Immigration > Green Card/Permanent Residence Visas > Employment-based Green Card > Advanced Degrees

Advanced Degrees

Employment Second Preference (EB-2)

Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees, or Persons of Exceptional Ability in the Arts, Sciences, or Business receive 28.6 percent of the annual worldwide limit, plus any unused Employment First Preference visas. All Second Preference applicants must have a labor certification approved by the Department of Labor, or Schedule A designation, or establish that they qualify for one of the shortage occupations in the Labor Market Information Pilot Program. A job offer is required and the U.S. employer must file a petition on behalf of the applicant. Applicants may apply for exemption from the job offer and labor certification if the exemption would be in the national interest, in which case the applicant may file the petition, Form I-140, along with evidence of the national interest. There are two subgroups within this category:

A) Professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond a baccalaureate degree), or a baccalaureate degree and at least five years progressive experience in the profession

To qualify for this category, the job offered by the prospective employer must require an advanced degree and the applicant must possess such a degree or its equivalent (a baccalaureate degree plus 5 years progressive work experience in the field). Documentation, such as an official academic record showing that the applicant has a U.S. advanced degree or a foreign equivalent degree, or an official academic record showing that the applicant has a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree and letters from current or former employers showing that the applicant has at least 5 years of progressive post-baccalaureate work experience in the specialty.

B) Persons with exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business. Exceptional ability means having a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered within the field.

Please contact our office for a free consultation to determine if you are eligible for this visa category.