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Generally, to be eligible to apply for an immigrant
visa, a foreign citizen must be sponsored by a U.S.
citizen relative (family-based immigrant petition) or by
a prospective employer (employment-based immigrant
petition).
Family-Based Petitions
Both the U.S. citizen (USC) and permanent resident (PR)
can petition their relatives. A USC citizen can petition
his parents, spouse, siblings and children. A PR can
petition his spouse and children only.
Family-based immigration is classified into two basic
categories: unlimited and limited.
The unlimited category is composed of the immediate
relatives of the USC: (1) unmarried children under 21
years old, (2) spouse and (3) parents. For the unlimited
category, there is no numerical limit on how many visas
can be issued each year. Hence, immediate relatives do
not have to spend time waiting for their priority date
to become current or for immigrant visa numbers to
become available once the petition is approved by the
USCIS.
The limited category is further classified into four
sub-categories as they are subject to a numeric annual
limit or an annual quota:
First Preference (F1) - Unmarried
sons or daughters of USC over 21 years old.
Second Preference (F2) - Spouses and
unmarried children of PR
Third Preference (F3 ) - Married sons
and daughters of USC.
Fourth Preference (F4) - Brothers and
sisters of USC.
Relatives under the limited category have to wait for
their priority date to become current before they can
apply for an immigrant visa to the United States. If the
relative's case is not current, the processing of their
immigrant visa cannot be expedited, even in case of
family emergency.
Employment-Based Petitions
Employment-based immigration is classified into five
categories:
First Preference - priority workers
including persons of ability, outstanding professors
and researchers, and multinational executives and
managers
Second Preference - members of the
professions holding advanced degrees or persons of
exceptional ability.
Third Preference –
professionals, skilled workers and other workers.
Fourth Preference - special
immigrants including religious workers, court
dependents and returning residents.
Fifth Preference – investors
who invest significant funds in the U.S. ($1,000,000
or under certain circumstances $500,000) and hire U.S.
workers as employees.
For the second and third employment categories, the
sponsoring employer must file a labor certification with
the Department of Labor certifying that no qualified US
workers are available or willing to do the job that the
alien will perform for them. For this purpose, the
employment must conduct recruitment efforts to advertise
the position specifying the skill requirements for a
particular job. The employer should also conduct a
verification of the prevailing wage for a position and
show the employer's ability to pay the prevailing wage.
Effective March 28, 2005, labor certifications are filed
through an electronic system known as PERM (Program
Electronic Review Management).
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