EB-3 visa

The EB-3 is an immigrant visa preference category for United States employment-based permanent residency. It is intended for "skilled workers", "professionals", and "other workers". Those are prospective immigrants who don't qualify for the EB-1 or EB-2 preferences. The EB-3 requirements are less stringent, but the backlog is much longer: typically 6 to 9 years, except for residents of India, for whom the backlog is even longer, sometimes more than 12 years. Unlike persons with extraordinary abilities in the EB-1 category, EB-3 applicants require a sponsoring employer. There is no "self-petition" category.

The EB-3 category has three subcategories: EB-3A, Professionals; EB-3B, Skilled Workers; and EB-3C, Other Workers . For each, eligibility requirements include:

Separate requirements for each category are:

As of September 2012, the Department of State determined that the FY-2012 numerical limit for the worldwide employment-based preference must be 144,951, and the per-country limit must be 7% of the worldwide cap, regardless of the population of the country (this explains the enormous backlog for India and China). Out of this, the EB-3 category is limited to 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not used by EB-1 and EB-2 ("spillover"), and with not more than 10,000 for "other workers".

The application process begins with obtaining a labor certification, by submitting ETA Form 9089. The applicant does not need to be employed when the labor certification is filed; a future job offer is sufficient. The labor certification will accompany the actual application, the Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140), which will confirm the applicant's priority date. The spouse and minor children of the EB-3 applicant may also be admitted to the United States under E34, E35, EW4 or EW5 visas. During the lengthy application process, many persons in the EB-3 category acquire additional experience or education, and are eligible apply for an "upgrade" to EB-2.

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