University Sponsored Employment-Based Immigrant Categories
The federal regulations provide several employment-based categories for foreign nationals who wish to immigrate to the U.S. These categories are:
- outstanding professors or researchers (EB1-2),
- a member of the professions who holds an advanced degree (EB2-1), or
- a professional possessing a bachelor’s degree (EB2-2)
The two avenues to legal permanent resident status most commonly used for university employees are “outstanding professors or researchers” and “a member of the professions who holds an advanced degree”.
Outstanding Professor/Researcher status requires the University to present evidence of three facts. First, evidence that the individual has at least three years of experience in teaching and/or research. Second, that the individual will hold (or currently holds) a permanent position, and third, that the individual has international reputation as an outstanding professor/researcher.
Faculty or researchers who qualify as an “alien worker with outstanding or exceptional ability, as defined by immigration law, must have at least three years of teaching and/or research experience beyond their terminal degree. If they do not otherwise meet the more rigorous criteria of the outstanding professor/researcher category, they may nonetheless qualify for immigration under the University Teachers and Professional Occupations options.
A Permanent Labor Certification is a prerequisite to filing an employment-based immigrant petition under the category of EB2-1, or EB2-2 on behalf of a foreign national faculty member or professional. UF must give evidence that it has conducted its recruitment in a manner that meets Department of Labor (DOL) standards. Obtaining a permanent labor certification under the Standard Processing category can be a lengthy and tedious. The University must provide evidence to the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) agency that no U.S. Workers ( U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents) who met the minimum qualifications for the applicable position were denied consideration for the job for other than legitimate job-related reasons.