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Employment-Based Preference Categories
There are five categories used to obtain employment-based immigrant visas. The following table provides an overview of commonly used employment-based visa categories. Depending on the category used, an Alien Labor Certification may be needed to support the visa petition, which will add time to the overall PR visa petition and approval process. An Alien Labor Certification is used to ensure that there are no qualified, willing and able U.S. workers for the position. All categories are U-M sponsored, unless indicated otherwise.
All visa petitions sponsored by the University of Michigan are managed by the U-M International Center. The U-M International Center processes EB-2 category petitions for teaching faculty, which require Special Handling Labor Certifications, and refers all other cases to attorneys on the U-M Retained Immigration Counsel list.
| Category | Who is Eligible? | Alien Labor Certification Requirement |
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EB-1: Priority workers |
- Aliens of extraordinary ability (may self-petition)
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Not required |
- Outstanding professor or researcher
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Not required |
EB-2: Advanced degree professionals and aliens of exceptional ability |
- Advanced degree professionals - master's degree or higher or the equivalent (bachelor's degree in the field with at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty)
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Special Handling Labor Certification for teaching faculty. Regular labor certification for all others. |
- Aliens of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business
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Required |
- National interest waivers (Self-petition only)
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Not required |
EB-3: Professional or skilled workers |
- Professionals with a bachelor's degree who do not qualify for a higher preference category
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Required |
Schedule A workers (EB-2 or EB-3) |
- Occupations for which the U.S. Department of Labor has determined there are no sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified and available. List of occupations is subject to change.
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Not required |
Last reviewed: 5/07
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