A Lawful Permanent Resident (commonly known as a “green card” holder) is a person who has an immigrant visa that allows them to work and live anywhere in the United States. Being a green card holder is also a required step in becoming a U.S. citizen and obtaining a U.S. passport.
One of the fastest ways to obtain a U.S. green card is through an EB1 green card petition where people can qualify by being recognized as having extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics on a national or international level (EB1a visa), or by being professors or researchers who are internationally recognized as outstanding in their academic field (EB1b visa), or by being executives or managers of multinational companies overseas transferring to work in the U.S. office (EB1c visa).
Persons with extraordinary ability (EB1a visa) are permitted to self-sponsor their own green card petitions whereas outstanding professors or researchers (EB1b visa) and multinational executives or managers (EB1c visa) require a U.S. sponsoring employer. The main benefit of all EB1 green card petitions is that it does not require a PERM labor certification and it has fewer visa availability backlog problems which makes it one of the fastest ways to obtain a U.S. green card.
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There are three main subcategories under the EB1 visa (green card):
- Extraordinary Ability: Persons who are nationally or internationally recognized as having extraordinary ability in the field of sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
- Outstanding Professors or Researchers: Persons who are a professor or researcher that is internationally recognized as outstanding in their academic field.
- Multinational Executives or Managers: Persons who are executives or managers of multinational companies overseas transferring to work in the U.S. office.
A person can qualify for an EB1 green card no matter where they are currently residing in the world. There are no pre-requisites for the person to be under any type of nonimmigrant visa status (such as an H1B visa) or have an educational degree from a U.S. school. A person who does not have a U.S. degree and has never been to the United States can qualify for an EB1 green card.
The EB1 green cards are for persons who qualify as the most professionally accomplished in their field of expertise. For a person to qualify for an EB1a green card (Extraordinary Ability), it must be shown that the person (1) has extraordinary ability in the fields of science, art, education, business or athletics, (2) they have maintained well-known and acclaimed in their area of expertise on a national or international level, (3) they will continue to work in same area of expertise after entering the United States, and (4) they will be able to substantially benefit the United States after their green card is granted.
For a person to qualify for an EB1b green card (Outstanding Professor or Researcher), it must be shown that the person is a professor or researcher who is (1) well-known on an international level for being outstanding in their academic field, (2) have at least 3 years of experience in teaching or researching in that academic field, and (3) they have received a job offer for a tenured or tenure-tracked teaching position, or a comparable permanent researching position from a qualified U.S. sponsoring employer (such as a university, institution of higher education, or private employer that employs at least 3 full-time researchers and is considered accomplished in the academic field).
For a person to qualify for an EB1c green card (Multinational Executive or Manager), it must be shown that the person (1) was employed as an executive or manager overseas by the multinational U.S. sponsoring company (i.e., branch of the U.S. company) or its other business entities (i.e. parent, affiliate, or subsidiary) for at least 1 year within the 3 years prior to filing the EB1c green card petition OR within 3 years of entering the United States as a nonimmigrant if already working for the sponsoring employer in the United States, and (2) a job offer for a manager or executive position in the sponsoring employer’s U.S. office. The multinational U.S. sponsoring employer here must have been doing business for at least 1 year in the United States and conducts business in at least one country other than the United States.
Green cards that require sponsorship from an employer means that the beneficiary (which is the person who will be getting the green card) would need a U.S. employer (e.g., company) to file a green card petition for them and pay the fees related to the green card petition. For example, EB1b green card petitions (for outstanding professors and researchers) and EB1c green card petitions (for multinational executives or managers) are required to be “sponsored” by a U.S. employer which means that the green card petition has to be started and paid by a U.S. employer. In other words, because the EB1b and EB1c green cards require sponsorship from a U.S. employer, the professor, researcher, executive or manager (i.e., the beneficiaries) here cannot apply for a green card just by themselves.
On the contrary, green cards that allow “self-sponsorship” means that a person can file and pay for their own green card application. For example, EB1a green card petitions (for persons of extraordinary ability) do not require sponsorship from a U.S. sponsoring employer and allows the person to self-sponsor (i.e., to apply and pay for) their own EB1a green card petition.
The process for EB1 green card petitions requires filing a green card petition (Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and a change of status application by either filing a Form I-485 application with the USCIS or a DS-260 application with the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”).
Usually, after the approval of the EB1 green card petition (Form I-140), a person who is already residing in the United States will choose to file a Form I-485 application to adjust their current nonimmigrant visa status to a lawful permanent resident (green card) visa status without leaving the United States. The Form I-485 application (“Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status”) is only available to people who are already in the United States and have maintained their lawful visa status throughout their stay.
A person already residing in the United States also can choose to file a DS-260 application to change into a lawful permanent resident (EB1 green card) visa status by going through consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad (usually in the person’s home country). In cases where a person is ineligible for adjusting status in the United States or resides outside the United States, consular processing must be done. Consular processing usually takes place at the U.S. consulate or embassy in the person’s home country, however, under certain circumstances the person can do the consular processing in another country as a “Third Country National.”
An interview for the EB1 green card will be done at a local USCIS office for the adjustment of status or at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad for consular processing. For a person who is already in the United States adjusting their visa status, the interview approval is the final step in obtaining their EB1 green card.
For a person who is outside the United States doing consular processing, the person must physically enter the United States after the interview approval as the final step to obtain their EB1 green card. In other words, a person who is doing consular processing to obtain their EB1 green card must be admitted by the CBP (“Customs and Border Protection“) officer at the U.S. border (usually done in the secondary inspection room at the airport) for their EB1 green card to be issued.
The main difference between an EB1 green card and a temporary work visa (such as an H1B visa, L1 visa, O1 visa, P1 visa, TN visa, E3 visa) is that an EB1 green card holder can change their jobs freely among different employers or industries without needing additional filings or approvals from the U.S. government. Also, unlike work visas, EB1 green cards are permanent so there is no set maximum time on how long an EB1 green card holder can stay in the United States.
For example, a person with an EB1 green card does not need to file anything new with the USCIS when they change jobs while a person with an H1B visa must have a Change of Employer H1B visa application filed for them because the H1B visa is tied to the specific U.S. employer that is sponsoring the H1B visa itself.
The EB1 green card petition is one of the fastest ways to obtain an employment-based green card because there is no requirement to undergo the lengthy PERM labor certification and visa availability backlog problems are rare. The three subcategories under the EB1 green card petition are: (1) the EB1a green cards that are for people who have extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, (2) the EB1b green cards that are for professors or researchers who are internationally recognized as outstanding in their academic field, and (3) the EB1c green cards that are for executives or managers of multinational companies who are employed overseas but are being transferred to the U.S. office.
People who qualify for an EB1 green card petition usually have been working for a while and have already established themselves as professionally accomplished in their field of expertise.
If you have an EB1 green card immigration question, please fill out our contact us form or send us an email with some basic information about your background and your immigration needs. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours.
How we can help?
Kylie Huang Law’s immigration attorney will help identify whether the EB1 green card is the appropriate immigrant visa category for the client’s (or the client’s beneficiary’s) professional background. We will work closely with our client to prepare a convincing case for their (or it’s) EB1 green card petition and we will also strategize on how the EB1 green card petition should be presented to achieve the best chances of approval. It is strongly advised and common practice to retain an immigration attorney for an EB1 green card petition due to the complexities in the immigration process and visa requirements.
What does the typical process look like to retain (hire) us?
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- Fill out the form (with some basic information on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment online
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom meeting)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming content of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the case status
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
RELATED ARTICLES
- EB1a Visa (Alien of Extraordinary Ability)
- EB1a Visa Requirement & Documents
- EB1a Visa Checklist
- EB1b Visa (Outstanding Professors and Researchers)
- EB1b Visa Requirement & Documents
- EB1b Visa Checklist
- EB1c Visa (Multinational Manager or Executive)
- EB1c Visa Requirement & Documents
- EB1c Visa Checklist