Permanent Residency Through Employment
Immigration law provides for five different types of employment visas that can lead
directly to permanent residency. These visas differ from non-immigrant visas in that non-immigrant visa holders
are expected to remain only temporarily in the United States and return to their home country at the end of the visa period, except for
dual-intent visas, which allow a temporary worker to apply for permanent residency while living and working temporarily in the United States and if successful in obtaining
permaent residency, to convert without having to return home at all.
The most important of these dual-intent visas is the highly sought after H-1B visa.
By contrast, immigrant employment visas allow for the visa holder to obtain permanent
residency directly through approved employment or investment that enables employment.
The immigrant visa categories are arranged by category according to number, from one to five, and are numbered accordingly, following the
designation EB.
Only a limited number of EB category visas
are authorized world-wide each year. These are distributed by statutory formula. Each country gets a limited number of available visas in a preference category. Any requests which are not filled in one year roll over to the next.
Thus, for some countries a EB visa in a particular preference category may entail many
years' wait, while for another country, such a visa is immediately available.
A visa must be immediately available to an applicant before entry on the visa can
occur. Thus, in unlucky situations, many years may pass between the time an EB visa is approved by the USCIS,
and a visa is actually available for
entry purposes, during which time
the beneficiary cannot take advantage of the visa authorization.
Generally, the lower the EB category number, the more speedily a visa may become
available for use.
At Messing Law Offices, we provide high quality legal services and expertise to families, working men and women, and businesses. If you have a concern in the areas of family based immigration, business based immigration, employment based immigration, or naturalization and you are seeking the help of an experienced immigration lawyer, call Messing Law Offices for professional Arizona immigration attorney assistance.
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