A total of 140,000 immigrant visas and green cards are issued each governmental fiscal year (October-September) by the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS"). These immigrant visas are broken down into different categories for each country in the world. Each category has different levels of credentials necessary in order to qualify. Once the available immigrant visas are gone for a particular category and country, no more immigrant visas can be issued for that year. This why there historically has been a backlog for foreign nationals from certain countries (such as India and the PRC) to obtain their immigrant visas, even though they have fulfilled all the requirements necessary to obtain a green card.

Following is a list of the different employment-based (or "EB") immigrant categories. Click on each category in order to see additional information on each category.

EB-1 Priority Workers: Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and certain multinational executives and managers.

EB-2 Members of the Professions: Professionals holding advanced degrees, and persons of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, and business.

EB-3 Professionals, Skilled and Unskilled Workers: Professionals holding baccalaureate degrees, skilled workers with at least two years experience, and other workers whose skills are in short supply in the United States.

EB-4 Special Immigrants: Certain religious workers, ministers of religion, certain international organization employees and their immediate family members, and qualified, recommended current and former US Government employees.

EB-5 Investors: Persons who create employment for at least ten unrelated persons by investing capital in a new commercial enterprise in the United States. The minimum capital required is between $500,000 and $1,000,000, depending on the employment rate in the geographic area. Hammond & Associates does not currently handle EB-5 immigrant visa petitions.