EB-4 United States Special Worker Immigrant Visa

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The United States EB-4 visa is designated for special immigrant workers, including certain retirees of international organizations, pastors, nuns, and AIT employees. The most common and well-known types of immigrants under this category are religious workers, widows or widowers of U.S. citizens who were employees of international organizations, and retired employees of international organizations (holders of International Organization or NATO visas). This category accounts for 7.1% of the total immigration quota, with an annual allocation of approximately 10,200 EB-4 visas. There is no worldwide backlog for this category, and applicants are not required to obtain a labor certification from the Department of Labor. This category allows the applicant’s spouse and children under the age of 21 to obtain green cards together.

 

Application for EB-4 Special Workers Immigration including:

 

  1. Religious workers
  2. Special immigrant juveniles (abused, abandoned, and foreign minors that uncared-for foreign minors)
  3. Certain broadcasters
  4. Employees and dependents of G-4 International Organizations and NATO-6 Nonimmigrants
  5. Government abroad and their family members
  6. Members of the armed forces
  7. Employees of the Panama Canal Zone
  8. Licensed physicians
  9. Translators of Afghan and Iraqi languages
  10. Employees in Afghanistan and Iraq

 

When applying for EB-4 visas as religious workers immigration, both employer and foreign employee must meet certain requirements. The USCIS generally evaluates the following aspects to determine whether the employer is a legitimate religious organization and whether the foreign national will genuinely fulfill religious duties upon arrival in the United States.

 

  1. The foreign national must engage in a full-time job (at least 35 hours per week)
  2. The foreign national must work for a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States
  3. The foreign national must be employed in a ministerial or other religious position, which can include both professional and non-professional roles.
  4. The foreign national must have been a member of the employer’s religious denomination for at least two years immediately preceding the filing of Form I-360
  5. The foreign national must have been performing ministerial or other religious duties for at least two years immediately preceding the filing of Form I-360, and these duties must have commenced after the individual reached 14 years old.
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