Services - EB-3: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers

EB-3 immigration: understand the job, the employer, and the evidence

EB-3 is an employment-based immigrant category for skilled workers, professionals, and other workers. In a typical case, a U.S. employer offers a permanent, full-time position and the case must address the job requirements, the employer’s obligations, the worker’s qualifications, labor certification or an applicable exception, the Form I-140 petition, and visa availability.

EB-3 is not a single process with one guaranteed timeline. The correct strategy depends on the offered position, the employer, the worker’s education and experience, the country of chargeability, the evidence, the current rules, and the Department of State Visa Bulletin.

Which EB-3 subcategory may fit?

Skilled workers

USCIS describes skilled workers as people capable of performing skilled labor where the job requires at least two years of training or experience and is not temporary or seasonal. The worker must also meet the education, training, or experience requirements stated for the job opportunity.

Professionals

Professionals generally hold at least a U.S. bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent, and the offered position must require a bachelor’s degree as the normal entry requirement. The worker must meet the requirements stated for the position; education and experience cannot simply be substituted for a required bachelor’s degree in every case.

Other workers

The other-worker category covers nonseasonal positions requiring less than two years of training or experience. The worker must still meet the requirements stated for the labor certification and offered position. This category has its own visa-availability considerations.

A job title alone does not determine the category. The position’s actual minimum requirements and the worker’s evidence must match the classification.

Employer and worker responsibilities

The employer generally must

• offer a genuine permanent, full-time position;
• define the minimum requirements for the job accurately;
• provide information about the business, position, work location, duties, and offered wage;
• participate in the labor-certification process when required;
• keep recruitment and case records as required by the applicable rules; and
• cooperate with document requests, filings, and later immigration stages.

The Department of Labor states that the permanent labor-certification application is the employer’s responsibility, not the employee’s. The purpose of the process is to address whether there are sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified, and available for the job and whether employing the foreign worker would adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions.

The worker generally must

• provide accurate identity, education, training, and experience information;
• document that the worker meets the offered position’s requirements;
• disclose relevant immigration, travel, employment, and admissibility history;
• review forms and supporting evidence for accuracy; and
• follow the instructions for the immigrant-visa or adjustment-of-status stage.

The employer’s position and the worker’s history must be consistent. A worker’s résumé or degree does not by itself establish eligibility if it does not meet the minimum requirements of the offered position or labor certification.

Typical EB-3 process

1. Case and position assessment

The first review compares the employer, business, position, minimum requirements, worker’s background, work location, and intended immigration route. The review should also identify whether EB-3 should be compared with EB-2, a temporary employment category, a family-based option, or another strategy.

2. Prevailing wage and recruitment planning

For a PERM case, the employer and counsel address the prevailing-wage and recruitment requirements under the applicable Department of Labor rules. The exact steps depend on the occupation, employer, work location, job requirements, and current regulations.

3. Permanent labor certification

In most PERM cases, the employer submits the permanent labor-certification application through the Department of Labor process. DOL explains that an approved certification is then used for the employer’s Form I-140 petition with USCIS. Some Schedule A occupations follow a different route and do not require a DOL-approved labor certification in the same way.

4. Form I-140

The employer generally files Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, with the approved labor certification and supporting evidence when required. The petition must show that the employer and worker meet the applicable requirements. Government processing and requests for evidence can affect the timeline.

5. Priority date and visa availability

The labor-certification filing date may serve as the priority date in a PERM case. The worker may need to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available under the Department of State Visa Bulletin before the final permanent-residence stage can proceed. The applicable dates and procedures can change by month, category, and country of chargeability.

6. Immigrant visa or adjustment stage

The final stage may involve an immigrant-visa application through a U.S. consulate or an adjustment-of-status filing when the worker is eligible to adjust in the United States. The correct route depends on the worker’s location, status, admissibility, visa availability, and other facts.

Evidence to prepare

The evidence differs by case, but may include:

• employer formation, business, financial, and organizational information;
• job description, worksite, duties, minimum education, and experience requirements;
• prevailing-wage and recruitment records;
• the worker’s passport and civil documents;
• diplomas, transcripts, credential evaluations, licenses, and employment letters;
• proof of training or experience for skilled-worker cases;
• evidence related to the employer’s ability to pay when required; and
• immigration, travel, family, and admissibility records.

A document checklist is not a substitute for reviewing whether the job itself and the worker’s actual history satisfy the applicable rules.

When EB-3 may not be the right first option

A different strategy may need to be considered when:

• the offered position is temporary, seasonal, or not genuinely available;
• the employer cannot meet the relevant process obligations;
• the job requirements do not match the worker’s education or experience;
• the employer and worker cannot support the required evidence;
• the worker has a separate inadmissibility or status issue; or
• another employment-based, family-based, or temporary category better fits the facts.

A comparison is especially important when the worker or family is making decisions based on a quoted timeline. Visa availability and agency processing are outside the firm’s control.

What Alaz Law may assist with

Depending on the engagement, Alaz Law may assist an employer and/or worker with:

• initial category and position assessment;
• employer and beneficiary intake;
• document and evidence planning;
• labor-certification strategy and coordination;
• Form ETA-9089 and related filing review where applicable;
• Form I-140 preparation and filing strategy;
• priority-date and Visa Bulletin monitoring;
• immigrant-visa or adjustment-of-status planning; and
• responses to agency correspondence within the agreed scope.

The engagement letter should identify whether the firm represents the employer, the worker, or both where ethically permitted, and which stages, fees, and government filings are included.

Common questions

Who starts an EB-3 case?

In a typical PERM-based case, the U.S. employer is responsible for the permanent labor-certification application. The worker supplies qualifications and personal documents, but cannot independently replace the employer’s obligations in the PERM process.

Does EB-3 guarantee a green card?

No. EB-3 eligibility and approval depend on the facts, evidence, employer, worker, agency decisions, admissibility, and visa availability. Legal counsel can prepare and manage a case, but cannot guarantee a government decision or a particular timeline.

How long does EB-3 take?

There is no single reliable timeline. The duration can include employer preparation, prevailing-wage and recruitment steps, DOL processing, I-140 processing, visa availability, and the final immigrant-visa or adjustment stage. Processing times and Visa Bulletin dates change, so a current review is required.

Can a spouse and children immigrate with the worker?

USCIS states that an approved I-140 may allow the worker’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 to apply with or after the worker for admission as lawful permanent residents, subject to the applicable requirements and visa availability.

What happens if the Department of Labor audits the case?

An audit can require additional records or explanations and may change the case timeline. The employer must be able to support the recruitment, job, wage, and filing records required by the applicable rules. An audit is not evidence that a case is approved or denied by itself.

Is EB-2 always better than EB-3?

No category is automatically better. The comparison depends on the position’s requirements, the worker’s education and experience, the employer, the evidence, visa availability, and the current law. EB-2 and EB-3 should be compared using the actual case facts.

Related resources

• U.S. Immigration Services
• EB-2 Immigration Services
• F-1 Student Visa
• IR-1 Spouse Visa

Official sources

• USCIS — Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3
• U.S. Department of Labor — Permanent Labor Certification
• U.S. Department of State — Visa Bulletin

This page provides general information, not legal advice. Immigration eligibility, evidence, processing, visa availability, admissibility, and government decisions depend on the facts and the law in effect when the case is reviewed.