Green card

Nonimmigrant visa

Outstanding Professors and Researchers

Temporary Agricultural Workers

Professors, Researchers, Academic scholars, Senior university faculty members

Agricultural workers, Seasonal farm workers, Horticultural employees, Forestry workers, Dairy farm workers, Orchard workers

• Demonstrate international acclaim in an academic field by meeting at least 2 of 6 required evidence criteria, such as receiving prestigious awards, authoring scholarly books or articles, or contributing original scientific or scholarly research to the field.

• You must possess at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research.

• You must secure a tenure-track or comparable research position in the U.S. with an employer that meets specific research capabilities.

• You must be sponsored by a U.S. university, institution of higher education, or a private employer that employs at least 3 full-time researchers and can document achievements in an academic field.

• The U.S. employer must demonstrate the ability to pay your salary.

• The employment must be of a temporary or seasonal nature.

• Employers must prove there are no available U.S. workers who are willing, qualified, and able to perform the temporary work.

• Employers must certify that hiring H-2A workers will not adversely impact the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

• Provides complete flexibility to work, live, and study in the U.S.

• No labor certification is required, simplifying the application process.

• Offers the fastest pathway to a green card among EB categories.

• Lower standard (outstanding recognition) compared to EB-1A (extraordinary ability).

• Provides a legal pathway for foreign agricultural workers to work in the U.S.

• Addresses critical labor shortages in the agricultural sector.

• Allows for seasonal employment flexibility, matching crop harvest cycles.

• Requires sponsorship and a permanent job offer, limiting flexibility.

• Only available to candidates with high-level job offers in research or academia.

• Rigid requirements apply to both the petitioner and the beneficiary.

• Limited exclusively to agricultural work and subject to seasonal demands.

• No pathway to permanent residency or long-term employment.

• Spouses and dependents do not receive work authorization.

• Employers must undergo a rigorous certification process.

• Requires employer sponsorship and a specific job offer.

Required

Required

Permanent residency

Duration of labor certification, up to 1 year, renewable twice in 1-year increments for a total of 3 years.

Every 10 years

Twice in 1-year increments for a total of 3 years.

10-18 months¹

1-3 months¹

15 business days²

15 business days

Yes

No

¹Applicants from India, China, or Mexico may experience longer wait times.

²Available for only the first stage of the process.

¹Varies based on processing center workload and employer need; fee applicability uncertain.