There is an exceptionally high number of employment-based visas available in the United States right now in the fiscal year (October 2021-September 2022), especially for STEM professions or trades.
The United States Immigration Service has issued a statement for visas that, based on employment, carry to legal permanent residence. Usually these fall between the EB1, EB2 and EB3 categories. USCIS and the Department of State are committed to attempting to use all available figures, which are estimated to be around 290. visas.
In addition to the announcement of the availability of visas, the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration Service published an expansion of the STEM professions (acronyms referring to the sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics), implying that they will have a preference condition over others.
This does not mean that accountants, lawyers, administrators or artists have limitations to apply, but definitely a STEM profession or trade now has many possibilities to obtain a permanent legal residence or Green Card. For example, EB2 visas, out of national interest, have increased due to the country’s need in these areas.
It is important to note that one of the main limitations for most visas is the lack of access to a sponsor (company or person that formulates a petition for the benefit of the immigrant), but the good news is that a large part of the options contained in the EB1 or EB2 (NIW) visa, cited in the call made by USCIS, are self-petition. This means that the applicant can apply for himself, eliminating the barrier of not having a sponsor and reaching legal permanent residence.
Héctor Benítez Cañas is an immigration attorney. https://www.benmelegal.org