The EB-1B is an employment-based first-preference green card for outstanding professors and researchers who are internationally recognized in their academic field. A U.S. employer sponsors and files the petition, and no PERM labor certification is required. You need at least three years of teaching or research experience, a permanent job offer, and evidence meeting at least two of the six regulatory criteria for international recognition.
The EB-1B is an employment-based first-preference (EB-1) immigrant visa for outstanding professors and researchers who are internationally recognized in their academic field. Like the other EB-1 categories, it bypasses the PERM labor certification process—the single largest time and complexity advantage over EB-2 and EB-3 sponsorship.
Unlike the self-petitioned EB-1A, the EB-1B requires a U.S. employer to sponsor the beneficiary and file the petition. The beneficiary must have at least three years of experience in teaching or research in the academic field, and the employer must offer a permanent position: a tenured or tenure-track teaching role, a comparable research position at a university or institution of higher education, or a permanent research position with a private employer that employs at least three full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments in the field.
To establish international recognition as outstanding, the petition must satisfy at least two of six regulatory criteria under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(i)(3)(i). As with EB-1A, premium processing is available on the I-140 petition with a 15-business-day response window, and no job-market test or labor certification is required.
EB-1B is the EB-1 path built for academia—internationally recognized professors and researchers can secure a green card with no PERM labor certification and premium processing on the I-140, provided their employer sponsors the permanent position.
EB-1B has three threshold requirements—a qualifying permanent job offer, at least three years of experience, and international recognition—and the international-recognition element is proven by meeting at least two of six evidentiary criteria.
At least three years of experience in teaching or research in the academic field
A permanent job offer from the U.S. employer—a tenured or tenure-track teaching position, a comparable research position at a university or institution of higher education, or a permanent research position with a private employer that employs at least three full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments
International recognition as outstanding in the academic field, established by meeting at least two of the six criteria below
(1) Major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement; (2) membership in associations that require outstanding achievements of their members; (3) published material in professional publications written by others about the beneficiary's work; (4) participation as the judge of the work of others in the field; (5) original scientific or scholarly research contributions; (6) authorship of scholarly books or articles in journals with international circulation.
Schedule a consultation with Loren Locke to see if this visa is the right fit.
Schedule a ConsultationWe confirm the employer qualifies and document the permanent job offer—a tenured/tenure-track or comparable research role at an academic institution, or a permanent research position with a private employer that has at least three full-time researchers and documented accomplishments in the field.
We assemble proof of at least three years of teaching or research experience and build the international-recognition record against the six regulatory criteria—targeting the two or more the evidence supports most strongly, with citation, peer-review, awards, judging, and authorship documentation.
The U.S. employer files Form I-140 with USCIS. No PERM labor certification is required—the largest single advantage of the EB-1 categories. Premium processing is available with a 15-business-day response window.
After I-140 approval (and when a visa is available), the beneficiary and family adjust status inside the U.S. via Form I-485, or process the immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad. Concurrent filing of I-140 and I-485 is permitted when the EB-1 priority date is current.
Loren Locke
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Partner-level immigration counsel to Fortune 500 employers at a national firm — and before that, a U.S. diplomat who decided some 12,000 visa applications at the consulate window.
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Immigration counsel to Fortune 500 employers at a national firm · Adjudicated 12,000+ visas at the U.S. Consulate, Mexico · Working in U.S. immigration since 2008
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