EB-1 to EB-5 Green Cards Explained for Nigerian Workers

An employment-based (EB) green card gives you permanent residence in the US through your work. There are five categories, EB-1 to EB-5, and each has its own rules and its own queue.

This guide compares them, explains PERM and shows you how to read the Visa Bulletin as a Nigerian applicant.

The five EB categories at a glance

Congress sets at least 140,000 employment-based green cards a year. They are split as follows:

Unused numbers can flow between categories in a set order. No single country may take more than 7% of the combined family and employment preference numbers in a year.

EB-1: priority workers

EB-1 has three branches:

• EB-1A, extraordinary ability. You show sustained acclaim through a major one-time achievement, or meet at least 3 of 10 listed criteria. You can file yourself, with no job offer.
• EB-1B, outstanding professors and researchers. You need at least three years of teaching or research experience, international recognition and a US employer's offer.
• EB-1C, multinational managers or executives. You must have worked abroad for the related company for at least one year in the three years before the petition.

EB-2: advanced degrees and exceptional ability

An advanced degree means a master's or higher. A bachelor's degree followed by five years of progressive experience in the field counts as the equivalent.

"Exceptional ability" needs at least three of six types of evidence, such as a professional licence, ten years of experience or membership of professional associations.

The National Interest Waiver

The NIW lets you skip the job offer and PERM and file Form I-140 yourself. USCIS looks at three things:

1. Your work has substantial merit and national importance.
2. You are well placed to advance it.
3. On balance, waiving the job offer and labour certification benefits the US.

EB-3: including "other workers"

EB-3 has three groups:

• Professionals: a US bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent, in a profession
• Skilled workers: jobs needing at least two years of training or experience
• Other workers: jobs needing less than two years of training or experience

All three need a permanent, full-time job offer and, usually, an approved labour certification. Other workers share a sub-cap of no more than 10,000 numbers a year, so their queue tends to be longer.

EB-4 and EB-5 in brief

EB-4 covers special immigrants, including certain religious workers. The non-minister religious worker category has been extended by Congress only to 11 December 2026, so check before relying on it.

EB-5 is for investors. The standard amount is 1,050,000 US dollars, or 800,000 US dollars in a targeted employment area. The investment must create at least 10 full-time jobs for US workers.

PERM labour certification, step by step

PERM is how the Department of Labor confirms there are not enough able, qualified and available US workers for the job. It also checks that hiring you will not harm US workers' wages and conditions.

1. Prevailing wage: the employer asks DOL for the wage for the job and location.
2. Recruitment: the employer tests the US job market under DOL rules.
3. Form ETA-9089: the employer files through DOL's online FLAG system. Filing is the employer's job, not yours.
4. Certification: once approved, the certification is valid for 180 days.
5. Form I-140: the employer files the immigrant petition with USCIS within those 180 days.
6. Final stage: when your priority date is current, you adjust status in the US or apply for an immigrant visa abroad.

Priority dates and the Visa Bulletin

Your priority date is your place in the queue. In PERM cases it is generally the date the labour certification was filed.

Each month, the State Department publishes the Visa Bulletin. It has two employment charts:

• Final Action Dates: when a green card or immigrant visa can actually be issued.
• Dates for Filing: when you can submit documents early. USCIS says each month which chart applicants in the US should use.

"C" means current: anyone with an approved petition can move ahead. A date means only priority dates earlier than that date can proceed.

Where Nigeria fits

The employment charts list China, India, Mexico and the Philippines separately. Nigeria is not listed, so Nigerian-born applicants use the All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed column, often called "rest of world".

Here is that column in the October 2026 bulletin:

The bulletin warns that some rest-of-world employment categories went backwards at the start of FY 2027. Dates can move either way each month, so read the latest bulletin rather than this table.

What a typical case looks like

Say your employer filed your PERM application in March 2024, and it was later approved along with your EB-3 petition. Your priority date is March 2024.

In the October 2026 bulletin, the EB-3 rest-of-world final action date is 15 May 2024. Because March 2024 is earlier, your case could move to the final stage that month. If your priority date were June 2024, you would wait until the bulletin moves past it.

Your family comes too

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can usually get green cards as your dependants, in the same category and with the same priority date. They do not need their own job offers.

Plan for children's ages. A child who turns 21 before the case finishes may lose dependant status, although special rules can protect some children. Check the details with USCIS or a qualified immigration lawyer.

The Nigerian reality in 2026

Proclamation 10998 took effect on 1 January 2026. It suspended immigrant visa issuance to Nigerian nationals applying from outside the US, with narrow exceptions such as dual nationals travelling on a non-Nigerian passport.

That means an approved I-140 does not currently lead to an immigrant visa at a US embassy for most Nigerians. People already in the US, for example on an H-1B visa, usually finish through adjustment of status with USCIS. USCIS holds on applications from nationals of the listed countries were blocked by a federal court in August 2026, but USCIS may appeal.

Before you start: checklist

• Decide which category genuinely fits your profile
• Gather degree certificates, transcripts and experience letters on letterhead
• Get a credential evaluation if the employer or USCIS needs one
• Keep a copy of every receipt notice, with your priority date
• Check the Visa Bulletin monthly in the rest-of-world column
• Check travel.state.gov for changes to the Nigeria suspension

For a wider look at routes, see our overview of living and working in the USA.