Second and Third Preferences (EB-2/EB-3)
The second preference consists of workers with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business: The third preference consists of skilled workers and professionals. In all but a few cases, persons in these categories require a job offer and completion of the labor certification process.

Qualifications: The second and third employment based preferences are available to foreign nationals who have job offers in the United States. To qualify in the second preference, an employer must submit a visa petition for a foreign national who qualifies for a position that requires a master's degree or higher. Foreign nationals who do not have a job offer may also qualify in the second preference, if they can show that their work is in the "national interest."

To qualify in the third preference, an employer must submit a visa petition for a foreign national who qualifies for a position that requires two years of training as the minimum requirement for entry into the field.

Procedures: For applicants in the second in the third employment-based preferences, the application for permanent residence has three distinct steps. The first step is to obtain a Labor Certification from the Department of Labor. The second step is to obtain an approved to Visa Petition from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The third step is to obtain permanent resident status in the United States. Generally, completion of all three steps will take between 18 to 30 months, depending upon the circumstances of the particular individual's immigration situation.

Once a Labor Certification has been approved, the employer must then submit an I- 140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In this petition, the employer must provide the approved labor certification, evidence of its ability to pay the offered wage and a letter indicating that it continues to have a job opening for the foreign national. The employee must provide evidence that it meets the minimum qualifications for the job as it was described in the labor certification application. Often, employees are required to provide reference letters from prior employers indicating their job descriptions and skill sets used.