EB-1 Extraordinary ability

Type of individual: Individual who is one of the small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor, as shown by sustained national or international acclaim and recognized achievements
Job offer requirement: None: individual can selfpetition. Alien must prove, however that he or she will continue to work in the area of expertise.
Labor Certification Requirement (via PERM*): None

EB-1 Outstanding professor or researcher

Type of individual: Professor or researcher who is recognized internationally as outstanding in the academic field, and who has at least 3 years of teaching or research experience in the field 
Job offer requirement: Must have offer of a tenured or tenure- track position at WSU or permanent research position
Labor Certification Requirement (via PERM*): None

EB-2 Advanced degree holder

Type of individual: An individual holding a degree above a bachelor's degree, which is required for the job offered
Job offer requirement: Must have offer of a permanent full-time position which requires an advanced degree or equivalent
Labor Certification Requirement (via PERM*): Labor certification required; special handling procedures available to university teachers
With National Interest Waiver: No job offer or labor certification is required if it is established that an exemption to those requirements would be in the national interest.

EB-2 Exceptional ability in the science, arts, or business 

Type of individual: An individual with at least 10 years of experience in the field with expertise significantly above that ordinarily
encountered in the sciences, arts, or business 
Job offer requirement: Must have offer of a permanent full-time position 
Labor Certification Requirement (via PERM*): Labor certification required
With National Interest Waiver: No job offer or labor certification is required if it is established that an exemption to those requirements would be in the national interest

For more information, please contact an OISS scholar advisor at (313) 577-3422.

The WSU General Counsel has appointed the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) to be the only WSU office to file any (WSU) employment-related applications/petitions with U.S. Immigration or any other U.S. government agencies. Thus, hiring an outside attorney by an employee or a department is not permitted. Please contact an OISS scholar advisor to begin the permanent residency process for your foreign national employee as early as possible.

* PERM (the Program Electronic Review Management system) is a new way of filing a permanent labor certification application with the Department of Labor (DOL) to sponsor permanent residency (PR) for foreign national employees. Filing a labor certification is the first step of the three-step PR process.

By filing a labor certification, the employer is asking for a finding by DOL that there are no qualified, willing, able, and available U.S. workers to do the job that the employer is offering to a foreign national and that the employment of an alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

All labor certifications filed with DOL on or after March 28, 2005 must be filed (by the employer) meeting the PERM recruitment requirements. PERM has two tracks: Faculty Special Handling option for university teachers; and standard option for non-teaching faculty and professionals.

Filing a PERM application is a very complicated and complex process, thus please consult with OISS for each individual case as rules and regulations change often. In addition, individual efforts by an employee or department might not meet the PERM requirement. Then, all previous recruiting efforts have been wasted and might not be used for the filing under PERM. Thus, please consult with an OISS scholar advisor in advance.