Foreigners can become Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) based on employment under a preference system. Persons included in the first preference category, known as priority workers, obtain LPR status the fastest. This category is limited to persons of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers. In one case, a multinational executive received residency in less than forty days after applying. Priority workers also avoid the lengthy process of Labor Certification.

The Citizenship and Immigration Service judges very carefully whether a foreigner applies for the first preference category. Thus, the Firm’s services include gathering, organizing and editing the evidence as needed. The Firm also presents legal arguments, when needed, that a foreigner is entitled to residency under this classification.
Unlike other foreigners, an extraordinary ability worker does not need a specific job offer to apply for residency. However, the applicant must prove that she intends to pursue work in the United States in the area of her expertise. This extraordinary ability is demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim.

An outstanding professor or researcher must be recognized internationally in the specific academic area. Foreigners seeking to qualify in this category must have a job offer either in a tenured or tenure-track teaching position, a position at an institute of higher education to conduct research, or a comparable position with a private employer.

Finally, multinational executives and managers must have been employed for one year in the last three years by a foreign company which now seeks to transfer the foreigner to work for an affiliate or subsidiary in the United States. Managerial and executive capacity is specifically defined under the immigration laws.