EB Visa Categories (Employment-Based Green Cards)
The five preference categories for employment-based permanent residency, from EB-1 (extraordinary ability) to EB-5 (investor visas), each with different requirements and wait times.
EB Visa Categories (Employment-Based Green Cards) is a term from U.S. employment-based immigration — typically a step, document, or filing in the H-1B (or related visa) process. The definition here is the practical worker-facing meaning, anchored in the DOL and USCIS processes that produce the underlying data this site uses. Understanding EB Visa Categories (Employment-Based Green Cards) is part of reading H-1B sponsorship offers and the publicly-disclosed filing data defensibly. Each technical term in the H-1B process carries specific implications for workers — eligibility, timing, employer obligations, portability — and the worker-relevant interpretation often differs from the technical legal definition.
Each employer page on H1BTracker surfaces the specific EB Visa Categories (Employment-Based Green Cards)-relevant data for that company, so the general definition here translates into the concrete numbers on the per-company pages.
How It Works
Employment-based green cards are divided into five categories: EB-1 (priority workers with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors, or multinational managers, no PERM required), EB-2 (advanced degree holders or exceptional ability, PERM required unless national interest waiver), EB-3 (skilled workers and professionals, PERM required), EB-4 (special immigrants, including religious workers), and EB-5 (investors who invest $800,000-$1,050,000 and create 10 jobs). Most H-1B workers pursue EB-2 or EB-3. The total annual limit is approximately 140,000 green cards across all categories, with per-country limits causing extreme backlogs for India and China.
Related Terms
- Green Card (Permanent Residency), Lawful permanent resident status in the United States, the ultimate goal for most H-1B workers, granting the right to live and work permanently without employer sponsorship.
- PERM Labor Certification, The first step in the employment-based green card process, the employer must prove to the Department of Labor that no qualified U.S. worker is available for the position.
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About This Definition
This definition is part of the H1BVisaTracker H-1B Visa Glossary, 26 terms explaining H-1B sponsorship, work visas, and employment-based immigration in the United States. Written for international workers, employers, and immigration professionals.