Employment Based Green Cards

Overview: Employment-based green cards usually require three separate answers: which immigrant category fits, who can petition, and when a visa number is available. An approved petition is not the final green card, and not every category uses the same form or labor-certification process. About 140,000 employment-based immigrant visasImmigrant visaA visa issued at a consulate to a person intending to live permanently in the United States. On admission the holder becomes a permanent resident.See it in the glossary are made available each fiscal year, and demand in many categories is far higher than supply.

The five preferences

The State Department divides the annual limit among five preference categories:

• EB-1: extraordinary abilityExtraordinary ability (EB-1A)The EB-1 category for people who can show sustained national or international acclaim, with achievements recognized in their field. The petition must include either a one-time major internationally recognized award or evidence meeting at least three of the criteria listed in 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3). No job offer or labor certification is required, and the person can file the Form I-140 on their own.See it in the glossary, outstanding professors and researchers, and qualifying multinational managers and executives. No PERMLabor certification (PERM)The Department of Labor process in which an employer shows that no qualified U.S. worker is available for a position, required for most EB-2 and EB-3 petitions.See it in the glossary; only EB-1A allows EB-1 self-petitioning.
• EB-2: qualifying advanced-degree professionals or exceptional ability. Usually employer sponsorship and labor certification, unless a national interest waiverNational Interest Waiver (NIW)A waiver of the job offer and labor certification requirement for certain EB-2 applicants. Under the Matter of Dhanasar framework, USCIS asks whether the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, whether the person is well positioned to advance it, and whether, on balance, it would benefit the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. Applicants can file the petition themselves.See it in the glossary or another applicable provision changes the process.
• EB-3: professionals, skilled workers and other workers in qualifying permanent jobs, ordinarily through an employer and PERM.
• EB-4: specific special-immigrant provisions, often using I-360, with requirements that differ by subgroup.
• EB-5: qualifying investment and job creation, generally using I-526 or I-526E and later I-829.

NIW and EB-1A are different self-petition options with different standards. A person’s degree or senior job title does not automatically establish the category.

Questions that point to a route

These questions help a reader see which section of the law a situation touches. They do not decide eligibility for anyone.

• Does a U.S. employer want to sponsor a permanent job? That points to EB-2 or EB-3 with PERM, or to EB-1CMultinational executive or manager (EB-1C)The EB-1 category for managers and executives transferred to a U.S. employer from a related company abroad. The person must have worked abroad for a qualifying organization for 1 year of the previous 3 and have a permanent job offer in a managerial or executive position with a U.S. employer that has been doing business for at least a year. The employer files Form I-140, and no labor certification is required. It is not available for opening a new U.S. office.See it in the glossary for a qualifying multinational manager or executive.
• Is there documented, sustained acclaim in the field? That points to EB-1A, which does not need a job offer, or to EB-1B for an outstanding professor or researcher with an employer offer.
• Is the proposed work important to the country, with the person well placed to advance it? That is the territory of the national interest waiver in EB-2, which State describes as an exemption from the job offer and labor certification.
• Does the person belong to a listed special-immigrant group? That points to EB-4.
• Is a qualifying investment planned? That points to EB-5, covered in the investor and treaty guide.

The usual employer-sponsored sequence

1. The employer identifies the permanent position, actual minimum requirements and offered wage.
2. Where required, it requests a prevailing wage from the Department of Labor, runs the required recruitment and files the labor certification application. The Labor Department’s PERM page describes the stages.
3. It files I-140I-140Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, filed by an employer (or in some categories the worker) to classify a person under an employment-based category.See it in the glossary with the worker’s qualifications and ability-to-pay evidence. PERM approvals generally must be used within 180 days.
4. The worker tracks visa availability and chooses an eligible adjustment or consular route.
5. The applicant and qualifying derivatives complete final applications, medical and admissibility requirements.

The sequence differs by preference. NIW waives the job-offer and labor-certification requirements when approved; EB-4 and EB-5 have different petition forms and evidence.

Visa availability is a separate wait

The Visa BulletinVisa BulletinA monthly State Department publication showing which family and employment visa categories currently have visas available.See it in the glossary uses preference category, country of chargeabilityChargeabilityThe country an applicant's visa number is counted against for per-country limits, normally the country of birth rather than citizenship or residence.See it in the glossary and priority date. Annual numbers are counted by fiscal year, October 1 to September 30, and no single country can receive more than a set share of the total, so backlogs concentrate in categories and countries where demand exceeds those limits. A faster petition decision does not create an available number. Optional premium processing speeds an eligible petition’s adjudicative response, not the visa queue.

NIW does not bypass EB-2’s queue. It can change who petitions and whether PERM is required. Moving to EB-1 requires independently meeting EB-1 requirements and obtaining the appropriate petition; it is not a simple request to relabel an EB-2 case.

For I-485, USCIS’s chart selection for the month determines which Visa Bulletin chart applies. A filing date that allows an application is different from the final-action date needed for approval. Retrogression can delay a pending case. Applicants whose priority date is already current when the I-140 is filed can sometimes file the I-140 and I-485 together. The Visa Bulletin tracker shows the current tables.

Changing jobs: three different concepts

Priority-date retention can preserve an earlier place in line after a qualifying petition approval, subject to exceptions. It does not automatically preserve the original employer’s job offer, labor certification or petition for a new employer.

A new employer process often requires a new PERM and I-140. The new job’s actual requirements and the worker’s qualifications determine the category; the old classification does not necessarily transfer unchanged.

Adjustment portability can allow certain applicants with a qualifying I-140 and I-485 pending at least 180 days to move to the same or a similar occupation under the statutory conditions, as the USCIS Policy Manual explains. EB-1A and NIW are analyzed through their continuing work or endeavor requirements rather than an ordinary job-offer portability claim. The new duties and timing determine whether those conditions are met.

Status, family and costs

An I-140 receipt or approval does not give lawful status or work permission. An independent status or qualifying adjustment-related permission has its own requirements. Travel may affect pending applications.

A spouse and eligible children can derive in many employment categories, but EB-4 has exceptions such as SIJ. Child age protection has calculations and deadlines. Each family member’s final application and medical examination can add separate costs.

• USCIS petition: the I-140 filing fee is $715, and most employer petitions also carry an Asylum Program Fee, $600 for most employers, $300 for small employers and none for nonprofits, under 8 CFR 106.
• Premium processing: USCIS raised the fee for I-140 premium processing to $2,965 effective March 1, 2026. It is optional and covers only the speed of USCIS’s first response.
• Adjustment: the I-485 costs $1,440 for most applicants on USCIS’s fee schedule, with separate fees for work permits and travel documents.
• Consular processing: State lists a $345 immigrant visa application fee per person for employment-based cases.
• PERM and recruitment: labor certification costs have employer-payment restrictions. A labor certification or green-card approval cannot legitimately be purchased from a recruiter.

Employment cases where a relative filed the petition, or owns a significant share of the petitioning business, can also require an affidavit of support.

What changed in 2026 for employment cases

• Public charge. DHS rescinded the 2022 public charge rule effective September 18, 2026. USCIS guidance applies to Forms I-485 postmarked or submitted on or after that date, and employment-based adjustment applicants use the new form edition.
• Immigrant visa pauses. A federal court vacated State’s 75-country immigrant visa issuance pause on August 21, and a September 10 State cable says the pause is no longer in effect.
• Deadlines. From October 23, 2026, USCIS moves a weekend or holiday deadline to the next business day only when the period is stated in days.

The dated policy guide explains each item’s scope and status.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Treating an approved I-140 as permission to work or stay.
• Changing employers without checking how the new job affects the pending case.
• Letting a PERM approval pass its 180-day filing window.
• Describing the job’s requirements differently in different filings.
• Paying an intermediary for a labor certification or a place in the queue.