This week, we’re returning to our discussion about employment-based visas for “priority workers,” or the EB-1 visa category. These are immigrant visas for people who meet specific criteria, meaning that this type of visa can lead to lawful permanent residency. There are three types of EB-1 visas:

EB-1 (a) Extraordinary ability visas (the type FLOTUS Melania Trump received)

EB-1 (b) Outstanding professors and researchers

EB-1 (c) Multinational managers and executives

In this post, we’ll discuss the EB-1 (b) visa. In order to be considered an outstanding professor or researcher, you must demonstrate international recognition of your outstanding achievements, along with at least three years of teaching or research experience in your field.

You must document that you meet at least two of these criteria to demonstrate your outstanding achievements or international recognition:

  • You have received major awards or prizes for outstanding achievement
  • You are a member of associations requiring outstanding achievement
  • Material about your work has been published by others in professional publications
  • You have participated, either individually or on a panel, in judging others’ work
  • You have made original scholarly or scientific research contributions to your field
  • You have authored scholarly books or articles in internationally circulated scholarly journals

You must also have an offer of a tenured or tenure-track teaching or research position from a U.S. institution of higher education. This makes the institution your sponsor, and they will have to demonstrate that (1) there are not enough qualified, available and willing U.S. workers to fill the position at the prevailing wage; and (2) hiring an international worker will not adversely affect the pay and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

EB-1 visas are first preference immigrant visas

Each year, there are only about 140,000 immigrant visas available for immigrants, their spouses and their children who seek to immigrate for permanent employment.

Therefore, the fact that EB-1 visas are for “priority workers” is significant. “EB” stands for “employment based,” and these visas are among several types of employment-based visas for permanent workers. EB-1 visas are first preference visas, meaning that qualifying applicants receive their visas before applicants for EB-2 (second preference), EB-3 (third preference), and so on.

If you have a job offer from a U.S. institution of higher learning and believe you would qualify for an EB-1(b) visa, we strongly recommend contacting Yew Immigration Law Group to discuss what evidence you may need. Alison Yew has years of experience helping people obtain EB-1 visas and other employment-based visas.