Professionals  

Green Cards > Employment Green Card > Professionals  

The professional sub-category is much more desirable than the other worker sub-category because the latter generally has a much longer backlog than the former.

A professional is an individual who has earned a U.S. Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent degree from a foreign university, and is a member of the professions.  If the applicant has a foreign university degree, it must be evaluated to demonstrate that it is equivalent to a U.S. degree.  Specifically, the foreign degree must be equivalent to a four year U.S. Bachelor’s degree.  The government has asserted that it will not consider experience in lieu of any years of education, so an applicant who has completed a three year degree cannot qualify based on additional experience.  

The Department of Labor has published a list of occupations which are considered professional, such as Software Engineers, Systems Analysts, Database Administrators, and Market Research Analysts, among others.  Also, immigration statutes have explicitly recognized the following as professionals: architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, teachers in elementary or secondary schools, colleges, academies or seminaries, as well as individuals who perform specialized activities in journalism, finance, and business administration.  This list does not cover all of the positions that would be considered professional for the purposes of the EB-3 category.

Note that if the applicant’s profession requires a license to practice, such as a Bar license for attorneys, it is not necessary for the applicant to have the license before applying for the EB-3 category.  However, the applicant should intend to earn the license shortly after applying for this status.