USA EB 4 Visa

The EB-4 visa for immigration to the USA is in effect an umbrella US immigration service providing a route to gaining a Permanent Resident Card for lawful permanent residence in the USA, or as it is more commonly known, a USA Green Card. In America, visas for permanent residence of this kind are aimed largely at Religious workers; however, the category is designed for Special Immigrants, which in practice covers a disparate group of immigrant categories including the following.

Foreign Medical Graduates
Returning Permanent US Residents
Former Employees of the U.S. Government or Armed Forces
Former Employees of the Panama Canal Zone
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Retired Employees of International Organizations
Special Agricultural Workers
Battered Spouses and Children
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Juvenile Foreign Children

The range and diversity of USA immigration services along with the processes involved in obtaining the various USA visas available can make migrating to America a complex and confusing procedure for potential applicants. Immigrating to the USA on a permanent basis can be an extremely lengthy process and applying for a US Green card, in many instances, can take several years. In addition, those wishing to obtain a non-immigrant US visa for visiting the United States, or to live and work in the USA will need to select the most appropriate option from the exhaustive variety of temporary American visas.

Benefits

The primary benefit of applying for an EB4 visa for American immigration is that, like all options for permanent residency in the USA, successful applicants will be permitted to live and work in the USA indefinitely without restrictions upon their stay.

EB-4 visas may benefit those immigrating to America who do not qualify to apply for an EB-1 visa for priority workers and those who do not meet the requirements of an EB-2 visa. Unlike EB-1 visas and EB-2 visas, which like the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme or HSMP in the UK may allow candidates to immigrate to America without pre-arranged employment, EB4 visas require a job offer to be in place. However, candidates applying for a United States visa under this route do not have to demonstrate “extraordinary” or “exceptional” achievement in their field.

This category of permanent residency visas is open to an array of specific groups as outlined above and each category has its own specific requirements. The requirements discussed below relate to the use of EB4 visas for religious workers wishing to immigrate to the USA.

In America, immigration as a religious worker requires the satisfaction of several criteria. Your religious denomination must be represented in the United States by A nonprofit organization and your adherence to the denomination must be for a period of at least two years, prior to making the application.

Your entry to the United States must be to

Work as a minister or priest of the denomination.
Function in a professional capacity in a religious post requiring a degree-level education.
Undertake a religious vocation or occupation such as a missionary or religious instructor for the organization.

In all cases, you must have been performing work of this nature for two years or more.

Applications for USA visas of this kind may be submitted either by the candidate or the organization but must include the following

Evidence that the organization in question is a nonprofit establishment.
A letter from an official of the religious organization confirming that an applicant meets the two-year requirements for both members of the denomination and experience of the occupation or vocation.

In the case of those who wish to migrate to the USA to embark upon professional posts, letters will need to be accompanied by an official academic record and must confirm that candidates have a sufficient and relevant degree as required by the position in America. Visa applications where candidates are migrating to the US in the role of a minister proof should be provided within the letter that the candidate is authorized to perform religious duties and should outline those duties which the applicant will be performing.

Dependents

Migrating to the USA through one of the employment-based United States Green Cards is intended as a permanent route to settled status in the USA. As with other routes to Permanent Resident Cards, spouse immigration, and dependent immigration are provide for and successful candidates may apply for their spouse, partner, and/or dependent children to migrate to America with them.