USCIS to Issue 280,000 Employment-Based Green Cards in 2022

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is facing pressure to grant 280,000 employment-based visas by the completion of the fiscal year. Due to a record excess of available green cards, immigration officials faced a challenge in issuing all of the remaining green cards this year. In 2021, more than 66,000 employment-based visas were lost due to backlogs caused by the epidemic and a record number of US work visa applications. In 2022, USCIS will have to deal with an even greater burden. According to the US immigration office, 280,000 green cards must be processed in the current fiscal year compared to 262,000 in 2021. However, according to USCIS, the agency is "well-positioned" to grant every visa that is eligible before the fiscal year closes on September 30.

Employment-Based Immigrant Visas for the United States

Under the provisions of U.S. immigration law, approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are made available to qualified applicants each fiscal year. There are five preference categories for employment-based immigrant visas.

E1 Visa (Treaty Trader Visa)

E1 visa, also known as the Treaty Trader Visa, is a non-immigrant visa for people who do business with the US. Trade must take place between the US and an E1 visa country with which the US has a trade and investment treaty.

Subcategories of E1 Visa

Persons with extraordinary abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Applicants must have extensive documentation demonstrating sustained national or international recognition and acclaim in their fields of expertise. Such applicants are not required to have specific job offers if they are entering the US to continue working in fields where they have exceptional ability. Such applicants can apply to the USCIS using Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.
Internationally recognised outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years of teaching or research experience. Applicants in this category must be coming to the US to pursue tenure-track or comparable research positions at a university or other higher education institution. The prospective employer must provide a job offer, and an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, must be filed with the USCIS.
Multinational managers or executives who have spent at least one of the previous three years working for a U.S. employer's overseas affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch. The applicant's previous employment outside of the United States must have been in a managerial or executive capacity, and the applicant is returning to work in a managerial or executive capacity. The prospective employer must provide a job offer, and an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, must be filed with the USCIS.

EB-2 Visa

The EB-2 visas are available to professionals with advanced university degrees and individuals of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Foreign nationals who fall into one of five preference categories are eligible for a U.S. immigrant visa and green card through employment. The majority of professional-skilled applicants are classified as either employment-based second preference (EB-2) or employment-based third preference (EB-3). Learn more: US Employment-Based Visas.

Subgroups of EB-2

Professionals with an advanced degree (more than a baccalaureate degree), or a baccalaureate degree and at least five years of progressive experience in the profession.
Person with exceptional ability means having a level of expertise far beyond what is typically found in the sciences, arts, or business.

EB-3 Visa

For an EB-3 Visa applicant, a potential employer must submit an authorised Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140. For all such personnel, a Department of Labor-approved labour certification is typically necessary. The yearly global cap of employment-based immigrant visas is 28.6% for skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers (other workers), plus any unused visas from the Employment First and Second Preference categories.

Subcategories of EB-3

Skilled workers: jobs that require at least 2 years of training or work experience.
Professionals: fields that need at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher learning in the United States, or the foreign equivalent.
Other workers (unskilled): capable of filling non-temporary or seasonal occupations that do not require more than two years of training or experience.

EB-4 Visa

The EB-4 visa is a work-based green card for special immigrant religious workers. It is typically intended for members of a non-profit religious denomination in the United States, but the category can include a wide range of applicants: Broadcasters, International Organisation employees, Armed Forces personnel, Panama Canal employees, Physicians, Retired NATO-6 employees. If a NATO-6 employee dies, his or her spouse and children are still eligible. An employer must file Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, in order to petition for an employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) immigrant. However, there are some circumstances in which you, the employee, may self-petition.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program was established by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the US economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. On March 15, 2022, the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022) created new requirements for the EB-5 immigrant visa category and the Regional Center Program. Immigrant visas are authorised through the Regional Center Program until September 30, 2027. Explore: EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

Key Points for EB-5

10,000 Green Cards for permanent residency are made available each year to qualified immigrant investors.
Capital investment requirements: $1.05M in most areas; $800k in Targeted Employment Areas (TEA).
Job creation: investment must create 10 full-time jobs within two years.
Conditional green card: initial 2-year status; converted to regular green card upon verification.

Application Process and Eligibility

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FAQs

Q1. What did USCIS target for employment-based green cards in FY2022? A. USCIS aimed to use ~280,000 employment-based green cards by September 30, 2022, spanning EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, and EB-5 categories.

Q2. What are the current minimum investment amounts for the EB-5 Program? A. Under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, the minimums are $800,000 in a TEA (including certain infrastructure projects) and $1,050,000 in high-employment areas.

Q3. How do EB-2 and EB-3 differ for employment-based immigration? A. EB-2 covers advanced-degree professionals or individuals of exceptional ability; EB-3 covers skilled workers, professionals (bachelor’s), and other workers (unskilled). Both require an employer’s FORM I-140, and EB-3 typically also needs PERM labor certification.