EB-1 Visa Lawyers Serving Chicago

The EB-1 is an employment-based immigrant visa for “priority workers”: people with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, as well as outstanding professors, researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers.

It leads to U.S. permanent residency, so you can live and work in the country long term as a lawful permanent resident. In Chicago and the wider Northeastern Illinois area, EB-1 Green Card holders are often recognized in film and TV, athletics, technology, academia, healthcare, and fast-growing startups.

For many, an EB-1 is what allows them to turn a temporary stint in Chicago into a long-term home and career base.

The EB-1 visa is for people at the top of their field or in qualifying executive and managerial roles.

USCIS recognizes three categories within EB-1: EB-1A for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, shown through sustained national or international acclaim; EB-1B for outstanding professors and researchers who are internationally recognized in their academic field and are coming to the U.S. for a tenure, tenure-track, or comparable research position; and EB-1C for certain multinational managers and executives transferring to a U.S. employer in a qualifying managerial or executive role.

In Chicago, that can look like a researcher affiliated with the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, DePaul, Loyola University Chicago, or the Illinois Institute of Technology; a founder scaling a high-growth company based in Lake Forest; a musician performing with major Chicago institutions and venues like the The United Center or The Chicago Theatre; or a creative professional building a high-level record in film or TV through projects connected to major studio ecosystems across Chicago and the broader Northern Illinois region.

What matters most isn’t the zip code. It’s whether your achievements show the level of extraordinary ability or recognition USCIS expects for the EB-1 category.

For Chicago-based professionals, the EB-1 Green Card offers powerful advantages:

• Live and work in Chicago permanently: EB-1 creates a path to a Green Card, so you can live and work in the U.S. without having to worry about visa end dates or renewals.
• Faster path than many other Green Card categories: EB-1 is often one of the quickest employment-based options, especially compared to PERM-based routes like EB-2 and EB-3, which can take years.
• No PERM labor certification: Unlike many other employment-based Green Cards, EB-1 does not require a PERM labor certification with the Department of Labor, which saves significant time and complexity for you and your employer.
• Less dependency on a single employer (for EB-1A): If you qualify for EB-1A, you may be able to self-petition instead of relying on a specific U.S. employer.

That can give you more flexibility to move between opportunities in the Chicago market, whether that’s film, TV, and digital media projects, tech startups, aerospace and engineering roles in Rockford, or research and life sciences work in Lake Forest.

• Include your family in your move to Chicago: Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can also become permanent residents, allowing your family to build a life in Chicago and Northeastern Illinois alongside you.
• Path to U.S. citizenship: Once you’ve held a Green Card and met the residency requirements, you can apply for U.S. citizenship, which is often an important long-term goal for professionals who want to build a more permanent life in Chicago or Northeastern Illinois.

Yes. Once your priority date is current, you are allowed to apply for the Green Card and a work permit. Once the work permit is approved, you can generally work for any U.S. employer, start a business, or take on freelance and consulting work in Chicago.

You don’t need to wait for the actual Green Card to be approved. That might look like:

• a software or AI engineer with a primary role at a Chicago-based company who also advises local tech startups, - a product or UX designer with a staff position who takes select freelance projects with nearby studios or agencies, - a film or TV creative, like an editor, VFX artist, or cinematographer, who works across multiple productions, or - a musician with a main residency or ensemble, plus session work and live gigs around Chicago.

For EB-1A, you self-petition based on your achievements and then have broad freedom to structure your work as long as you stay in your field.

EB-1B and EB-1C require a qualifying job offer at the petition stage, but once you have your Green Card, your long-term work options are much more flexible than on a visa.

Who files your EB-1 petition depends on which EB-1 category you’re using: EB-1A (extraordinary ability): You can self-petition. You don’t need a specific Chicago employer to sponsor you, but you do need to show you plan to keep working in your field.

In Chicago, that can be demonstrated through job offers, contracts, a business plan, an agent or management agreement (for creatives), speaking engagements, or a pipeline of projects based in or tied to the Chicago market.

EB-1B (outstanding professors and researchers) and EB-1C (multinational managers and executives): A U.S. employer must file the petition on your behalf. In Chicago, that could be:

• A major university or research institution hiring you into a long-term academic or comparable research role
• A hospital or medical/research organization bringing you on as a physician-scientist or principal investigator in a qualifying research position
• A global company with Chicago operations sponsoring you as a senior manager or executive, transferring into a qualifying managerial or executive role
• A major entertainment, media, or technology company in Chicago hiring you into a specialized leadership position, for roles that fit EB-1B/EB-1C requirements

Whether you’re self-petitioning under EB-1A or sponsored by a Chicago–based employer under EB-1B or EB-1C, the EB-1 category is designed to support a long-term career in the U.S. for professionals performing at the top of their field, often with Chicago as the center of that work.

Because EB-1 is reserved for priority workers, it often moves more quickly than other employment-based categories. There’s no PERM step, and in many cases, visa numbers are more favorable than for EB-2 or EB-3.

For Chicago and Northeastern Illinois-based professionals and employers, that can translate into shorter timelines from approval to permanent residence, which is critical when you’re trying to retain top talent in competitive industries like media, entertainment, tech, or healthcare.

The criteria for the EB-1 visa depend on which subcategory you’re applying for. Criteria for the EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability) To qualify for EB-1A, you must show extraordinary ability in your field, either by:

1. A one-time, major, internationally recognized award (like a Nobel Prize), or
2. Meeting at least 3 of USCIS’s criteria, which include things like:

• Significant awards or prizes
• Memberships that require outstanding achievements
• Published material about you in major media or journals
• Serving as a judge of others’ work
• Original contributions of major significance (e.g., patents, widely cited work)
• Authorship of scholarly articles
• Leading or critical roles at distinguished organizations
• High salary or compensation compared to others in your field
• Work displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases
• Commercial successes in the performing arts Criteria for the EB-1B (Outstanding Professors and Researchers) To qualify for EB-1B, you must:

1. Have at least 3 years of teaching or research experience, and 2. Be recognized internationally as outstanding in your academic field, and 3. Have a tenure, tenure-track, or comparable permanent research position offer from a qualifying U.S. employer, and 4. Meet at least 2 of USCIS’s criteria, such as:

• Major awards or prizes for achievement
• Memberships that require outstanding accomplishments
• Published material about your work
• Serving as a judge of others’ research
• Original scientific or scholarly contributions
• Authorship of scholarly books or articles Criteria for the EB-1C (Multinational Managers and Executives) To qualify for EB-1C, you must:

1. Have worked outside the U.S. for at least 1 year in the last 3 years in a managerial or executive role for a qualifying multinational employer; 2. Be coming to the U.S. to work in a managerial or executive role for the same company or a parent/affiliate/subsidiary; 3. Show that the U.S. petitioner has been doing business for at least 1 year and has a qualifying relationship with the overseas entity.

To qualify for EB-1A, you must show extraordinary ability in your field, either by:

1. A one-time, major, internationally recognized award (like a Nobel Prize), or
2. Meeting at least 3 of USCIS’s criteria, which include things like:

• Significant awards or prizes
• Memberships that require outstanding achievements
• Published material about you in major media or journals
• Serving as a judge of others’ work
• Original contributions of major significance (e.g., patents, widely cited work)
• Authorship of scholarly articles
• Leading or critical roles at distinguished organizations
• High salary or compensation compared to others in your field
• Work displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases
• Commercial successes in the performing arts

To qualify for EB-1B, you must:

1. Have at least 3 years of teaching or research experience, and 2. Be recognized internationally as outstanding in your academic field, and 3. Have a tenure, tenure-track, or comparable permanent research position offer from a qualifying U.S. employer, and 4. Meet at least 2 of USCIS’s criteria, such as:

• Major awards or prizes for achievement
• Memberships that require outstanding accomplishments
• Published material about your work
• Serving as a judge of others’ research
• Original scientific or scholarly contributions
• Authorship of scholarly books or articles

To qualify for EB-1C, you must:

1. Have worked outside the U.S. for at least 1 year in the last 3 years in a managerial or executive role for a qualifying multinational employer; 2. Be coming to the U.S. to work in a managerial or executive role for the same company or a parent/affiliate/subsidiary; 3. Show that the U.S. petitioner has been doing business for at least 1 year and has a qualifying relationship with the overseas entity.

EB-1 visa processing times can vary widely. With standard processing, cases are typically decided in a few months, depending on USCIS workload and the service center handling your case. If you opt for premium processing, USCIS aims to issue a decision on the I-140 petition within 15 calendar days.

Keep in mind that preparing your case and gathering evidence often adds extra time before you’re ready to file.

After your I-140 petition is approved, you may be able to file for your EB-1 Green Card immediately, although people from China and India may have to wait several years for their priority date to become current.

Government filing fees for the EB-1 visa generally total $2,000-$3,000. The exact amount depends on whether you apply from inside the U.S. (adjustment of status) or abroad (consular processing), and on case-specific costs like medical exams and document translations. If you choose premium processing, an additional fee applies, which significantly speeds up the timeline.

Note these are just the USCIS costs and filing fees—they don’t include legal fees, translation, or document preparation. To see if you qualify for an EB-1 visa, request a consultation below.