Our office will be closed from December 22nd to January 1st due to the holiday season. We are looking forward to getting in touch with you on January 2nd upon our return.

Experienced, Dedicated Attorneys

Miami Employment-Based Residency / Permanent Workers

The Miami immigration attorneys at Revilla Law Firm, P.A., can assist you with all types of Employment-Based Visas for foreign nationals seeking employment in the United States. 

Initial Employment-Based Visa Opportunity Analysis

We can assist foreign nationals in analyzing employment-based visa opportunities and plan for your potential path to residency in the United States. 

One of our Miami immigration employment-based attorneys will thoroughly review and analyze the facts surrounding your case to determine eligibility.


Please contact our immigration law office to schedule a free in-office consultation with one of our Miami visa attorneys.


Employment Based Residency/Permanent Workers

Approximately 140,000 immigrant visas are available each fiscal year for aliens (and their spouses and children) who seek to immigrate based on their job skills. If you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience and are otherwise eligible, you may be able to live permanently in the United States. The five employment-based immigrant visa preferences (categories) are listed below.

EB1: Priority Workers

A First Preference applicant must be the beneficiary of an approved Immigrant Petition for Foreign Worker, Form I-140, filed with USCIS. Labor certification is not required for any of the Priority Worker subgroups. Each occupational sub-group has certain requirements that must be met.

There are three sub-groups within this category:

  1. Persons with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Applicants in this category must have extensive documentation showing sustained national or international acclaim and recognition in their fields of expertise.
  2. Outstanding professors and researchers with at least three years experience in teaching or research, who are recognized internationally. Applicants in this category must be coming to the U.S. to pursue tenure, tenure track teaching, or a comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. Multinational managers or executives who have been employed for at least one of the three preceding years by the overseas affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch of the U.S. employer. The applicant’s employment outside of the U.S. must have been in a managerial or executive capacity, and the applicant must be coming to work in a managerial or executive capacity.

EB2: Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability

A job offer is required and the U.S. employer must file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, on behalf of the applicant. Applicants may apply for an exemption, known as a National Interest Waiver, from the job offer and labor certification if the exemption would be in the national interest. In this case, the applicant may self-petition by filing the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, along with evidence of the national interest.

There are two subgroups within this category:

  1. Professionals holding an advanced degree (beyond a baccalaureate degree), or a baccalaureate degree and at least five years progressive experience in the profession.
  2. Persons with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Exceptional ability means having a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.

EB3: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)

A Third Preference applicant must have an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, filed by the prospective employer.

There are three subgroups within this category:

  1. Skilled workers are persons whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years training or work experience that are not temporary or seasonal.
  2. Professionals are members of the professions whose jobs require at least a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. university or college or its foreign equivalent degree.
  3. Unskilled workers (Other workers) are persons capable of filling positions that require less than two years training or experience that are not temporary or seasonal.

EB4: Certain Special Immigrants

A Fourth Preference applicant must be the beneficiary of an approved Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Form I-360, with the exception of Certain Employees or Former Employees of the U.S. Government Abroad (see number 3 below).

EB5: Immigrant Investors

Immigrant Investor visa categories are for capital investment by foreign investors in new commercial enterprises in the United States which provide job creation. Select Immigrant Investor Visas to learn more about this employment-based category.

Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence.

Temporary Worker Visas

Temporary worker visas are for persons who want to enter the United States for employment lasting a fixed period of time, and are not considered permanent or indefinite. Each of these visas requires the prospective employer to first file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). An approved petition is required to apply for a work visa.

Temporary Worker Visa Categories

H-1B: Person in Specialty Occupation. To work in a specialty occupation. Requires a higher education degree or its equivalent. Includes fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and government-to-government research and development, or co-production projects administered by the Department of Defense.

H-1B1: Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Professional - Chile,Singapore. To work in a specialty occupation. Requires a post-secondary degree involving at least four years of study in the field of specialization. (Note: This is not a petition-based visa. For application procedures, please refer to the website for the U.S. Embassy in Chile or the U.S. Embassy in Singapore.)

H-2A: Temporary Agricultural Worker. For temporary or seasonal agricultural work. Limited to citizens or nationals of designated countries, with limited exceptions, if determined to be in the United States interest.

H-2B: Temporary Non-agricultural Worker. For temporary or seasonal non- agricultural work. Limited to citizens or nationals of designated countries, with limited exceptions, if determined to be in the United States interest.

H-3: Trainee or Special Education visitor. To receive training, other than graduate medical or academic, that is not available in the trainee’s home country or practical training programs in the education of children with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities.

Temporary Worker Visas Continued

L: Intracompany Transferee. To work at a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the current employer in a managerial or executive capacity, or in a position requiring specialized knowledge. Individual must have been employed by the same employer abroad continuously for 1 year within the three preceding years.

O: Individual with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement. For persons with extraordinary ability or achievement in the sciences, arts, education, business, athletics, or extraordinary recognized achievements in the motion picture and television fields, demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim, to work in their field of expertise. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

P-1: Individual or Team Athlete, or Member of an Entertainment Group. To perform at a specific athletic competition as an athlete or as a member of an entertainment group. Requires an internationally recognized level of sustained performance. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

P-2: Artist or Entertainer (Individual or Group). For performance under a reciprocal exchange program between an organization in the United States and an organization in another country. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

P-3: Artist or Entertainer (Individual or Group). To perform, teach or coach under a program that is culturally unique or a traditional ethnic, folk, cultural, musical, theatrical, or artistic performance or presentation. Includes persons providing essential services in support of the above individual.

Q-1: Participant in an International Cultural Exchange Program. For practical training and employment and for sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of your home country through participation in an international cultural exchange program.


Contact the Miami employment visa attorneys today at (305) 858-2323 or toll free (877) 854-2323. Free complimentary initial consultations are available in the Miami office. 


What Sets Us Apart?
  • Concentration in Deportation Defense Law
  • Founding Member of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • 50 Years of Combined Legal Experience
  • Aggressive Representation with a Diplomatic Approach
  • Successfully Handled Thousands of Cases in Various Levels in Court
  • Former U.S. Immigration Prosecutor Representing You

Client Testimonials

“They truly care about people and their expectations. If you even need someone on your side, Ms. Elba Lumbi, M. Jessica Perez, and Ms. Pilar Silva, will help you and get things done.”

- R.A.
Free In-Office Consultation Realizing Your Dreams for a New Life in the United States
  • Please enter your first name.
  • Please enter your last name.
  • Please enter your phone number.
    This isn't a valid phone number.
  • Please enter your email address.
    This isn't a valid email address.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please enter a message.
  • By submitting, you agree to be contacted about your request & other information using automated technology. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Acceptable Use Policy