Updated November 3, 2026

EB-3 visa requirements: skilled workers, professionals and other workers

To qualify for an EB-3 green card, you need a permanent, full-time job offer from a US employer and must fit one of three categories: skilled workers (at least 2 years of training or experience), professionals (a US bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent) or other workers (less than 2 years). Your employer generally needs an approved PERM labor certification from the Department of Labor, then files Form I-140 and proves it can pay the offered wage.

The USCIS Policy Manual says 40,000 EB-3 visas are available each fiscal year. Skilled workers and professionals share 30,000, and other (unskilled) workers get no more than 10,000. Every rule below comes from USCIS, the Department of Labor and federal regulations, checked on November 3, 2026.

Who qualifies for an EB-3 visa?

Federal regulations (8 CFR 204.5(l)) split EB-3 into three subcategories. All three need a permanent, full-time job offer from a US employer and a permanent labor certification (or a Schedule A application). You can't self-petition for EB-3.

How closely must you match the labor certification?

Exactly. USCIS decides whether you're a skilled worker or an other worker from the training and experience requirements the employer put on the job in the Department of Labor (DOL) labor certification. You must meet the minimum education, training and experience it states.

Two examples from the USCIS Policy Manual show how strict this is. If the labor certification accepts education and experience equivalent to a bachelor's degree, you can't qualify as a professional, but you may qualify as a skilled worker if you meet that equivalence. And if it requires "2 years college and 2 years experience," a bachelor's degree without the 2 years of experience won't qualify you.

What does PERM labor certification require?

Before filing the EB-3 petition, the employer typically needs an approved permanent labor certification (PERM) from DOL's Employment and Training Administration. To sponsor through PERM, the employer needs a valid Federal Employment Identification Number (FEIN) and a physical location in the US to which US workers may be referred.

Through PERM, DOL certifies two things: that there aren't enough US workers able, willing, qualified and available for the job in the area of intended employment, and that hiring you won't adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.

1. Define the job. The employer sets the permanent, full-time duties and actual minimum requirements under 20 CFR 656.17 (most occupations), 656.18 (college and university teachers) or 656.10 (professional athletes).
2. Get a prevailing wage determination. The employer receives a valid determination (Form ETA-9141) from DOL's National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC) before filing PERM.
3. Recruit and post notice. The employer runs the required recruitment under 20 CFR 656.17 or 656.18 to test the US labor market and posts a Notice of Filing under 20 CFR 656.10.
4. File Form ETA-9089. The employer submits it online in DOL's FLAG system (or by mail). For FLAG applications filed on or after June 1, 2023, the approval is a signed Form ETA-9089 Final Determination.

Watch the 180-day clock. Since July 16, 2007, approved labor certifications expire 180 days from the date of certification, and USCIS must receive the I-140 before then. If the 180th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, USCIS accepts it by the next business day.

Which jobs skip PERM under Schedule A?

Schedule A occupations don't need a DOL-approved labor certification, because DOL has already found a shortage of US workers in them. The employer skips the recruitment test and files an uncertified Form ETA-9089 with USCIS together with Form I-140.

You still can't self-petition. The employer must offer full-time, permanent work and pay at least 100% of the prevailing wage the NPWC sets on Form ETA-9141 (valid for no less than 90 days and no more than 1 year). If there's no bargaining representative, the employer posts a Notice of Filing at the worksite for at least 10 consecutive business days, and in all its normal in-house media, between 30 and 180 days before filing the I-140.

• Group I, registered nurses: evidence that, at filing and now, you hold a full, unrestricted permanent nursing license in the state of intended employment, a certificate from TruMerit (formerly CGFNS, renamed December 18, 2024) or an equivalent organization, or that you passed the NCLEX-RN as of the filing date.
• Group I, physical therapists: a permanent license in the state of intended employment, or a letter signed by the state's physical therapy licensing authority saying you're qualified to take the state's written licensing exam.
• Group II, exceptional ability in the sciences or arts: widespread acclaim and international recognition by recognized experts, work in the past year that required exceptional ability, and at least 2 of 7 regulatory criteria (such as international prizes, published material, judging others' work, original research, scholarly articles or exhibitions in more than one country).
• Group II, exceptional ability in the performing arts: evidence that your past 12 months of work required exceptional ability, such as international acclaim, critical reviews, earnings, playbills or star billing, and the reputation of the venues or ensembles.

What evidence goes with Form I-140?

Once PERM is approved (or the Schedule A notice period is over), the employer files Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, online or by mail. If you're weighing employer sponsorship against investing, see our EB-5 visa requirements guide. Our checklist from 8 CFR 204.5(g) and (l):

• Labor certification: the signed, DOL-approved Form ETA-9089 (or signed FLAG Final Determination), filed within its 180 days. For Schedule A, an uncertified ETA-9089 with original signatures, a signed Final Determination, a valid prevailing wage tracking number in Section E, Item 1, and copies of the Notice of Filing and in-house postings.
• Degree (professionals and educated skilled workers): a college or university record showing the date the degree was awarded and the area of study.
• Occupation requirement (professionals): evidence that a bachelor's degree is normally required to enter the occupation.
• Experience or training (all subcategories): letters from current or former employers or trainers with the writer's name, address and title and a specific description of your duties or training, per 8 CFR 204.5(g)(1).
• Signature: an original handwritten signature in Part 8 (a photocopy, scan or fax of it is fine). USCIS won't accept typed names, stamps, autopens or pasted signature images.

How does the employer prove it can pay the wage?

Under 8 CFR 204.5(g)(2), the employer must show it can pay the offered wage from your priority date until you become a permanent resident.

Our example (invented company). Apex Manufacturing, with 42 workers, files PERM for a CNC machinist on March 10, 2026 (the priority date) at $68,000 a year, then files the I-140 on October 15, 2026. With fewer than 100 workers, it can't use a financial officer statement, so it attaches its 2026 tax return, annual report or audited statements, and may add bank or personnel records. With 120 workers, USCIS could accept a signed statement from its CFO instead.

If you change employers. Under USCIS guidance from January 5, 2024, when you port to a new employer under AC21 while your I-140 is pending, USCIS checks the original employer's ability to pay only from the priority date to the I-140 filing date.

Are there special rules for drivers and athletes?

• Commercial motor vehicle operators: following Executive Order 14286 (April 28, 2025), DOL guidance says the labor certification must include an English proficiency standard. The I-140 needs evidence you meet it, such as a passed standardized English exam or a signed statement from the employer. USCIS says that, following the State Department's increased screening and DOL's updated guidance effective June 15, 2026, it will generally accept visas issued after June 15, 2026 for these jobs as proof of English proficiency.
• Professional athletes: a USCIS policy alert of December 18, 2025 says labor certifications for athletes filed in FLAG on or after June 1, 2023 no longer state the minimum job requirements. To avoid a Request for Evidence, include them with the I-140 if the athlete's contract doesn't state them.

How do EB-3 priority dates work?

Your priority date sets your place in the visa queue. Under 8 CFR 204.5(d), it's the date DOL accepted the labor certification for processing. For Schedule A, it's the date the complete, signed I-140 with initial evidence and the correct fee was properly filed with USCIS.

Once an EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition is approved, 8 CFR 204.5(e) lets you keep that earliest priority date for a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition, unless the approval is revoked for fraud, willful misrepresentation, a revoked or invalidated labor certification, or material error. For waits by stage and country, see our EB-3 visa processing time guide.

What does EB-3 cost?

If your I-140 is already pending with an IOE receipt number, you can file Form I-907 for premium processing on its own, online or by mail.

What happens after the I-140 is approved?

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 may be eligible to get green cards as your derivatives. If you live outside the US, USCIS sends the approved petition to the State Department's National Visa Center for consular processing. Prepare with our documents required for a US visa interview checklist and US visa interview tips.

If you're in the US and a visa is available, USCIS keeps the I-140 to decide with your Form I-485, and you submit Form I-693 from a civil surgeon with it. When filing the I-140 and I-485 together by mail, USCIS asks you not to mix supporting documents between the two packages.

A question to practice

Can you describe your offered position in the United States and explain how your past experience or education meets the minimum requirements on your labor certification?

A strong answer covers: your job title and that the job is full-time and permanent, where you'll work, and the exact degree or years of experience your employer letters and academic records show.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.