therapists will not “adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed.” This means that nurses and physical therapists who apply for EB-3 visas do not need to complete the Labor Certification process like other applicants. They still must fulfill the other requirements to petition for the visa.