EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, EB-3 PERM, labor certification — expert employment-based green card services. Attorney Ekaterina Fitenko, FL.
The United States offers several employment-based immigrant visa categories for foreign nationals who possess exceptional talent, advanced degrees, or specialized skills that benefit the American economy. At Fitenko Law PLLC, we guide professionals, researchers, executives, and skilled workers through every stage of the employment-based green card process — from initial eligibility assessment through approval and beyond.
The EB-1A visa category is reserved for individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. This is one of the most prestigious immigration pathways and does not require a job offer or labor certification. To qualify, an applicant must show sustained national or international acclaim and meet at least three of ten regulatory criteria, including:
We work closely with EB-1A petitioners to compile compelling evidence packages, draft detailed petition letters, and secure expert opinion letters that establish extraordinary ability under the USCIS two-part framework established in Kazarian v. USCIS.
The EB-2 National Interest Waiver allows professionals holding an advanced degree (or its equivalent) to self-petition for a green card without employer sponsorship or labor certification. The applicant must demonstrate that their proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, that they are well positioned to advance the endeavor, and that it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer requirement.
Following the landmark decision in Matter of Dhanasar, the three-prong analytical framework has expanded opportunities for researchers, entrepreneurs, STEM professionals, and healthcare workers. Attorney Fitenko has successfully petitioned NIW cases across a wide spectrum of fields, building persuasive narratives that connect the applicant’s work to broader national interests.
For professionals and skilled workers who have a sponsoring employer, the PERM labor certification process is typically the first step toward an employment-based green card. The employer must demonstrate that there are no qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers for the position by conducting a structured recruitment process overseen by the Department of Labor.
Key steps in the PERM process include:
Once the PERM is certified, the employer files an I-140 Immigrant Petition, and the beneficiary may file for adjustment of status (I-485) or pursue consular processing depending on priority date availability.
When the employer already operates abroad, the L-1 moves an existing employee into a U.S. branch, subsidiary, affiliate, or parent company without a labor certification. The employee must have worked for the qualifying foreign entity for at least one continuous year within the three years preceding the transfer, and the two entities must hold a qualifying corporate relationship.
The L-1A matters beyond the transfer itself: an executive or manager who holds L-1A status is the natural candidate for an EB-1C multinational-manager green card, which requires no PERM labor certification. We plan the transfer and the green card as one case rather than two.
A foreign company opening its first U.S. office files a new-office L-1. Those petitions carry an added evidentiary burden — a detailed business plan for the proposed U.S. operations and proof that physical premises have been secured — and USCIS approves them for one year only. The extension, filed with a year of actual operations behind it, is where thin new-office cases fail.
Understanding priority dates is essential for employment-based immigration planning. The priority date — typically the date the PERM application is filed or the I-140 petition is received — determines when a visa number becomes available. We monitor the monthly Visa Bulletin and advise clients on strategies to minimize wait times, including:
USCIS offers premium processing for certain employment-based petitions, guaranteeing an initial response within 15 business days. We advise clients on when premium processing provides strategic advantage and when standard processing may be preferable, weighing factors such as RFE likelihood and overall case timeline.
“Employment-based immigration is not just paperwork — it is the intersection of immigration law, labor policy, and individual merit. Every petition tells a story, and we make sure that story is compelling, complete, and compliant.”
Two clocks run at once. The petition itself — Form I-140 — is adjudicated in months, and premium processing puts USCIS on a 15-business-day clock. The second clock is the Visa Bulletin: until your priority date is current for your category and country of birth, the green card waits regardless of how fast the petition was approved. That is why nationals of India and China routinely face multi-year queues in EB-2 and EB-3 while most other countries move without a backlog.
Yes. The national interest waiver is a self-petition: you file the I-140 yourself, with no employer, no job offer, and no PERM labor certification. USCIS applies the three-part Dhanasar framework — your proposed endeavor must have substantial merit and national importance, you must be well positioned to advance it, and it must benefit the United States to waive the job-offer requirement in your case.
EB-1A asks more of your record and gives more in return. It requires sustained national or international acclaim, shown either by a one-time major achievement or by meeting at least three of ten regulatory criteria. EB-2 NIW accepts a less exceptional record but requires an advanced degree or exceptional ability plus a national-interest argument. EB-1A also sits in a first-preference queue that is usually shorter — for some countries of birth that difference matters more than the filing standard.
A PERM-based green card is granted for a specific permanent, full-time position, and you are expected to take that job when the green card issues. After that you are free to change employers. While the case is pending, AC21 portability generally lets you move to a same-or-similar position once the I-485 has been on file for 180 days and the I-140 is approved. We time the move so a job change does not undo the case.
Ninety days. Registration opens in early March; if the registration is selected, the employer has 90 days to file the full petition with USCIS. The Labor Condition Application must be certified by the Department of Labor before that petition goes in, so the LCA work starts the day the selection notice arrives, not after.
Schedule a consultation with Attorney Ekaterina Fitenko to evaluate your eligibility and develop a strategic plan tailored to your professional profile. We offer consultations in English and Russian.