Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3
You may be eligible for this immigrant visa preference category if you are a skilled worker, professional, or other worker, and meet specific eligibility criteria under each category, which all requires labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer.
- “Skilled workers” are persons whose job requires a minimum of 2 years training or work experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature
You must be able to demonstrate at least 2 years of job experience or training; and you must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.
- “Professionals” are persons whose job requires at least a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent and are a member of the professions
You must be able to demonstrate that you possess a U.S. baccalaureate degree or foreign degree equivalent and that a baccalaureate degree is the normal requirement for entry into the occupation; and you must be performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States. Education and experience may not be substituted for a baccalaureate degree.
- The “other workers” subcategory is for persons performing unskilled labor requiring less than 2 years training or experience, not of a temporary or seasonal nature.
You must be capable, at the time the petition is filed on your behalf, of performing unskilled labor (requiring less than 2 years training or experience), that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.
Note: While eligibility requirements for the third preference classification are less stringent, you should be aware that a long backlog exists for visas in the “other workers” category.
Third preference petitions must generally be accompanied by an approved, individual labor certification from the Department of Labor on Form ETA-9089. In some cases, the petition may be submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) with an uncertified ETA-9089 for consideration as Schedule A, Group I.
For more information, please visit the “Department of Labor: Foreign Labor Certification” homepage: http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/