STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professions can provide important employment opportunities in the United States, as well as a path to permanent residence.
STEM careers combine sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics, with mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and psychology and other branches of the social sciences. In the United States, STEM academic disciplines are promoted by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which in turn is related to the Department of Labor (DOL) and its portal O*Net for job search and the Department of Security National.
In this sense, the DHS has an immigration policy related to this type of academic and labor fields. In 2012, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), which belongs to the DHS, announced an expanded list of eligible STEM programs for professionals graduated abroad, in order to offer them visas to access academic or training programs.
ICE includes in this list the following engineering: electrical, chemical, industrial computing, mechanical, civil, aerospace, software and acoustics. Likewise, it includes professions from the following disciplines: architecture, physics, actuarial science, biology chemistry, mathematics and applied mathematics, computational sciences, psychology, biochemistry, robotics, electronics, information sciences, technology, astrophysics, astronomy, optics, nanotechnology, physics nuclear science, mathematical biology, neurobiology, biomechanics, bioinformatics, geographic information systems, atmospheric sciences, technology education, and educational research.
In this sense, the Citizenship and Immigration Service offers immigration channels that provide the opportunity for foreigners to work in STEM disciplines in the United States permanently. In this way they provide legal permanent residence, which can lead to US citizenship through naturalization.
The process to become a legal resident through a STEM profession depends on the classification of employment-based visas initially sought. Petitioners, who are employers in the United States, file an Application for Permanent Employment Application (ETA Form 9089) as well as EB-2 or EB-3 petitions.
The process to become a legal resident through a STEM profession depends on the classification of employment-based visas initially sought. Petitioners, who are employers in the United States, file an Application for Permanent Employment Application (ETA Form 9089) as well as EB-2 or EB-3 petitions.
Likewise, it is ensured that the employment of the foreign worker will not negatively affect the wages or working conditions of local workers with similar jobs.
The timing and availability of the immigrant visa depends on the job classification for which you are applying, for example, EB-1 Extraordinary Ability visas are usually immediately available to applicants who meet the criteria, regardless of their country of residence. source. On the other hand, there are the EB-2 Professional visas with postgraduate degrees or persons of exceptional ability and EB-3 specialized workers, professionals and unskilled workers, whose approval is only delayed for citizens of China and India.
