Employment Immigration

At Hyder Law, we have extensive experience with Employment Based Immigration. An offer of employment can be an excellent pathway to a temporary visa or a Green Card. A Hyder Lawyer will provide you with an extensive consultation to advise you on your employment visa options and your Green Card eligibility.

Employment based visas are organized into 5 immigration preference categories. There are 120,000 visas available each year for the first 3 immigration preference categories and 10,000 available for each of the last 2 categories. Overall, there are 140,000 employment based visas available across all 5 categories of eligibility. Each of these immigration preference categories can lead to a Green Card provided all the qualifying conditions are met. Eligible family members will also receive a Green Card.

At Hyder Law, we are committed to educating our immigration clients on the different employment based pathways to Green Card. A Hyder Lawyer will explain your options and work with you to achieve Green Card success in the preference group for which you are eligible.

For your reference, the following is a list of the main requirements to qualify for a Green Card in the first 3 immigration preference categories:

The U.S. job position offered to the alien must be full-time and permanent. (An offer of employment is not required in the 1st category and may be waived in the 2nd category.)
The Department of Labor must certify that the alien is filling a job position for which U.S. workers are not available. (This certification is not required in the 1st category, and may be waived in the 2nd category.)
The alien’s education/work experience/training must satisfy the minimum requirements of the job position in the U.S. (A job offer is not required in the first category and may be waived in the 2nd category.)
The employer must be able to pay the alien’s salary (when a job offer is required).
The employer and the alien must each intend to enter into the employment relationship.
The Green Card will not be available until the immigrant visa number is available, as determined by the immigration preference category for which the immigrant is eligible.

A Note on EB1/2/3 Green Cards v. H1B Visa

Fulfillment of one of the employment based preference categories discussed in this article leads to a Green Card. The employment must be permanent, which means the alien needs to have the right to permanently reside and work in the U.S. and therefore should have a Green Card (rather than a temporary visa).

The H1B Visa is for temporary workers. The Visa is temporary and usually limited to 6 years in duration. An H1-B extension may be available. H1-B does not, itself, provide a pathway to a Green Card. However, an H1-B holder may be able to satisfy the requirements of another immigration visa category which does provide a Green Card. For more information on the H1-B Visa, please visit the official USCIS site:

H1-B Visa

Employment Based First Preference

Eligible persons in this category are considered “priority workers.” These types of workers include aliens of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, business, education, athletics, managers and executives of international companies being transferred permanently to the U.S., and outstanding professors and researchers. This category is known as the EB-1 Visa.

The U.S. has a strong public policy incentive to allow such extraordinary individuals to obtain a Green Card as their talent can help to improve the U.S. economically and culturally. This is a very generous visa category - a job offer may not be necessary, and the alien does not need to obtain work authorization.

The EB-1 Visa is one of the best pathways to a Green Card, and for this reason it can be a very difficult visa to succeed on for even the most extraordinary alien. At Hyder Law, we are experienced with the EB-1 Visa and will prepare your application and supporting evidence expertly.

For more information on the EB-1 Visa, please visit the official USCIS site:

EB-1 Visa

Employment Based Second Preference

Eligible persons in this category are considered “non-priority” workers. These types of workers include aliens who are members of professions holding advanced degrees (above a Bachelor’s Degree) and people who are exceptionally skilled in the sciences, art, or business. This category is known as the EB-2 Visa.

The U.S. has a public policy incentive to allow such skilled persons to obtain a Green Card as their skills and talents can help to improve the U.S. economically and culturally. This category requires the applicant to have a job offer and also to obtain labor certification. However, the offer of employment requirement may be waived on national interest grounds.

The EB-2 Visa is an excellent pathway to a Green Card, however, there are high standards to meet and your application and supporting evidence must be meticulously prepared and well organized. At Hyder Law, we have extensive experience preparing the application for the EB-2 Visa. A Hyder lawyer will work closely with you to ensure your application is expertly prepared. For more information on the EB-2 Visa, please visit the official USCIS site:

EB-2 Visa

Employment Based Third Preference

Eligible persons in this category are skilled workers, professionals with a Bachelor’s Degree, and unskilled workers. (Skilled workers must be filling a work position that requires two years of training and experience.) This category requires a job offer and work authorization. This visa is known as the EB-3. At Hyder Law, we have extensive experience preparing the application for the EB-3 Visa.

For more information on the EB-3 Visa, please visit the official USCIS site:

EB-3 Visa

Employment Based Fourth Preference

Eligible persons in this category must be special workers, including but not limited to, religious workers, certain long time employees of the U.S. government, certain persons from Iraq or Afghanistan, certain physicians, and juvenile dependents.

For more information on the EB-4 Visa, please visit the official USCIS site:

EB-4 Primary

Employment Based Fifth Preference

Please see the Investor Immigration tab for more information on this category. You can access the tab from the homepage Immigration drop down menu.

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