What is Sponsorship for Employment?

1. Temporary Employment sponsorship

A temporary workers’ visa, also known as a non-immigrant work visa, is for people who desire to enter the United States for employment during a specific period of time. The majority of these visas involve employment sponsorship. Popular temporary work visas for employment sponsorships include:

• H-1B Visas are for people with bachelor’s degrees and unique skills.
• H-2A Visas are for agricultural workers.
• H-2B Visas are for general temporary workers.
• L-1 visas are only issued for intra-company transfers.
• TN Visas are for citizens of Canada and Mexico only.

A Form I-129 (a Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker, and a cost of $460 must normally be submitted to the USCIS for all visas other than the H-1B and H-2A. Before submitting the form, employers who sponsor work visas should additionally get a labor condition application from the US Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor will then decide that there was a need for the position with no American candidates. It will ensure that the foreign worker would receive pay at par with that of American candidates.

2. Permanent Employment Sponsorship

When a firm wants to hire a foreign worker permanently, it can do so by sponsoring the applicant for a company-sponsored green card. The recipient of a green card is given permanent resident status in the United States. The company must prove that the applicant is competent for the job position and state why they want to hire them.

As mentioned above, the employer will start by sending the US Department of Labor its application for labor conditions. When this application is approved, the employer will send Form I-140, or the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, to the USCIS along with a $700 fee.

Permanent work visas come in five different varieties:

1. Employment-Based First Preference (EB1) Visa

Only three groups are eligible for the Priority E1 category:

• Those who excel in business, education, athletics, the arts, or science
• Multinational managers or executives who have worked for the employer’s abroad subsidiary, parent, affiliate, or branch for at least one of the previous three year
• Outstanding academics and researchers having at least three years of experience in either research or education and recognition from abroad.

2. Employment-Based Second Preference (EB2) Visa 

The two groups eligible for this visa type are:

• Advanced degree holders with at least a bachelor’s degree and five years of progressive experience in their field.
• Individuals with remarkable talent in the arts, sciences, or business; in this context, “remarkable talent” describes a level of skill significantly above average.

3. Employment-Based Third Preference (EB3) Visa

The three categories for the E3 classification consist of:

• Skilled workers—Individuals with at least two years of training or job experience are considered skilled employees (not including temporary work)
• Unskilled workers —those qualified to perform permanent jobs requiring less than two years of experience.
• Professionals—people whose line of work needs a bachelor’s degree or higher from an approved college, university, or foreign institution.

4. Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB4) Visa

This category of visa is only available to special immigrants like:

• Iraqi and Afghan interpreters and translators who have spent at least a year working directly for the US armed forces or under the supervision of the Chief of Mission.
• Iraqi and Afghan citizens who have rendered valuable and loyal service while working for the US government or on its behalf in Iraq for at least one year between March 2003 and September 2013 or in Afghanistan for a minimum of one year following October 7, 2001. Candidates who meet the requirements must have encountered a persistent, substantial threat due to working for the United States.
• Religious workers.
• Religious leaders.
• Current and former US government personnel abroad.
• Broadcasters working for the International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors or a grantee of an equivalent organization in the United States.
• Graduates in medicine from abroad.
• Retirees from international organizations, sons and daughters who have never been married, and surviving spouses.
• Special juvenile immigrants (no derivatives from family members).
• People who have served in the US military or who have volunteered to do so but were recruited outside of the country.
• Current and former US government personnel abroad.
• Former workers for the Canal Zone Government.
• Former US government personnel in the Panama Canal Zone.

5. Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB5) Visa

This category is only for foreign investors that are thinking about starting new businesses in the US that might employ Americans. The National Visa Center (NVC) will receive the petition once USCIS authorizes it based on the employment preference category.

When the applicant’s priority date coincides with the most recent qualifying date, the NVC will assign a case number and instruct the applicant to file Form DS-261 (Choice of Address and Agent) unless you have an immigration attorney. The NVC will request all required paperwork, including all application forms and civil documents after the proper costs have been paid.