IMMIGRANT VISA UNIT
PROFESSIONALS HOLDING ADVANCED DEGREES, OR PERSONS OF EXCEPTIONAL ABILITY IN THE ARTS, SCIENCES OR BUSINESS
3. Skilled workers, professionals holding baccalaureate degrees and other workers, employment third preference, receive 28.6 percent of the yearly worldwide limit, plus any unused Employment 1st and 2nd Preference visas. All 3rd preference applicants require an approved I-140 visa Petition filed by the prospective employer. All such workers require a Labor Certification, or Schedule A designation, or evidence that they qualify for one of the shortage occupations in the Labor Market Information Pilot Program. There are three sub-groups within this preference category:
I. Skilled workers are persons capable of performing a job requiring at least two years’ training or experience
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II. Professional with a baccalaureate degree
III. Other workers are those persons capable of performing a job requiring at least two years’ training or experience. The number of visas available in this sub-category is limited to no more than 10,000 per year worldwide.
Labour certification
A person whose occupation requires a labor certification must have prearranged employment in the United States.
Individual Labor Certification: The applicant must complete form ETA-750B, Statement of Qualifications of Alien, and send this completed form to the prospective employer who completes form ETA-750A, Application for Alien Employment Certification, Offer of Employment. The prospective employer submits both forms to the local office of the States Employment Service in the area in the United States where the work will be performed. The employer will then be notified by the appropriate regional office of the U.S. Department of Labor of its approval or disapproval. If a labor certification is granted, the employer may then file a formI-140, Petition for Prospective Immigrant Employee, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the appropriate employment-based preference category.
Schedule a Designation: The Department of Labor has made a schedule of occupations for which it delegates authority to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to approve labor certifications. Schedule A, Group I, includes physical therapists and nurses. Schedule A, Group II includes aliens of exceptional ability in the arts (except performing arts) and sciences. To apply for Schedule A designation, the employer must submit a fully executed uncertified Form ETA-750 in duplicate to the Immigration and Naturalization Service with the I-140 petition.
Labor Market Information Pilot Program: The Immigration Act of 1990 provides for the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a Labor Market information Pilot Program which will define up to 10 occupational classifications in which there are labor shortages. For aliens within a listed shortage occupation, a labor certification will be deemed to have issued for purposes of an employment-based immigrant petition. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will provide further information when the program is in effect.
