Law Office of Vivian Wang - Outstanding Professor/Researcher

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For international tenure track faculty members, in almost all cases, one of the following paths will be used for University sponsorship for a green card:

EB-1 Outstanding Professor
PERM Labor Certification through Special Handling

EB-1 Outstanding Professor

Overview

Outstanding professor/researcher (EB-1B) is an achievement-based opportunity for a green card. This category is for professors and researchers who are recognized internationally as outstanding in their academic field.

Requirements

Hold a tenure-track faculty position or have a permanent job offer; and,
Have three years experience in teaching or research in the academic area. (Experience in teaching or research while working on advanced degree can be counted if degree is acquired, and if the person had full responsibility for the class taught, or if the research has been recognized as outstanding in the academic field); and,
Be internationally recognized as "outstanding" in a specific academic field.

Interpreting "Internationally recognized as outstanding"

Evidence that the professor or researcher is recognized as outstanding in the academic field must include at least two of the following:

Receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement;
Membership in an association which requires outstanding achievement;
Published material in professional publications written by others about the applicant’s work
Evidence of the person’s participation as a judge of the work of others;
Evidence of original scientific research;
Authorship of scholarly books or articles in the field.

Notes

This category requires a "permanent" job offer. In other words, a visiting professor, or a postdoctoral researcher, or students would not be able to use this category
This category has to be "sponsored" by the employer. It cannot be self-petitioned.
Timing of application: worker can apply as soon as job offer is received. There is no need to first wait for H1B approval.

Advantages of this Category

Labor certification is not required, which saves a considerable amount of time, sometimes cutting years of waiting.
This is classified as EB-1 (employment-based first preference), which is important to people from certain countries such as China and India.

Documents Needed

Copy of contract between university (company) and alien (offer letter)
Letter(s) documenting at least 3 years experience in teaching or research in the field
CV including updated Publications List
Copy of published journal articles or book chapters
Entries in citation indexes
Documentation of peer-reviewed presentations
Documentation of award/prize/grant received
Evidence of media coverage of your work
Evidence of invitations you may have received to participate in conferences, to submit papers or to review work of other scientists, including documentation of participation as a reviewer, judge, on a panel or individually of work of others in the same field
Information on elected/nominated professional membership
Support letters

PERM Labor Certification through Special Handling

Overview

A university or college may apply for a labor certification to employ a foreign national as a college or university teacher under the "special handling" rules of the U.S. Department of Labor. This is essentially a determination and certification by the Secretary of Labor that there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, or equally qualified to do the work needed, and the employment of aliens will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of the workers in the U.S. similarly employed.

The Usual Progression to Green Card

Labor Certification (Special Handling) will involve 3 steps:

Application for labor certification for teaching faculty if he or she is chosen as the best qualified available candidate after an academic search process and selected for permanent tenure track position.
Upon approval, a petition for an immigrant visa (I-140) is filed to the appropriate USCIS service center.
Once the I-140 is approved, an application for green card (I-485) is filed. This step can be done concurrently with step 2, subject to a number of considerations.

Requirements

We can obtain labor certification for a teaching faculty member if we can demonstrate that the alien is better qualified than any U.S. citizen or permanent resident applicant for the position. The position must be advertised, prevailing wages and working conditions must be offered, and qualified U.S. workers must be given an opportunity to know about and to apply for the position. The application for labor certification for a teaching faculty member must be filed within 18 months of the selection of the alien "pursuant to a competitive recruitment and selection process."

Documents Needed

Description of the complete recruitment procedures undertaken;
Total number of applicants for the job opportunity;
Specific lawful job-related reasons why the foreign national is more qualified than each U.S. worker who applied;
A final report of the faculty or administrative body making the recommendation or selection of the foreign nation at the end of the competitive recruitment and selection process.

In addition, please provide at least 1 advertisement for the job placed in a national professional journal, giving the name and date(s) of publication, and stating the job title, duties, and requirements.

The standard labor certification questionnaire will need to be completed.

DISCLAIMER: Information contained on this site is intended to educate the general public only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers are encouraged to seek advice and counsel from a law firm with experience in immigration and nationality law.