The immigration laws allow foreign nationals who have the skills and talents needed in the United States to become permanent residents (a status evidenced by a “green card”) and acquire the right to live and work indefinitely in the United States barring any offense that might render them deportable.

• There are five basic types of business immigrant visas, ranked in order of priority of need by U.S. employers and the economy, as determined by Congress in the statute. All categories are limited by annual levels and per-country levels. They are:
  
  First Preference (EB-1): Also called the “Priority Workers” classification, this category includes immigrants of “extraordinary ability” in their field of endeavor, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and mangers. This category of employment based immigrants is available to 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.
  

  Second Preference (EB-2): Reserved for Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability (Includes National Interest Waiver applicants). This category of employment based immigrants is available to 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.
  

  Third Preference (EB-3): Reserved for Skilled Workers, Professionals (applicants whose employment requirements demand at least a bachelor’s degree or 2 years of work experience)
  

  Third Preference (EB-3-OW): Reserved for workers whose employment requires an educational level less than a Bachelor’s or employment experience under two years. Also called “Other Workers,” this category is available to 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, but not more than 10,000 of which are to be allocated to "Other Workers."
  

  Fourth Preference (EB-4): Certain Special Immigrants. This category is generally composed of certain religious workers, such as ministers and other religious functionaries and can claim 7.1% of the worldwide level of employment-related immigrant visas available annually.
  

  Fifth Preference (EB-5): Reserved to those who make a substantial investment ($1 million or more) in a business that also creates employment for at least 10 workers. Also called “Employment Creation” visas, they are available to 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in certain regional centers.
  

• Business immigrants usually are sponsored by a U.S. employer based on a demonstrated need. Individuals who are able to meet the statutory criteria for “extraordinary ability” in their field, or their entry would be in the “national interest” may file an immigrant petition without a specific employer’s sponsorship.

• Protections for U.S. workers are built into the system. Through a procedure called the “labor certification,” the large majority of employment-based immigrants obtain a certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that there is no U.S. worker who is qualified, available or willing to take the position offered to the immigrant applicant and that the admission of the immigrant worker won’t negatively impact the wages and working conditions of similarly situated U.S. workers. Certain employment- based immigrants are exempt from the labor certification requirement. They are individuals who are generally in the EB-1 category and include those who are extraordinary in their field, professors or researchers who are outstanding in their field, those whose work will benefit the “national interest,” or multinational executives and managers transferred from an overseas affiliate, parent, or subsidiary of a U.S. business.