The EB-1 Visa category allows foreign nationals of extraordinary ability to immigrate to the United States permanently. This first preference employment-based immigration category also provides a path to citizenship for outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives or managers. To qualify for an eb1 green card requirements, you must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim in your field of expertise.
How long does it take to get a Green Card in EB-1?
While achieving an eb1 green card is no easy task, it is one of the quickest and most straightforward paths to permanent residency within the employment-based immigration categories. Unlike the EB-2 and EB-3, which require an employer to start the process by attempting to recruit U.S. workers for the position, a EB-1 visa applicant can self-petition in a “self-sponsored” manner. This can save the sponsoring U.S. employer the expense and time of going through the labor certification process, which typically takes many months to complete.
Additionally, all three subcategories of the EB-1 visa allow for expedited processing known as premium processing, which can reduce the total processing time to around a year. And, unlike the EB-2 and EB-3, a EB-1 visa applicant does not need to have a U.S. job offer in order to apply.
A EB1 Extraordinary Ability green card is typically reserved for scholars, researchers, post doctoral research fellows, Ph.D. students, and other advanced degree professionals who have achieved extraordinary achievement either by a single significant accomplishment, such as winning a Nobel Prize, or by meeting three of ten regulatory criteria that demonstrate that they have “risen to the top of their field.” This is the most difficult of all of the EB1 visa subcategories to meet.