EB-4 religious or professional workers and special immigrants

The EB-4 visa was initially reserved for certain religious workers. Recently, the government has created several additional visas for various groups. Those visas have been placed in the EB-4 category.

Who is eligible for an EB-4?

• Religious workers
• Persons working in a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation for the religious organization.
• Persons working in a religious vocation or occupation for the religious organization or its nonprofit affiliate.
• A former employee of the Panama Canal Company or the Canal Zone government.
• A longtime employee of the U.S. Government foreign office, U.S. Army, or international organizations (e.g., NATO).
• Battered spouses or children.
• Refugees and those aliens seeking asylum
• Lawful permanent residents who have stayed out of the U.S. for too long a time period.

All three categories of religious workers involve common requirements. A religious worker must be a member of a religious denomination that has a non-profit religious organization in the United States. The worker must have been a member of this religious denomination for at least two years before applying for admission to the United States.

An EB-4 religious worker must be entering the United States to work:

• As a minister or priest of the religious denomination;
• In a professional capacity (a bachelor's degree is required) in a religious vocation or occupation for the religious organization; or
• In a religious vocation or occupation for the religious organization or its nonprofit affiliate. 
  • A religious vocation means a calling or devotion to religious life. For example, religious occupations include priests, missionaries, and similar occupations. (e.g., a chaplain for a nonprofit hospital).

The other categories under EB-4 are known as "special" immigrants. These categories have been created by Congress over the last twenty years to allow certain classes of people to enter the United States and obtain permanent residency. First, certain persons who have been employed by the United States government or an affiliated governmental agency such as NATO qualify for EB-4 visas.

Second, those persons who are seeking refugee or asylum status in the United States may be eligible under the EB-4 category. For more detailed information about refugee and asylum immigration please click here.

Finally, the EB-4 category provides visas for battered spouses or their children. For more detailed information and recent developments associated with the Violence Against Women Act please click here.

If you believe you qualify for an EB-4 visa or would like to employ an alien under an EB-4 visa please contact us. The experienced and skilled immigration attorneys at Shihab & Associates Co., LPA are fully prepared to help you along every step of the way.