EMPLOYMENT BASED (EB-1) GREEN CARDS: SOME OBSERVATIONS
By Binod Roka, Esq*.
And
Bashu Dev Phulara
America stands on top of the world now. It is not only the land of liberty and opportunity; it is the land of pioneers too. We mean, this great nation was built, settled, and developed by the Immigrants. From Plymouth Rock (landing place of the pilgrims) in the seventeenth century to Ellis Island (the entrance point of millions of immigrants to the United States- between 1892-1954- now part of Statue of Liberty, National Monument in New York) in the twentieth, people born elsewhere came to America. And rightly so, it is more than the land of immigrants.
The reason for immigration in the America is quite clear. The United States offers unequaled social, political, and economic opportunities to anyone- lucky enough to enter its borders. Because of these opportunities, many more people want to come to the U.S. than the country is willing to admit. Indeed, people are drawn to Americaby one of two motives. The first type of immigrant sees America as the land of prospect where hard work is rewarded. The other type sees America as the land of the big free lunch – where anyone can get free education, free health care, and free welfare. The opportunity-seeker is a boon to America and America is a boon to the opportunity-seeker, therefore. Interestingly, the immigration law of America stands as portable tool to accomplish this goal. This sounds good for all the opportunity seeker immigrants.
Immigration status through employment is one of the several best ways to the foreigners to be permanently settled in the United States. To this point, the purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a broad overview of the issues in applying one of the five braches of Employment Based (EB-1) green card through this category. The authors have presented this material with the help of the legal procedures of the United States. This is, therefore, an effort to keep the information interesting and informative. Please bear in mind that it does not constitute legal advice though.
The Eb-1 green card is the first employment based green card which covers “priority workers.” These are workers whose skills and talents are important to the US – the “best and brightest.” For that reason, in category among about five types of EB green cards(Eb1- Alien of extra ordinary ability/professors/executives, Eb2- Second Employment Based Preference-National Interest Waiver and so on, EB-3 for Specialty Occupation Worker-third employment based preference,EB-4-Religious Workers, EB-5-Immigrant Investor), EB1 comes as a foremost preference. The annual cap on EB-1 visas is 40,000, which is more visas than necessary; hence there typically are no backlogs in visa issuance in this category. The EB-1 category covers three groups: Aliens of extraordinary ability (EB-1-1), outstanding professors and researchers (EB-1-2) and finally International managers and executives (EB-1-3).
EXTRA-ORDINARY ABILITY AND GREEN CARD: The EB-1 category is the relevant category for aliens of extraordinary ability engaged in the arts, sciences, business, education or athletics. One of the most attractive aspects of the EB-1 extra ordinary category is that the labor certification requirement does not apply. This makes the time spent processing an EB-1 application much shorter than for categories that do require a labor certification. An EB1-EA petition may be filed simultaneously with another green card application. One petition may be approved faster than the other and can offer additional protection if one petition should be denied while another is approved.
But the question moves toward-what does extraordinary ability really mean? Extraordinary ability means a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that small percentage who has risen to the top of his or her field of endeavor. To be considered as an alien with extraordinary ability, the alien must have sustained national or international acclaim in the field of science, art, education, business or athletics, which must be recognized in the form of extensive documentation. Winners of the Nobel Prize or comparable other prizes would qualify for this category, for example.
Alternatively, one can prove his/her extraordinary ability, through at least three types of evidence outlined in this paragraph for this classification by submitting : receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized awards and prizes for excellence, membership in associations which require outstanding achievements, published material about the alien in trade publications or other major media, evidence that alien has judged the works of others in the same field, Alien’s original contributions of major significance in the field, Alien’s scholarly articles in the field, displays of Alien’s work at artistic exhibitions or showcases, a leading or critical role for organizations that have a distinguished reputation, evidence that alien has commanded a high salary or payment for services compared to others in the field, or commercial successes or sales in the performing arts.
In addition to this list, there are many other persuasive forms of evidence that may be submitted, depending upon the unique facts of the case. Please note that the alien in this category must be seeking to enter the United States to continue work in the field, and the entry of such alien must substantially benefit prospectively the United States.
OUTSTANDING RESEARCHER/PROFESSOR AND GREEN CARD: A professor or a researcher who is internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic area may obtain this classification under second group of EB1 and avoid labor certification. The outstanding professor and researcher category is a first preference employment based immigrant visa category, however the prerequisites for petitioners of this category is slightly different than the sole criteria of extra ordinary ability above.
In fact, the individual of this category must have three years of teaching or research experience in the academic area and enter the USA in a tenure or tenure track teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education or comparable position to conduct research for a private employer which has documented research accomplishments and employs at least three full time persons in research. The United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services (USCIS) considers that almost same types of documentation as determined for extraordinary ability, at least two of the six regulatory criteria in alien’s particular field, but not limited to, in evaluating whether an individual qualifies as an outstanding professor or researcher. However, it is not sufficient to simply meet the regulatory criteria. The overall evidence must prove international recognition.
MULTINATIONAL EXECUTIVES/MANAGERS AND GREEN CARD: Companies that have been established in the United States for at least one year and that are established in at least one other country may sponsor certain managers and executives for permanent residence without first obtaining a labor certification for the position. To prove eligibility under the Multinational Manager and Executive category, the U.S. employer must prove that the sponsored employee worked for a firm or company as a manager or executive outside the United States for at least one year during the three years preceding the filing of the petition. If the employee is already in the United States in valid nonimmigrant status, the petitioning employer must prove that the employee worked with the company abroad as a manager or executive for a full year during the three years immediately preceding the employee’s entry to the United States in legal status. In addition, the employer must show that a qualifying relationship existed between the employee’s foreign employer and the U.S.employer while the employee worked abroad. Finally, the employer must show that the employee has been offered a managerial or executive position with the company in the United States.
Although no offer of employment (including labor certification) is required, for aliens with extraordinary ability the alien must include with the I-140 petition, convincing evidence that he or she is coming to continue work in the field(area of expertise) under which classification is sought. This evidence may take the form of contracts, commitment letters, or a statement by the individual of his or her plans to work in the United States.
Above all, while an individual may self-sponsor by filing an I-140 immigrant petition under the Extraordinary Ability category on his or her own behalf, the employer must file the petition for an outstanding professor or researcher and a multinational executive or manager. Upon receipt of an approved I-140 immigrant petition, an individual may obtain permanent residence status either by filing a Form I-485 application for adjustment of status from within the United States, or through consular processing at a U.S. consulate outside the United States.
The end.